Haiti

I have one complaint about my trip to Haiti: we had to leave so soon. I took a History of Hispaniola course during my semester in the Dominican last year and found the culture, history, and language of Haiti fascinating. I got to work in two Haitian bateys and fell in love with the people. In my Public Health class, we read Mountains Beyond Mountains, which is now my favorite book. I figured it was time I experience the other half of my favorite island. Like many people, my conception of Haiti before I came here was largely shaped by pictures and news footage of Port au Prince- tent cities, impoverishment, trash littering crowded streets, malnourishment, etc. While many of these images came to life this week, this narrow minded perspective does not represent Haiti. Haiti is beautiful. Since we worked in a remote, rural community, we saw a great deal of the country en route to our site. The views of mountains, valleys, beaches, and tropical foliage matched with warm weather was paradise- a word I had never associated with Haiti before now. The people we met this week reflect this beauty. I think that often times, God feels sad when he looks down at Yvon, because he is forced to see children go another day without water, not attend school because they went to bed with no food, families losing loved ones to preventable diseases, young adults leaving their community in search of opportunity in the cities. I think that his heart felt very full this week when he looked down on Yvon. He got to see kids getting to be kids- playing soccer and baseball, blowing bubbles, coloring, doing puzzles, and singing Bible songs. He watched elderly women work alongside men in the trenches, helping to build their new church. He saw friendship and laughter being communicated between strangers with no common language. It was the picture of community, perfected by communion in Christ. The insight, generosity, respect, and love that has been shown to us by the UMVIM staff, Pastor Maud and her household (our hosts), and the families of Yvon has been overwhelming. Our three translators, Carine, Joseph, and Angie were three of the most wise and humble people I have ever met, and since we shared a common language, much of our perspective on Haiti was shaped by their words and outlooks. They are wonderful people who represent their nation proudly, and I am so thankful that they were willing to share personal stories about life in Haiti to give us a better picture of the country's past and present. Finally, this experience would not be what it was without the contribution of each of our team members. My favorite people are low maintenance and funny. I got to live with nine people who meet that exact description this past week. Each of us brought unique gifts, and watching everyone use those different gifts in service together was inspiring. I would like to give a shout out to my mom, who was one of the leaders. She did a phenomenal job taking care of logistics, our team, and the locals in Yvon. Everyone loved her and I have never seen her so in her element- I was very proud to be her daughter! Check out this awesome video Jeremy put together of our trip! http://vimeo.com/61570507 In other good news, I passed my Florida Teacher Certification Exams yesterday! One step closer to Teach for America Jacksonville...! Now that my two day studying binge is over, I am leaving for a three day adventure in West VA with two of my sweet roommates. Spring Break is treating me very well.