The wrap up (/a lot of random paragraphs about ideas/events in the last few weeks in Haiti)

Whew, what to even say....

I'm back in the States now, super broke monetarily, but rich beyond measure in every other way possible.

The theme of the DTS I was attending was "transformation."
Coming back to LA and seeing all my friends from the other teams (and even - especially? - my own) after their two and half months of adventure was crazy. These were NOT the same people I had met 5 months ago. These were my brothers and sisters and they had new hearts and new dreams and an entirely new view of the world and how they ought to be living in it.

The final time in Haiti was definitely interesting.
A few days after my last post we were heading out to do food distribution in the Cite Soleil tent city we'd been working with (which I'd mentioned below was one which was a tent city of about 6,000 who were not currently receiving much aid, so we were sooo excited to finally be able to share something tangible with our new friends!) when Melissa discovered that $2,000 dollars of our team money had been stolen from the safe room - which not only annihilated our plans of actual ministry/debrief, we no longer even had enough money left to stay in our tents on the base!

That night the ywam pap staff held a meeting about it, and took an offering for us so that we could at least maybe get enough money to stay on base (to continue with our present agenda, we would need $1,500). In about 5 minutes we had $1,450, the other $50 given by the morning, enough to continue with everything! Yeaa-aaah!! And this wasn't coming from some huge, rich benefactor, this was all between two smaller teams from Mexico and Pismo Beach and the few SOS/Haitian Staff, who were all also there on support. We definitely all learned a little bit about God's faithfulness and provision that night.

The next day we did food distribution at the palace... so as far as food distribution goes, we've seen better.
An example of a well run food distribution (Cite Soleil - feeding 6,000):


An example of the type of food distribution we ended up doing at the Palace:


The Palace area has been turned in to yet another of PaP's 1,300 tent cities, but this one has no leaders, no orders, and no way to really properly distribute food. While we originally started out getting out of the truck and personally handing out food and then relocating before the crowd got too big, very quickly we found ourselves in mob-like settings and had to run back in the truck and take off before it got out of hand, or before we lost one of ours.. ha.. (I would like to note that no matter how aggressive it got, many of us always felt a few anonymous Haitian hands helping boost us quickly in to the truck or offer other assistance in escaping the scene safely)
Soon the only option we had left is what the video shows, just driving around, giving a bit out, and rushing off. I definitely don't think it's the most beneficial route, but it's the sort of problem you run in to a lot in Haiti.. there is almost never an easy or conventional way to help.


The next day we got to go to the mountains... and it was SO good! I didn't understand how oppressive Port-au-Prince was/is/had felt to me until finally being freed from the environment.. and I really mean freed. I had no idea the weight it had until we were finally away from it, to the extent that I almost felt bitter when we had to return the next week, to once again just feel that hopelessness and anger and fear and hatred and apathy, to have my personal freedom taken away once again... all amidst trash and rubble and crushed lives and fumes - it is such a dark, tangible feeling... and just being there after the contrast of the beauty, joy, freedom, innocence, and life we'd seen in the mountains felt like we were going back to prison.

That was when I only had another two days in Port-au-Prince... my "need" for personal freedom is completely sobered when acknowledging the fact that millions of people spend their whole lives in that environment.

But yeah! The mountains were great: full of slight mishaps like showering in the rapids and getting carried down the river, only to be rescued by Haitian children as you hold on to some branch on the bank, haha, sleeping in flooded tents, or performing one of our skits only to have the sound go out and looking like awkward semi losers for the embarrassing silent duration, but it was definitely an amazing week, with lots of love poured out on to some really awesome people who haven't gotten much lately.

This is (some other people doing) the aforementioned skit:


(...I was Satan..Thanks team. ;p)

Umm.. I'm trying to not make this update super random and long, but I think I've already failed both so I'm going to stop now, heh. That's basically the wrap up of the end of my time in Haiti. I'm going to try to continue to update on things I find out about Haiti, and probably use this blog for my next adventure, too. .. so thanks for reading, thanks for supporting me, and please, please, please, don't forget about Haiti!!!!

Love, love, love! Sara

Dear Beautiful and Wonderful Supporters,

THANK YOU SO MUCH. Seriously. I can not even begin to emphasize how thankful I am for anyone who put even one prayer out there or made the smallest contribution. I was able to raise all but $350 (a small enough amount that YWAM extended the deadline for me til pre-graduation on June 12th), and that is pretty much nothing short of a miracle! I'm sorry I haven't been able to personally thank all/most of you, and won't really be able to for another month or so, but please know it doesn't represent the gratitude I have for all of your support!

With only 15 days left of my time in Haiti, I can truly say that this has been such an amazing trip and so many things have happened that would not be possible without you! If you contributed even $10, please know that you are responsible for significantly improving the quality of living for at least a few Haitians by supplying funding for things like tarps.

(*pre tarp, photo by leanne)

Anyway, this is just the pre-cursor to the massive thank you I would like to bestow on you (;)), but I just wanted to make sure that in the mean time you know that your money is making a difference!

PORT-AU-PRINCE! (written like a week and ago... yeah for "textedit!"

(*photo found on google images of City Soleil)

Ahhh, It's so eye opening! We recently watched one of my favorite movies, Blood Diamond, and as we drive through or work in various tent cities, I often think of the journalists line when they go to one of the largest refugee camps, "So this is what a million (homeless) people looks like." I am not sure I've seen a million yet, but as the days stack up and the numbers in the tent cities double by the thousands, my eyes have been opened to the reality of every day life for people all over Haiti, and unfortunately, many places around the world.

One of our main projects while we've been here is assisting in rebuilding a church/school in City Soleil, the poorest area in the Western Hemisphere, boasting fun statistics like "90% of kidnappings in the nation take place here." Exciting! Apparently since the earthquake the area has gotten markably safer, but it's always fun to know that according to various random resources, you're working in what is purportedly one of the most dangerous parts of the world. The best part about

the project is that its not just "the white people coming in to fix things." It's mostly Haitians in the area volunteering their time to see their church restored, and we are right there next to them in the assembly line, passing

down the buckets of "BERTONE, BERTONE, BERTONE!!" (cem

ent). Yesss! Something you see a lot of in Haiti is unrest - boredom, apathy, and lack of initiative. It seems that there are so many problems,

they slowly become immune to them and are either too overwhelmed or apathetic to try to make a difference on their own. So it's really refreshing to see people who are willing and wanting to make a change in their nation!

Tuesday all ministry plans were put on hold as we were on base lock down due to riotting in the streets, during which seven people were shot and two doctors were kidnapped.

While much of the rioting is caused by the politcal unrest due to a potential upset in Presidency/the Presidential Race, food is running short and many have been asking where all the money that was given to Haiti has gone. The answer? "The organizations have the money!" While this is true of bigger organizations like Red Cross and Unicef, obviously not every organization or NGO here recieved funding from the Haitian Government (you know, like, yeah, YWAM for in

stance, haha), this answer has unfortunately led to a lot of mobbing, harrassing, etc. of anyone associated with an organization who happens to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Compliments of events like the U.N. having to escort some of our Brazilian friends back to the base after an attempt to grab the girls

from the truck and the kidnapping of the doctors, last Tuesday entailed a base lock-down where we spent the day learning fun things like "what to do when you are driving and get shot in the arm," etc. Our ministry hours have also been shortened and for instance today it wasn't safe to go to the Church site, so we spent the day teaching/singing (Haitian songs are so much

more fun than American songs... what the heck.)/dramas/pr

aying/hanging out at our assigned tent city in another part of City Soleil, where food is a scarcity and starvation is rampant, they have to walk a few miles to get water, the majority of the children are orphans, and many have no more than a few sheets and plastic wrap drapped over tall sticks as their covering.

It's definitely a new experience - being in a city where things like shootings and starving to death and 50,000 people riotting is a normal occurrence, but I can honestly say I'd rather be here than tucked safely away in some American suburb (okay, not that that happens often anyway, but still!). I feel like FINALLY, fiiiiinnnaaallly, I am able to at least get a small glimpse behind that torn and frayed curtain of reality beyond the western way. And I just want to pull tha

t curtain aside and see the full view! Run past it and be with the people, not just look, but touch and feel and live - not just in Haiti, but all over the world! Hah, that, however is a longer thought full of new inspiration and that sort which is better placed in the coffee conversations we're going to have when I come back, yeah? So anyway, moving on...

We live in tents outside of an Orphanage and a Medical Clinic and share two toilets (and 0 working showers) with about 60 people.... and I love it! Anytime we're not eating, working, or meeting, I have the priveledge of hanging out with some of the coolest kids in the world! Seriously. I love them. My love runneth over.

Almost all of them came from the mountain areas, all near death, many of them still operating only in positions similar to the ones they were found in.

The orphanage is AMAZING. All of the kids have beds and toys, eat regularly, and go to school (interesting fact: apparently there are no standing schools left in Port-Au-Prince, and the teachers who come to the orphanage teach in a make-shift tarp class room in the field because they refuse to work inside of a building). If they turn 18 and have still not been adopted, they are allowed to stay on or move in with someone in the city and the orphanage pays for them to go to college and trade school. The disabled ones, all though the orphanage has none of the means to properly care for them, are here for life unless someone takes them.... Which, by the way, a rehabiliation home for the disabled in Texas offered to take ALL of the handicapped kids/adults/whoever living here, but the Government so far hasn't allowed it, even though the orphanage is so ill equipped to care for them that many of them spend their days strapped to wheelchairs or immobile in cribs meant for small children. I've learned a lot about the Haitian Government this past month, and... let's just say there's a lottt of room for improvement.

Well, this is getting unfortunately lengthy so I will just add on more quick point that maybe you could pray for, and then close on up...

There are YWAM bases all over the world, but the Port-Au-Prince one was founded only four days after the earthquake, and all of the living situations, etc. are temporary. Amazingly, last week the Mayor gave YWAM PaP 30 acres of land to use to build both a base and 1,000 permanent homes for families currently in tent cities. This is great, but has come with problems of it's own as people in the surrounding community have considered that land to belong to them, and there are four men who have threatened Peterson, (the PaP base director and simultaneously one of the best leaders I've ever encountered) basically using their status of working with the police etc. to say that they have gun access and no work should continue without a form of payment made to them. They threatened away all the hired Haitians who had been working there, and I got to be in the team that was sent down a few days later to work anyway, haha. The Four showed up plus some buddies, but when they came over to where I was working with two others, really the most uncomfortable part of the exchange was only when they head guy made all the other guys in his crew come talk to me to work on their english. Thankfully, they didn't seem particularly angered by our work there, so hopefully it will continue to go in our favor. So yeah! If you could just pray for favor with the community so that we aren't doing more damage than good, and peace with those men, that would be awesome!

Anyway, man! I feel like there's so much more! I guess that just means you should come down/up/over to Haiti and find out what's going on for yourself! Hope all's well!

Love,

Sara

Irony in the Worst Form Possible

"He who is faithful in little..."

Here in Saint Marc, many days we have the priveledge of being our own supervisors: examining the options and deciding what to do, how we should do it, and when we should finish.

It's easy to keep going on days bursting with "importance," projects we can see immediate results from and which give us the energy to joyfully persevere. Days when we're picking up litter for hours in weather with heat indexes of 112 degrees, however, it get's a little more difficult. One thought that has been coming to mind and giving me the motivation to push through, though, is this:

"One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much." (Luke 16:10)

Wednesday especially, every single forsaken sliver of a plastic half jutting out of the ground represented a small part of something much bigger. My heart, and the willingness (or lack there of) to take part in not just the "important" things, but the little things.. knowing that a week later, that plastic sliver would be replaced by two rusty tin cans, but for the day, because it was asked of me, I needed to put my all in to it.

That same day we hosted another gathering with the girls from the Brothels. I know just being present is valuable, if proved only by the question asked on their first visit: "Do you really love us? Don't you know that people will judge you and talk about you if you are with us?" But as encouraging as it is to have a group of girls you barely know run up to hug you, calling you by name, joyful to see that you've returned to invest in their lives... the actual event is kind of frustrating. It's difficult, wanting to form relationships with people but feeling so limited not only by the cultural differences but the very language itself. That day we were doing art projects and one of the Haitians from the base was speaking, and there wasn't necessarily a specific need for me to be there. So when I left to use the restroom, I went through about a 3 minute "Ehhhhhhh," mental battle where I tried to figure out if leaving an hour early would be fine or not.

Ha.. Then God reminded me of my heart, or at least what I wanted it to look like. The things I claimed to be passionate about, the things I supposedly wanted to dedicate my life to. I've had a heart for prostitutes for awhile now. "If I went back to Amsterdam,"I have thought, "I would want to work with the prostitutes." The same for Thailand. The same for America, even.

Then I got the big "OH. Rigggght."

I am with prostitutes right now! This is the sort of opportunity I had longed for, and when I actually got it, because it wasn't the exact context I had thought about previously, I didn't even recognize it. "If you are here with prostitutes now, and you are not making the most of that opportunity - how can you say that this is what you want to do? How can you claim that this is one of the ministries you'd like to be part of, when it is right in your hand and you put it aside because there's an easier or more interesting option?" In essence, if I couldn't serve these women here and now, if I was not faithful with this "little" situation that only entailed a few hours where only the bare minimum was required of me, how could I ever expect to be faithful in bigger situations?

Ultimately, I was really just convicted to make the most of every moment. Not just moments I've looked for, but in anything that's presented to me. Returning to the Brothel Event, I wasn't specifically needed - everything would have been fine without me. But I wouldn't have been there for the woman sobbing on the ground, mourning the loss of her relatives in the earthquake and the life she now has to lead as a consequence. I wouldn't have been able to speak to her in the words of the only language we both know, embrace and compassion. I wouldn't have been able to see the paintings of which the women drew depicting themselves: full of colors and flowers and vibrance and beauty. I wouldn't have had the priveledge of hearing the prayers of the women, requests for houses or children or husbands, and the few that stood out especially, vulnerable pleas to be freed from this business... one specifically crying out a desire with a weight neither a sentence nor a person should bear: "God, free me from this slavery."

Ahhh. We are so quick to make up our own idea of what ministry looks like, or wait for the exact situation, and miss everything that is right in front of us. This is something I've dealt with almost everywhere I go, especially places like Saint Louis where I somehow get the mindset that I can only really be doing something productive if I somehow manage to escape the city. But over and over again, (especially in this past year), I've really had to remind myself of a major theme: "If not now, when?" If I am not living the way I'd like to now, chances are, even in a new scenario, I won't be living that way then either, or worse, will never actually end up in that situation and will waste all the other opportunities I'm given by not even recognizing them as such.

More specifically to my time in Haiti, it reminds me that my "ministry" is not over when my work day is. Being faithful to what God's called me to do doesn't mean feeding an orphan anymore than it does being gracious to the cashier with the bad attitude or kind to the people I already interact with everyday. If I am not treating even my tent mates with grace and love, how can I truly administer it in other situations?

Well, as always, there's a bit more to this thought but I've gotta go so feel free to think up the subject yourself. ;)

Love!

The, "Surprise, I'm actually going to start updating this!" Post!

As a newsletter of some sort has been requested and I had a bit of down time, I thought that I may as well start updating this fella... so here we go!


We (as pictured above on a very lovely day often referred to as Easter) are stationed at the YWAM base in Saint Marc, about an hour and a half drive from Port-Au-Prince, home to tons and tons of internally displaced earthquake victims, a lot of goats, pigs, cow like creatures, malnourished but joyful children, zombie dogs, and now a bunch of crazy volunteers from all over the world.

Our team has been spending our time by alternating weeks working on/around (ish) the base, and living in and discipling a tent community of displaced Port-Au-Prince victims outside of a Medical Clinic (which, pre 3 months ago, was used as a public bathroom for the past 10 years... Mmm, home, sweet home!).

The tent community is often exhausting, but always awesome. Along with just hanging out with the people there, we have various teachings most nights which are open to anyone in the surrounding area, many times ending with some legit prayer times and/or an intense showcasing of local talent in the form of dance or rap off's, which usually attracts an all ages crowd of between 100-200 people. Our first week there we were in charge of finding out as much about the people living in the tents as possible and creating case files for each tent: their stories, skills, needs, desires, etc. Combining this information with everything else we could gather about the community, we have been working to create sustainable jobs for the families - ones that can get them going on enterprises that will last far beyond our time here.

Monday we held the first "Community Meeting," Wednesday started a basket weaving class, Friday the pregnant women in the community were employed to do laundry, and tomorrow we're holding a class on just basic business skills and how to use the resources they have to make money, etc. Already the people have gone from milling about, bored, aimless, tired and ready to argue, to smiling and joking and seeming like they have a sense of purpose. It's AWESOME, and it's just the beginning!

As far as base work, welll, I thought it would mean doing a lot of menial jobs such as washing dishes or cleaning bathrooms, but turns out it's awesome! (not that toilet scrubbing isn't....) There are so many important things YWAM Haiti does, and most of them are held on base. The YWAM base has multiple uses: in addition to running a DTS and various other ministries, it houses a school, a church, a distribution center, and tons of trailers etc. which are used to store and sort food, clothing, medical supplies and other essential needs for the Haitians. YWAM is responsible for feeding about 10,000 people a day, so a lot of time was spent just moving mass amounts of beans, rice, salt, and vegetable oil from containers to trucks for food distribution

(110 lb bags...I'm going to be buff! okay, well, I couldnt actually carry those by myself, but still! whew!), organzing the medical depot, cleaning up the streets, ministering to people at the medical clinic, working de-rusting and working with the concreters for the MEGA TENT they are setting up in the back lot to run food distribution and/or a youth center/whatever they want to use it for and then spending the afternoon hosting a gathering from the local brothels. It has been so sweet - no matter how trying the physical labor is, even if my hands stop working, I still have the energy and the motivation to keep going.
And it's not just the big stuff, it's even in the smaller things when I'm just out of my element i.e. Leanne and I ended up heading up a soccer game for the prostitutes - I suck at soccer/any sport that's not rock, paper, scissors,which isn't actually a sport, and I'm not actually that good at it. But the whole time I was just full of energy and we just had a blast! Afterwards I brought out my nail polish, wanting to paint their nails -and they ended up giving all the blancs (white people) full out manicures! (For the record, the experience itself was a lot less awkward then my face seems to be declaring it was, haha) It's really difficult to out give here... Everyone is so generous even with the little they do have!

Anyway, there's so much more to say, and so much more being done (i.e. I just got back from preaching at the Church Service of a Pastor friend of ours. What the heck!? An American who avoids public speaking at all costs, behind a pulpit in Haiti speaking to 150+ people who I could never even hope to communicate to in my own language!? Whoaaa, what a privilege, and how amazing it is to see God using the weaknesses of the Unlikely to spread His hope!), but I just wanted to lay out the basic gist of life here, so that next post I can just jump in to one of the many awesome things that are going down rather than detail you to death with background information. ;p Hope all's well in whatever land you're reading this from (is it?? I want to know!), and that you know someone in Haiti is thinking of you!
Love, Your Zanmi (friend) Sara

I'm in Haiti!

Well, I hadn't really planned on updating this, but as I have internet for the moment and many have asked about a newsletter of some sort, I figured that I could spend this down time giving a brief(ish..) update. So here we go!

We (as pictured above on a very lovely day often referred to as Easter) are stationed at the YWAM base in Saint Marc, about an hour and a half drive from Port-Au-Prince, home to tons and tons of internally displaced earthquake victims, a lot of goats, pigs, cow like creatures, zombie dogs, and now a bunch of crazy volunteers from all over the world.

Our team has been spending our time by alternating weeks working on/around (ish) the base, and living in and discipling a tent community of displaced Port-Au-Prince victims outside of a Medical Clinic (which, pre 3 months ago, was used as a public bathroom for the past 10 years... Mmm, home, sweet home!).

The tent community is often exhausting, but always awesome. Along with just hanging out with the people there, we have various teachings most nights which are open to anyone in the surrounding area, many times ending with some legit prayer times and/or an intense showcasing of local talent in the form of dance or rap off's, which usually attracts an all ages crowd of between 100-200 people. Our first week there we were in charge of finding out as much about the people living in the tents as possible and creating case files for each tent: their stories, skills, needs, desires, etc. Combining this information with everything else we could gather about the community, we have been working to create sustainable jobs for the families - ones that can get them going on enterprises that will last far beyond our time

here.
Monday we held the very first "Community Meeting," which will act as a 'town hall and Wednesday started a basket weaving class, Friday the pregnant women in the community were employed to do laundry, and tomorrow we're holding a class on just basic business skills and how to use the resources they have to make money, etc. Already the people have gone from milling about, bored, aimless, tired and ready to argue, to smiling and joking and seeming like they have a sense of purpose. It's AWESOME, and it's just the beginning!

As far as base work, welll, I thought it would mean doing a lot of menial jobs such as washing dishes or cleaning bathrooms, but turns out it's awesome! (not that toi

let scrubbing isn't....) There are so many important things YWAM Haiti does, and most of them are held on base. The YWAM base has multiple uses: in addition to running a DTS and various other ministries, it houses a school, a church, a distribution center, and tons of trailers etc. which are used to store and sort food, clothing, medical supplies and other essential needs for the Haitians. YWAM is responsible for feeding about 10,000 people a day, so a lot of time was spent just moving mass amounts of beans, rice, salt, and vegetable oil from containers to trucks for food distribution

(110 lb bags...I'm going to be buff! okay, well, I couldnt actually carry those by myself, but still! whew!), organzing the medical depot, cleaning up the streets, ministering to people at the medical clinic, working de-rusting and working with the concreters for the MEGA TENT they are setting up in the back lot to run food di

stribution and/or a youth center/whatever they want to use it for and then spending the afternoon hosting a gathering from the local brothels. It has been so sweet - no matter how trying the physical labor is, even if my hands stop working, I still have the energy and the motivation to keep going - even when I'm out of my element

Even in smaller things, i.e. Leanne and I ended up heading up a soccer game for the prostitutes - I suck at soccer/any sport that's not rock, paper, scissors,which isn't actually a sport, and I'm not actually that good at it. BUT... I never got tired, and we had so much fun out there!

Afterwards I brought out my nail polish, wanting to paint their nails -and they ended up giving all the blancs (white people) full out manicures! (For the record, the experience itself was a lot less awkward then my face seems to be declaring it was, haha) It's really difficult to out give here... Everyone is so generous even with the little they do have or are able to do!

Anyway, there's so much more to say, and so much more being done (i.e. I just got back from preaching at the Church Service of a Pastor friend of ours. What the heck!? An American who avoids public speaking at all costs, behind a pulpit in a Haiti speaking to 150+ people who I could never even hope to communicate to in my own language!? Woaah, what a privilege, and how amazing it is to see God using the weaknesses of the Unlikely to spread His hope!), but I just wanted to lay out the basic gist of life here, so that next post I can just jump in to one of the many awesome things that are going down rather than detail you to death with background information. ;p

Hope all's well in whatever land you're reading this from (is it?? I want to know!), and that you know someone in Haiti is thinking of you!

Love, Your Zanmi (friend) Sara