The Swiss Countryside of Haiti

Alright. Eventful day! Lets start with the morning, shall we? We shall.

So this morning, some of the boys from the tent city on our complex stopped Mike. They told him that their grandmother passed away and they needed nice shoes and socks for the funeral. Mike was sympathetic and had me come down to talk to the boys, too, while he figured out what he could do to help them. In the process, though, Davidson, another boy from the tent city, came by. The boys did not want Davidson there while they talked to Mike about the shoes because they didn't want him to try to get some, too. Mike, in a way to divert Davidson's attention, asked him to teach me some Kreyol words for things and I would teach him the English words. He got really excited and we started on our walk.

Let me tell you, I may not remember any of the words Davidson tried to teach me today... but I had an absolute blast. Davidson was on top of the world taking me around Freres Campus and teaching me the words for things. We would sometimes pass by folks, too, and he marched forward like he was on a very important mission. It was adorable. I also watched him play a bit with this small-ish rubber ball that he had. He played basketball with it (using a trashcan as the basket) and soccer. However, it was quite sad when he ended up losing the ball on a roof. :( Overall, though, we had a great time and I definitely made a new friend. He remembered my name, too, and began introducing me to some of his friends. He was a beautiful blessing in my day. I hope to have many more tours around the campus with the kids there.

For lunch today, we decided to do something fun so we went up to the Baptist Mission. It's up in the mountains of Haiti, in a area called "Kenscoff." It is so beautiful and green up there that it is considered the "Swiss Countryside of Haiti." It was GORGEOUS and nice and cool, too. Probably about 75-80 degrees up there which was a nice break from the heat. We ate lunch there (I had chicken fingers, french fries, and a milkshake... delish!) and then visited the museum on their campus and their zoo.

The museum was cool and had some interesting things in it - including a whole section on Voodoo, which I thought was very interesting. The zoo was also funny because there weren't many interesting animals in there except a crocodile, a monkey, and a few peacocks. The monkey, however, was HILARIOUS. When we walked up to his cage, he immediately swung over to us and started going a little bit crazy, at one point Oge walked away to answer his phone and we noticed that the monkey followed Oge and wouldn't pay any attention to us. When Oge came back we put it to a test and had Oge walk around the cage. Sure enough, the monkey followed him everywhere! It was hilarious and so much fun. We think the monkey must associate Oge with the guy who feeds him or something because he literally followed him EVERYWHERE. It was too cute. (Oh, and in the photo is (from left to right) Doug, Mike, Hal, and Oge. :) )

Before we left we also did some shopping. For those of you that know me, you know I love bargaining with folks. In Haiti, I get to put my bargaining skills to good use once again. I got two pictures and a statue all for under $20. And one of the pictures is hand painted. Good deal! I'm especially excited about the statue, though. The statue is a replica of a statue that is near the Presidential Palace in downtown Port-au-Prince and it is a national symbol for Haiti's freedom from slavery. As many of you know, the Haitians were originally slaves until they lead the slave revolt and overthrew the government. I bought the statue to keep on my desk when I head off to div school as a constant reminder of the call God has placed on my heart. Although, some slaves may be free, many are not. It is my job to work as hard as I can until all can blow the triumphant horn of freedom! Amen!

Also, I learned a ton about Oge today. I'm definitely a fan - he's pretty awesome. He is 30 years old, married, and has a 5 year old daughter named Laura (like my mom!) I also found out that he lost his two brothers-in-law in the earthquake and his mother-in-law went a little bit crazy after that. It was very sad hearing him talk about it. I also found out that his wife used to work but does not anymore because the man who used to watch his daughter also died in the earthquake. Until his daughter goes to school full time... his wife has to stay home with her. However, I did find out some other fun things in that Oge is building a home up by the Baptist Mission and he enjoys playing Dominoes. Except, their game of Dominoes sounds very painful. I guess he and his friends put clothespins on their skin if they lose a round. At the end of all their games, they find out who was the overall winner based off of the amount of clothespins someone has on. Yikes! I told him that I probably wouldn't want to play with him... he laughed at that.

For now, though, I probably should head off to bed. It's ridiculously early, but I got very ill this evening. I'm guessing that milkshake did not sit as well with me as I thought it would. Blech. I'm hoping with the help of some Pepto Bismol, Gatorade, and lots of fans, I'll be nice and fresh by the morning.

Tomorrow we're going with Oblami again to another church on his circuit and he'll be preaching tomorrow. I'm excited for my 2nd Haitian church experience! Hopefully I'll be feeling significantly better.

Anyway, goodnight my loves!

Beth

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030018&id=1191390661&l=1f483bfe59 And again, yes, you can view them even if we aren't Facebook friends!