My Trip to Haiti

Goodness, yall. I don’t even know where to start with this one! I visited Haiti as a chaperone for my church’s high school mission trip in the beginning of July and had the most amazing trip. It was truly a life-changing experience, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to fully share it with you through a blog post. I’m going to try my hardest though!

My church, First Presbyterian Church of Lexington, has a long-standing partnership with CEUC, a primary school in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, through Alltech, who financially supports the school. We became connected with CEUC after the 2010 earthquake, and the relationship has grown in beautiful ways over the past eight years. We support the school in many ways financially and spiritually and our church has benefited from the relationship equally, if not even more than our Haitian friends. Our high school youth take a trip to visit the school every three years and this was my first trip to Haiti.

We flew into Cap Hatian on the north coast of Haiti and drove a little over an hour to Ouanaminthe, where the school is located. We spent the next few days visiting the school and spending a lot of time with the kids. On our first day we were greeted by songs from the kids dressed in their Sunday-best clothes, and signs on the school walls that said “You are welcome here” “Thank you for visiting again” and “This is your home”. A few young girls immediately latched onto me, and we became fast friends. They showed me around the school, proudly sharing their classrooms. They braided my hair and I introduced them to snapchat filters. They loved to steal my sunglasses and take photos on my phone. Over the next few days we played a lot of soccer, visited the homes of students and teachers, met with the parents of scholarship students whom our church support and did some painting and manual labor around the school. Sure, we painted some classrooms, but our church has learned that devoting time to building a relationship is much richer, and allows us to make a greater impact over time. A few things from our time in Ouanaminthe that will linger in my memories forever:

• We were invited to visit the homes of students. We walked from the school through the city into what Americans would refer to as slums, passing by tin-roofed shacks, streets lined with trash, and the smells you can imagine that accompany that. We were welcomed into a home smaller than the size of my bedroom of a sweet woman with twin babies laying on a mattress on the floor. We were able to communicate through the translation of one of the teachers and learned that seven people lived there. The family was so gracious, inviting us to hold the young babies.
• The next day, some of the parents of scholarship students visited the school to meet with us. They shared their stories, and mostly how incredibly grateful they were that their children were able to attend school because of the scholarships. There was literally not a dry eye in the group, and I could recount so many of their stories for you, but the one that stuck with me was of a father whose home our group visited the day before. He was not home when we visited and said that he got a call from his neighbor saying there were many “beautiful” people at his home and that must mean he was a very important person. He said he was so proud that we had visited his house. It struck me, because during the home visit I felt so humbled, but also somewhat intrusive, like we were there as spectators. But the people whose homes we were invited to considered it an honor to invite us into their homes. Later the school teachers unexpectedly invited us to their homes as well because they too wanted to host us.
• We played soccer several afternoons with all the kids. I did not plan on actually playing (not much of a sportsman over here) but rather watch from the sidelines. I ended up getting pulled in by some of the kids and had the best time!
• On our last night in Ouanaminthe the kids had prepared a performance for us including song, dance and presenting us with handmade friendship bracelets. They closed by saying they hoped we would come visit again.

After several days in Ouanaminthe, we had plans to visit Don Don, a remote village in the mountains where there is another school and coffee plantation also supported by Alltech. Our day didn’t go exactly as planned – the day we were traveling, the Hatian government raised gas prices by almost 50%. This resulted in protests across the country, which we ran into while on the way to Don Don. We were driving and got stuck between road blocks, making it unsafe to be on the road. Luckily, we happened to be right by the home of one of our Hatian hosts, who graciously took us in. We spent the day under a mango tree, reading, talking and playing soccer with the neighborhood kids. I never felt unsafe. All the while, our hosts were working furiously to ensure we were never in danger and to get us safely to our hotel that night, which they did. I won’t go into detail, because this one day was really not what our trip was about. It was certainly an interesting experience, and eye-opening to the issues of the Haitian government. I’m certainly not knowledgeable enough to make a statement on those issues, and will just say we saw a tiny glimpse of what real life is like in Haiti. A few things from this day that will linger in my memories forever:

• Our host’s wife hand-squeezed fresh mango juice for us. It was delicious and such a gracious example of hospitality.
• While we sat we were passed by children, chickens, pigs, cows and dogs. All of God’s kingdom!
• I was again pulled from the sidelines to play – this time volleyball, but with a soccer ball. It hurt my arms so bad, but the little girl was having such a great time I couldn’t stop!
• A neighbor came out and befriended us. He ended up offering to take us in if we weren’t able to get to a hotel that night. An American couple also ran by us who stopped to talk. They ran a medical center close by and also offered to take us in. So much hospitality.
• After a long, eventful day, we ended up at our hotel on a beach. I took my dirty shoes off and walked through the sand to the ocean – it was a surreal moment of experiencing such parallels after driving by the scene of some of the protests. 

Because of the political unrest, we were told to “shelter in place” by the US Embassy, meaning that our plans for the last few days of the trip were cut short. Before you start feeling sorry for us, we got to shelter at a hotel on the beach. We spent two days in relaxing in the water, resting and reflecting on our trip. It was great fellowship time and truly beautiful.

Ugh, it was so good guys. Overall, I was so touched by the joy and gratitude of the kids. It just puts things in perspective. Roughly 60% of Haitians live on less than $2 a day. The cost to attend the school we support is $80 a year. $80. I spend $80 on a pair of shoes without much thought. It’s sickening when you really think about it. This trip has made me think about a lot of things in my life and I hope will leave a lasting impression on my decision making – a few things I hope to share with you soon! I made the commitment to sponsor a high school student in need and if any of you should feel moved to support our friends in Haiti, please feel free to reach out and I’d love to help connect you 🙂

Biscuits & blessings,

Leels