This was day four of working towards building a school in the rural village of Cascade Pichon, where my team and I traveled to for our Spring Break. We had ventured out of the large town of Port-Au-Prince, traveled a seven hour trek up some of the roughest and most bumpy roads of mountains, and finally arrived in the little rural village surrounded by beauty. Every morning we would wake up, walk out of our tents, and witness the amazing view of mountains and waterfalls. We were treated with an incredible Haitian breakfast (typically noodles, rice and beans, or chicken/goat) every morning before taking our trek to the top of the hill where the school was located.
Working on building this school we witnessed an amazing work ethic among the Haitians that put all of us to shame. We helped lay bricks, carry sand from the holes they were digging, shoveling and mixing the cement they would make, and carrying bricks to where they were needed. We witnessed the Haitians creating bricks out of all natural elements with the exception of bags of cement that they would add to the concoction. All throughout the week Genesis 1 flowed through my mind. We were witnessing humans participating in being the image of God, of co-creating with God to build His Kingdom here.
Everyday when we would leave the work site and get cleaned up, we would go out to play with the children. Of course we would play many games of futbol (Soccer in English) in which the Haitians would always beat us. Whenever we weren't playing futbol, we were teaching them how to play games with frisbees, teaching them to thumb wrestle, tickling them, or helping teach them English as they taught us Creole. There was one particular student who seemed to have an extra fascination with learning the English and Spanish of every word that he could think of. By the end of the week we learned that this intelligent boy had a purpose he was striving for: he wanted to be a translator one day. This boy instead of spending all his time playing games was finding ways to achieve his dreams...and he was only 12.
All of these kids-- Dyseon (Joshua in English), Bovina, Alex, Fresno, Deff, Kento, Maritha, CJ, and more-- have left a tremendous impact on me. I want to return to Cascade Pichon to learn what happens to them. I want them to be able to gain an education and go on to live out their dreams. Our translator, Bob, once told us "In America we work to make things perfect. In Haiti we work to make things possible." I want to make a good, well-rounded education possible for these children. Each one of these people are the future of Cascade Pichon and I pray for sustainability there and that they will develop into strong leaders.
Now I have been home for almost a week and it has been a hard transition. In Haiti life was one of simplicity and here immediately I am thrown back into the complexity and business of America. I had arrived home early on Monday morning and was immediately thrown into one of the busiest weeks of my semester. In Haiti I was making a difference that I could see. In Haiti I found purpose and excitement. But overall I miss that simplicity. I honestly miss not having a cell phone. I miss event time and focusing more on being relational.
My goal now for life is to take what I learned from Haiti and apply it here. I know this is not something that will happen overnight or something that I can do alone. I need God to be the one who sustains me. I need God to lead me and guide me. I cannot strive for this life of simplicity without God. It will take me time to change patterns and ways of thinking in my life, but I know I need to do it. I do not feel fully connected or that I have fully processed my trip right now. I do know, however, that I need to change this. I will change this with the help of God.
I was affirmed of a calling to work overseas one day long term while I was gone, but until then my prayer is that I will be able to learn to live simply and love others here in the States each and every day.
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