The last day

We have been blessed with a day of smooth sailing today—no real problems to speak of. As I write, at 9:40 p.m. using in-flight wifi, we are on the last leg of our journey, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Detroit.

This morning we arose leisurely; some of us up early, and some opting to sleep in a bit more today. At 9:30 we enjoyed a meal Mary Jane had prepared for us so we wouldn't have to try to eat at the airport, and this meal featured "Haitian pizza" — a very good creation with lots of vegetables as toppings. Then we made our way down to the church, where the van was packed, with our driver Felix, and said emotional goodbye to the children who were surrounding us with smiles, shy waves, and lots of high fives and fist bumps.

We took a group photo (enlisting the assistance of a Haitian man so that we could all get in the picture) in the bright sunshine that had it well up into the eighties at 10 a.m., and joined hands in a circle to pray, and then said our difficult farewells to Mary Jane and Andris. By 10:20 we were beginning to roll ... very slowly for the first few bumpy miles down the hill to the city, and then with increasing speed and good progress. We arrived at the airport a bit before noon, in plenty of time for our 3:30 flight, even with the need to go through the departure protocol of customs. We got down to our gate with plenty of time, and sat down to wait.

Soon we were boarding our plane, and then beginning to roll towards a smooth and timely takeoff. The flight to Atlanta was flawless, and we managed to get through the airport there (including incoming customs) and most of us found time for a stop at the food court, too. Then it was time to board our connecting flight to Detroit, which was delayed slightly beyond the original schedule.

Somehow, two members of our party—Eric and Mari Veenstra—got onto a different flight than the rest of us. They should be following not too far behind, however.

We come back with gratitude for the hospitality of our Haitian hosts, rejoicing in the glory of God as we have been privileged to see it in a foreign land, and thankful that we could play a part this week in serving Him. As J.S. Bach signed his compositions, Soli Deo gloria—to God alone be the glory!

Wednesday night

We have had a good day here, on our last full day in Haiti. It has been hot, though—the consensus seems to be that it has felt like the hottest day we've had here.

This morning after Chapel and Flag, the guys went to the roof site, while the girls went to do activities with the kids. First, however, they joined them in recess, where Emily had a blast with them jumping rope.

Marissa and Katie did yoga with them outdoors, as shown in the following photos (notice yoga master Mark, squatting at the left in the first picture), and Mari did origami in the classroom.

We had what Mary Jane called a "typical Haitian lunch"—vegetables over rice, and were also given the opportunity to drink the water/milk from fresh coconuts. Opinions were mixed about the desirability of that experience.

After lunch, everyone went down to check out the offerings of a man who came around to sell souvenirs, down by the church. Then at 2:00, gifts were distributed to the children from their sponsors.

The work on Jake's roof site went well today, with all the tin sheeting going on by early evening. However, as Tom noted, this never would have happened without the assistance of Megen, the welding teacher at the school, and Jonel. Mark noted the steady pace at which the Haitians work—never fast, he said, but they just keep going all day. The pictures here show Megen beginning to hammer the first sheet of tin into place this morning; Mary Jane and Jake observing the progress of the work in the afternoon; some creative engineering to allow for a large tree that extended through the edge of the roof; and an evening view just as the work was finishing up.

Before dinner, we gathered on the front steps for a group photo. With the sunlight quickly fading, it is not a very high-quality photo, but across the back from left to right are Jake, Tom, Sveta (part of the mission who has become a good friend of ours this week), Matt, Eric, and Allen; across the front from left to right are Katie, Marissa, Mari, and Emily. Mark, sadly, was absent, behind the lens of his camera.

Tonight we had a nice dinner of tuna salad sandwiches, Haitian potato salad, freshly made sweet potato pudding, and Haitian candy (a sort of chocolate/caramel mix over coconut).

Tomorrow will be a short day here at the mission. I heard Mark say something about us leaving for the airport at 10:00, even though our flight isn't until around 3:30—this will leave us plenty of time for unexpected travel delays on the way to the airport, as well as time to navigate customs.

Tuesday night

It is now 7:25, and we have been sitting around conversing as darkness as descended, but they just fired up the generator a couple of minutes ago, so we get catapulted back into the twenty-first century.

Late this afternoon and into early evening, Mary Jane led us through a lengthy and richly textured Easter Bible study. It was meaningful to hear people reveal their thought processes in their comments and opinions.

One more full day ahead of us, and then Thursday we'll finish up and our flight leaves at 3:25. So, I hope we'll all get good rest tonight to prepare for the final push.

Tuesday afternoon

We've been working at a variety of tasks in different settings this afternoon. I feel mildly guilty, having gotten by rather comfortably, sitting inside and doing data entry for the spreadsheet Mark wants me to create (height, weight, waist, and shoe size for several hundred children) while others are toiling in the heat.

Specifically, Jake and Tom are making good progress on the roof. Now that all the trusses are in place, they are putting on the pieces of lumber that cross the trusses, and to which the tin sheeting will be attached starting tomorrow. When I asked what these cross pieces are called, I was told "lats or slats—I'm not really sure which we're calling them." Anyway, here is a picture showing Tom up on the ladder, and Jake overseeing the process to be sure his dad does it right.

Haitian grace

I'm finding it to be a very great blessing when we join hands in a circle and say grace before each meal. We rotate the duty of praying, and even the mute guy has been given a turn, as the team has gotten pretty good (of necessity) at deciphering what often seems like an unintelligible jumble of unarticulated sound.

Tuesday morning

This morning, we enjoyed an early heavenly breakfast of grapefruit juice, eggs cooked "to order" by Mark (though everyone seemed to want scrambled), fresh baked banana muffins, and slices of fresh mango. Oh, my! I had never had mango before, but this certainly won't be the last time - though Mary Jane warned us that it's impossible to find them in the states that are as good as those down here.

Then we filed down for chapel. I love hearing the children sing, with such enthusiasm, and actually a surprising amount of musical sophistication. I said that my wife, Michelle, is an elementary music teacher, and I sure wish she could hear their singing!

After chapel was Flag ceremony again, and then Mark set up his photography area again, to bring the children through. Today, more helpers were enlisted to record the data, in order to make the process flow a little better. In the photos below, Jake is measuring heights while Tom is measuring weights; then, Katie, Matt, Mari, and Eric are all lined up and ready to go into action, as Mark awaits the day's first student with his camera.

After spending a short time observing the photography, I came up to the guesthouse to input data and begin creating the spreadsheet that Mark asked me for. That process went smoothly; with Mary Jane in and out, I was able to visit with her, and when she was gone I listened to music—the appropriate song "This Good Day" by Fernando Ortega, set on repeat.

This good day, it is a gift from you.
The world is spinning in its place because You made it to.
I lift my voice to sing a song of praise on this good day.

Now the guys have gone down to work on the roof—they had come up for a short break after today's photography was finished.

Monday night

We had a very quiet, low-key late afternoon and early evening today, with people looking for work projects and ways to fill the time. After a later-than-usual supper, now people are cleaning up and getting ready to wind down. And my heart is rejoicing because the Detroit Tigers won their Opening Day contest today!

Monday afternoon

This afternoon, the guys have been down at the roof building site, and the trusses have all been notched and put up on the frame, as shown in this picture.

But now they need to be marked at the peak, drilled so they can be bolted together, brought down, and cut on an angle, and the consensus was that for the next hour or so, "It's a two-man job," so Jake and Tom are working on it while Mark, Eric, Matt, and I have come up to the guesthouse to take a break.

Cross-cultural contact

When the kids were out at recess this morning, we were encouraged to interact with them, so I wandered over, and they were attracted to my laptop like moths to a flame. Then they'd hold out their hand to me, and ask, "What is your name?" I'd say, as best I could, slowly, AL-LEN. Then they'd howl with laughter and repeat it back, with exaggerated slowness, AL-LEN!

Monday morning

We decided to rise early today so that we could breakfast before taking in the 700 student chapel service down at the church. This was nearly all student led, and featured charming a cappella singing of several songs by the children. However, the message was given by an energetic young man in a tie and carrying a Bible—a future principal of the school in training.

After chapel was an outdoor ceremony called Flag. Mary Jane tells me it is similar to the Pledge of Allegiance, but they sing a different verse of a song for Haiti each day of the week. The children stand outdoors at attention for this brief ceremony. The first photo below shows this; the second shows our team watching them.

This morning, Mark is working on photographing the children. These photographs will be sent to the sponsors, as well as used for occasional other special purposes by Mary Jane. In the photo below, Sveta and Eric are visible behind Mark.

The Single men are working on the roof this morning. (Well, Jake and Matt are single; Tom, while not single, is Single.) I was with them for a while, but eventually decided to come back up to the guesthouse to blog for a bit while the wifi was available (because the generator is running to power the drill). It is not my first trip back up here this morning. and Mary Jane remarked, "You're making a lot of trips up that hill!" It's true that it's a fairly significant climb, and the several journeys we make up and down it each day provide us all with a good workout. The following picture shows a portion of this trail we're coming to know well.

Easter Sunday

We have had a good day, though I daresay our Easter Sunday worship (8:00) was different from what we Michiganders are used to. There was a relatively small turnout, as the children of the mission's school, who must attend church during the school year, are excused from it on holidays (we were told that attendance is similarly low on Christmas, unlike in the states). As the service began, Mary Jane distributed printed bulletins to us, which provided the song lyrics and the scripture readings (in Kreyol). She also translated the sermon Andris gave, sentence by sentence.

During church I was sitting beside Emily Gunderson, and drew a chuckle from her when I typed out, "Too bad you don't know Kreyol, or you could hop up there and jump in with their praise band!"

After the main service concluded, several of the portable pew benches were placed into a large U shape at the front of the sanctuary, and then roughly thirty of us participated in communion at 9:15 (as shown in this photo). Once again, Mary Jane translated into English both the words of institution, and the brief additional remarks Andris made. When communion was finished, we were told it is their tradition to greet others with a hug or a handshake, and a "God bless you!" In this we were happy to participate.

The predominant impression I came away with was joy over the universality of God, and the worship of His people everywhere, far beyond our little insular experience in the pews in Ann Arbor. This was a very great joy, as was the energetic singing of the young children, whose jubilation was abundantly clear.

After church some of us relaxed until lunch; however most of the men began a project. This week, as his Eagle Scout project, Jake Single is leading an effort to put a tin roof on a second grade classroom under construction. The Haitians had already erected a framework of sturdy metal pipes, roughly two inches in diameter, which were interconnected and braced, as well as had the construction materials pre-delivered. These pictures show, first, an initial survey of the site, and then Jake beginning to drill one of the attachment holes.

For Easter dinner today (and also Tom Single's 40th birthday dinner), we had a magnificent meal that the men returned to the roof building site, and others prepared for the children's Sunday School class at 3:00. I spent some time at the roof site and then returned to the guesthouse to blog about the day, since the generator had been turned on in order to provide power for the drill. But I wrote a lengthy and complex blog post, and was just ready to publish it to the blog, when the generator went out, eliminating the wifi, and wiping out my post. This was a great example of Mary Jane's frequent saying: "That's Haiti!"

More pictures from the afternoon roof session include Tom and Jake doing more attachment, and Mark doing some drilling.

After the 3:00 Sunday School class, there was a youth group meeting down at the church, which our team led in crafting pen toppers. Mary Jane offered me the opportunity to do one, but I told her, "I'll pass." I later added, though, "My wife Michelle would be all over this, as she loves crafting!" This picture shows Katie, Marissa, and Jake helping with the crafting. Although Mary Jane told me that the youth group continued students between 14 and 24 years old, clearly a couple of the observers in the picture are much younger than that.

 For dinner, we enjoyed leftovers from our grand midday feast, as well as a couple of pies (pumpkin and peach) that the girls/women had made in the cooking room after church. They also brought out a small sample of the peach, with birthday candles in it, while we sang to Tom.

As I write, it is 8:00 p.m., and we have enjoyed a most blessed Easter. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

POSTSCRIPT - We concluded with a devotional led by Mark, centered on the story of Jesus on the Emmaus road on Easter night (as told in Luke 24: 13-35).

Saturday evening

We had a lovely day today in Jacmel, about which Wikipedia says, "Jacmel is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census. The town's name is derived from its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel.

The buildings are historic and date from the early nineteenth century; the town has been tentatively accepted as a World Heritage site and UNESCO reports that it has sustained damage in the 2010 Haiti earthquake."

Upon arriving, we ordered our meal immediately, with the majority of us choosing seafood or fish dishes, and then enjoyed some swimming while the food was readied. Once it was prepared, we sat down to a delicious meal at this long table. Not totally visible in the large group picture were Mari, Katie, and Marissa, who were behind Mary Jane.

Before we left, Eric Veenstra helped me out by taking a picture of the blogger at work, since I had not been able to appear yet except for our first photo at Detroit Metro.

After our meal there, we left about 1:30, and arrived back at the mission about 4:00. The trip took longer than this morning's because we had a flat tire just as we were leaving the town of Jacmel. A young man on a motorcycle passed us and pointed it out to us—very fortunately, as it turns out, before we got up onto that dramatic Jacmel Road through the mountains. But Felix soon had the tire changed and we were on our way again. As we were leaving town, another notable incident occurred, again highlighting the crazy traffic. With the narrow road packed with both motor vehicles and motorcycles, as well as a heavy number of pedestrians, we suddenly came upon a little old man in a wheelchair, in our lane, but facing our way. He was propelling himself backwards down the road as quickly as possible, and after Felix tapped the horn to let him know we were coming, we eased around him and soon left him behind.

After we exited the Jacmel Road and were on level ground once again, another interesting incident occurred when we passed a big truck towing a trailer heavily loaded with agricultural products, and Mary Jane told us, "That's sugar cane—they'll make it into rum."

Since getting back we've sorted the checked supplies that we brought, and are now (5:15) relaxing with cards and such, getting ready for a simple dinner of hot dogs and Rice Krispie treats.

LATER: Before turning in, a few of us went "up to the roof"—a large flat area accessed by sturdy cement stairs with handrails, and affording a splendid 360° view of the surrounding hills, covered with dwellings, and, to the west, the Atlantic Ocean. The following pictures show Katie Abraham gazing out off the roof; Mark Gunderson enjoying his water bottle (not a liquor flask!); and the view of the ocean.

Jacmel

We are at the resort in Jacmel, which we reached by a nearly two and a half hour drive this morning (leaving the mission at 7:30 and arriving here just before 11:00), over the dramatic and sometimes disturbing Jacmel Road. Crossing the mountains, it is full of switchbacks and curves, and not overly wide, by any means—Mary Jane said it was built by American engineers back in the thirties or forties—and even though Mary Jane reassured us that our driver, Felix, is a very good driver, I was not convinced that the same could be said of all other drivers we saw. At one point, Mary Jane noted the several vehicles backed up behind us, but not long thereafter they beeped their horns in frustration and passed us, on mountain curves (!). In fact, at one point, there was a double pass, as a vehicle passed us, while a young man on a little motor scooter passed him.

When we could bear to look, though, the scenery was spectacular. As this picture shows, we saw clouds in the mountains.

Once we got here, swimming in the Atlantic was presented to us as an option, and though I was eager to update my blog, I decided I needed to get into the ocean first. The view below is from the upper area where we first arrived, with a significant drop along paths down to the "beach."

 I decided to get the ocean plunge done first, and so changed and made my way down to the cove. It was quite rocky, and, as I told Mary Jane, I grew up on a lake and was outdoors barefoot all day every day from June through August—but it's amazing what a half century and a couple of hundred pounds has done to my ability to walk barefoot on rocks! Anyway, I did get out into the water for a while, and was the first one to do so—after my brief encounter with the Atlantic, others followed me down there. Mary Jane went down with me, and kindly offered me her arm to help me across the rocks. Though the following picture looks fairly sedate, there were some fair waves crashing in once I waded out into the water, knocking me down a couple of times.

Anyway, the first thing we did when we arrived was to order our food, because Mary Jane said it takes them a couple of hours to prepare it. So now, we are all relaxing, resting from our time in the ocean, and awaiting our meal.

Saturday morning

We are beginning to stir—it is now 6:15, and there are only a couple of us out here in the dining area so far (myself and Tom), but everyone has been awakened, in anticipation of an early breakfast and a 7:00 departure for our fun day at Jacmel.

I wouldn't have thought this possible yesterday, but Mary Jane told us last night where there were some covers in case we needed one, and about 3 a.m. I had to make my way by flashlight over to retrieve a thin one, as it had cooled off considerably!

Friday night

An event I have been anticipating just recently occurred -- it is 7:30, and they've just fired up the generator, providing us with power so that I can recharge my battery (upon which I had been drawing heavily today), and also providing us with wifi so that I can post to this blog.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner of spaghetti, broccoli, and some delicious gluten-free oatmeal cookies that Mary Jane made. Then she gave us a tour around the school (which seems to feature primarily instruction in practical activities such as cooking, sewing, and computers, rather than 'academic' subjects). And then we enjoyed sitting out on the front steps, conversing, enjoying the cool breeze, and watching darkness descend over Haiti (which Mary Jane said means 'mountains' in Kreyol). This first picture shows Mary Jane, Katie, Marissa, and Mari doing just that, and then there is one of Mari and Eric doing the same.

Our trip to the mission from the airport this afternoon was interesting. Mary Jane said that it rained heavily last night, making the roads impossibly muddy and flushing out a great deal of trash, so that the roughly 25-mile drive from the mission to the airport took them about 3 hours. But reversing that this afternoon, we made it in about 50 minutes, with a man named Felix driving, after he had first climbed onto the roof of the van at the airport to load up and tie down our heavy checked baggage (supplies for the mission).

 

Tomorrow we are going to take a day to go to a recreational area (Jacmel), leaving quite early and making a good full day of it.

A Good Friday Morning

I am currently seated at our gate in the Atlanta airport (just past 9:00 a.m.), awaiting our 11:05 departure in leisurely fashion with lots of time to spare. Marianne and I left the hotel about 7:30 to catch the shuttle to the airport so she'd be in time to catch her flight to Colorado, and while riding it, I typed to her, "I'm still trying to figure out why you said we'd have plenty of time to go out for a long, unhurried breakfast." She said, with a perplexed look, "I can't understand that one either." But I suspect it had something to do with the fact that, whereas I popped out of bed happily just before 5:00, she struggled out about 6:30 and then told me, blearily, "I hate mornings."

Anyway, after getting dropped off by the shuttle, I made my way through security with only two minor incidents. First, TSA confiscated the sunblock Michelle had gotten for me: "TOO BIG." And then, when unloading my pockets to go through the detector, I inadvertently dropped (and didn't notice) the cord that connects my iPod to my computer. Heading blithely forward, I was halted by the voice of a woman who asked me, "Sir? Did you drop this?"

Anyway, on my way down to the gate I decided to sit down in the Sojourners Cafe and have something slightly more substantial than the banana and muffin I had before we left the hotel, and so feasted on a breakfast sandwich, yogurt, and OJ.

Partway

We are safely in Atlanta, having landed a bit ahead of schedule. The rest of the group separated from me at the airport tram, as I set off to find my sister Marianne, with whom I was in touch by text. I soon found her, and texted Mark to let him know that was the case, and we have shuttled to the hotel at which we are staying (because she lives an hour away, and with her flying to Colorado tomorrow morning, and me getting in so late tonight, she decided that it made no sense to leave the airport). So it's now a bit past 12:30 a.m. and I'm ready for a good (though short) night's sleep.

Here are some additional pictures that I got while we were waiting at the airport in Detroit. First is Katie Abraham and Marissa Brazeau. Then, Tom Single with his son Matt, followed by a shot of Tom with his son Jake. And finally there is Emily Gunderson, typically checking her phone.

Setting off

We are sitting at our gate at Detroit Metro Airport, having gotten driven here without incident in the church van by Mark Brazeau, following which Marie Brazeau got this picture of us at curbside. From left to right are me (Allen Borton), Katie Abraham, Marissa Brazeau, our team leader Mark Gunderson, Mark's daughter Emily, Eric and Mari Veenstra, and Jake, Matt, and Tom Single.

Our departure is schedule for 9:30, and it is now 8:15. so the team is just relaxing, sitting around conversing. As we are waiting, I have been snapping pictures of team members, including Mark Gunderson and Eric Veenstra.

Newsletter

Our team recently received a link to the newsletter of the mission we'll be working with in Haiti (Living Word Ministries):

http://livinghopehaiti.org/doc/2015-0203.pdf

Meanwhile, I think we are all excited about and looking forward to our departure tomorrow evening!