My Not So Wordless Wednesday
January 23, 2008 by Karen Weideman
Filed under wordless wednesday
I shared with you all that my husband recently returned from a missions trip. He went to Haiti. I’ve been told that Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Here are just a few of the pictures that he took.
See all that trash in the water? These are canals they have. I’ve been told that some people use these for their drinking water. Clean drinking water is a big problem in Haiti. Some children have to walk miles each day to get water for their families. The group my husband was with took a check with them to help drill another well.
As you can see, there are no paved roads or streets. No grass. There are vendors up and down the way, trying to sell things to support their families.
There is trash everywhere in Haiti. They have no garbage collection service, so people just throw their trash down on the ground.
The land has been stripped and burned. They burn the trees to make charcoal so they can sell it. As you can imagine, this causes problems with quality of life too.
When you see a picture like this one, you wonder how it could have come from the same place as the other pictures.
We have several hundred pictures from his trip, but I tried to pick out a few that would summarize what conditions are like over there. If you feel led, I hope you will consider sponsoring a child from Compassion International. We are so blessed to live in nice houses and have clean drinking water.
I lived in Haiti as a missionary for two years. I actually met my hubby there! He was a missionary for a different mission. Hubby served as a manager of the Baptist Haiti Mission craft store/restaurant (worked with Haitian artists to better their crafts) and I worked with sponsorship as well as was the American contact person/tour guide for mission groups that came through. We miss it a LOT!
And from personal experience, Compassion Int’l is doing MUCH good in Haiti. I’ve seen villages transformed because of financial supporters — malnutrition lessened, more children survive, etc.
Praise God your hubby made it there and back safely. We haven’t been since 2002, but plan to return as soon as we can for a short term trip.
Hello Kelly,
Thank you for sharing the Haiti pictures and comments. My husband and I have gone on several Mexico missions trips and would love to be a part of another when the Lord allows.
I would like to introduce myself. I am a new WAHM and am excited to begin networking with moms and grandmothers who are juggling the many roles they have in life just as I am. I had a 15 year career as an accountant for a publicly traded company and I missed out on so many of the precious moments in the lives of my boys. In August of ’07 I finally took the step of faith and left my full-time employment so that I could have the time, energy, and flexibility to focus on the needs of my tween (age 12) and 1st grader (age 6).
I have built a website which focuses on the essentials of family living, hence the name ~ http://www.essentialfamilyliving.com and http://essentialfamilyliving.blogspot.com/. One of my favorite topics of discussion is Family Fun Night and I have dedicated much of my blog space to this subject.
I would love for you to view my site and blog then comment with any suggestions, advice, or encouragement. Thank you for the consideration.
Blessing on your day!
I am sorry… it was actually Karen who wrote today’s blog.
I was wondering where the writers of this blog live? It’s got to be somewhere near me (Little River, SC)
My hubby already wants to go back to Haiti. There is a medical team that will be going there soon.
I’ve seen several hundred pictures from Haiti and some videos. The best way I can describe it is this: Remember on Lion King when Scar took over the pride land and it just looked like a dead area? That’s what Haiti reminds me of. So sad.
Kelly: How did you live without electricity? My hubby said some of the houses had generators, but some of the wires run to the houses were hot wires and you didn’t dare touch them. He said one village had 200 people living in about 2000 square feet. I can’t imagine!
Merissa: I live in NC.
Hmmm….living without electricity, how do I begin describing that??? : )
Well, a lot of my admin. responsibilities were dependent upon the computer when I lived in Port-au-Prince (when I was still single, I worked for a Haitian run mission in the capital & was the only American). I would leave my light on in my room at night so if the power came on, it would wake me up and I could work. (We didn’t have a generator at the house.) The strain on the electricity during the day downtown kept it going out often (I even saw dead people on the street b/c they were trying to steal electricity).
One time we went 6 days with no electricity and no phones! You learn to just live. . . . trying to sleep in the unbearable heat with no ac and no fan was the most difficult. I prayed MANY nights that God would help me fall asleep for just 10 min! Other than that, you don’t need electricity for much b/c we ate fresh food off the streets (sometimes I met my dinner tied up in the carport — a goat, usually). We had gas stoves for cooking. We drank fresh juices, etc.
When I was married, hubby & I lived at a mission in Fermathe in the mountains. The temps were much more bearable there most of the year. The hospital had to run on a generator for 12 hours a day, so we were guaranteed electricity from 6am – 6pm. When they had surgeries at night, we were blessed with electricity longer into the night. I learned to cook by candlelight. Our water pump for the toilet was electric, though, so we couldn’t flush from 6pm – 6am. That makes life interesting! And we were supposed to conserve water b/c we had cisterns there.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak!
I just have to add that life in Haiti is different everywhere you go. Believe it or not, there are places where rich people live and live comfortably. Now, when they leave their mansions, they encounter the dirt & grime of the city, but they do live in luxury with their huge generators, clean water systems, satellite TV, etc. BUT, there are so few people living that way. AND, those people fear being kidnapped for ransom.
Ok, I’d better stop rambling now! Sorry! (It’s late and I can’t sleep. . . . )
Nice post! Did you know that Compassion is taking a group of bloggers to Africa to see their work in Uganda? Please pray that 500 children will find sponsors as a result of their trip. Follow along on their trip at http://www.compassion.com/share/uganda-blog.htm.
Tom,
No, I hadn’t heard. Thanks for the link.
KellyBStampin: Thanks for all the info about Haiti. I don’t doubt that life is hard everywhere you go. Everything looks so grey and horrible!
I heard that Haiti was founded by the French and that they had slaves that they treated horribly. The slaves organized a revolt and the leader of the revolt promised the land to the devil if they succeeded. Is this something you’ve heard too? It’s a no wonder their land and way of life is so horrible.
Yes, it’s true that Haiti was founded originally by French, but their slaves revolted and the country became the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere.
As far as I know, Haiti was dedicated to Satan by Aristide (can’t remember exactly what date — maybe 15 years ago?). He was the president who was ousted and then put back in power. I hadn’t heard that it was dedicated to Satan at the beginning (1700’s?). Aristide was originally a Catholic priest, but make no mistake, he was not a “true” priest — he also practiced Voodoo.
Voodoo has an interesting story — it is the combination of Catholicism and either black or white magic.
When we were there in 2000, Aristide was voted back in as president and it got pretty dangerous. (Hubby & I had to come up with a plan to get out in case things got too bad.)
In the 50s (I think), Haiti was a plush resort where famous people went to vacation! It used to be so beautiful.
It’s really an interesting study . . .
I had a machine gun pointed at my head by Aristide’s people before the elections. They were wearing their party t-shirts that said “Lavalas” (Avalanche!). Turned out they just wanted me to move my car out of their way. Pretty scary people, though!
KellyBStampin:
Sounds like dangerous territory. Is Aristide still in power?
My hubby has some pictures of the resort he stayed at. There is a big wall around the resort to keep the people out. It looks very nice around the property, but then the inside of the rooms look like Budget Hotels. There was also a large gazebo that went out into the ocean. They allowed about 5 vendors inside the hotel gates. Hubby bought some bracelets and a painting from them.
He also showed me pictures of people’s homes. It seems as though everyone there has a wall around their house with barbed wire or glass along the top to keep people out. I thought it was so strange.
No, Aristide’s out again. But I’m sure he’s still making trouble. Remember when troops went there a couple of years ago? And the UN is still there, too. (They were there when I was there, too.)
I’ve been to many of the resorts there with various mission groups. I wonder which one — can you say? I’ve been to Wahoo Bay, Xaragua, and Kaliko Beach. Those seem to be the most popular if you’re doing work near Port-au-Prince.
Sometimes people plant cactus around their homes for fencing, too (in the really poor areas). I remember the dumbest question I ever asked after I arrived was, “How does the cactus grow so straight?” haha!
I’ll have to ask my hubby. I’m not sure where he was.
You are right about Haiti being dedicated from the beginning to Satan. I had forgotten that story. Here’s an article: http://www.americandaily.com/article/95
It was Aristide who REdedicated the country, 200 years later, to Satan.
Thanks for the info Kelly. Very interesting and disturbing.