"And There Will Be Earthquakes in Various Places"

When the disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of his coming and of the end of the age (where was the lawyer who should have objected to that compound question!), Jesus responded in part by saying, "And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginning of sorrows." Mark 13:8. Flying into Port Au Prince in a puddle jumper enabled us to get a bird's eye view of the destruction from the January earthquake. It was a subtle reminder that this earthquake was the "beginning of sorrows."

On our first night aboard the ship, a man who spoke English asked me if the earthquake was God's judgment on Haiti. "No, I doubt that," I told the man, "but the Bible talks about there being earthquakes in various places in the end times. So I believe that this earthquake was probably God's wake up call to Haiti. So I suggest that you heed it." The man then translated my comments to a pastor.

I thought the man was a Christian, but I later learned that he was not a Christian, and that he had despised anyone who said that the earthquake was God's judgment upon Haiti.

At any rate, after a couple hours delay (a bird flew into the cockpit, so they were trying to get it out), we finally took off and landed back in Miami. We left behind true poverty, a natural disaster, extreme heat, and lots of mosquitoes, but gained a new found love for the people of Haiti. We hope to return again, preferably sooner rather than later, for we want to make a difference, even if for only one child.

I Need the Two Heaviest Guys Up Front

There is nothing quite like waking up at 5 a.m. to get ready for a flight is there? You know how it is, you quickly take a shower to wake up, grab a quick bite to eat (or do what I normally do: run to McDonald's to grab an Egg McMuffin), and then dash out the door, so that you get to the airport on time, so that you can clear security, etc. Well, things are a little different in Jeremie, Haiti. Yes, we still got up at 5 a.m., and, yes, we did dash (sort of) out the door, and we did have a half-hour drive to the airport. But when we got to the airport (actually it was a strip of grass with some gravel on it), there was no security to clear, there were no ticket agents, and you could actually bring liquids onto the plane! But one thing was missing at the airport: our plane! Before long, however, he showed up. And then he announced: "I need the two heaviest guys up front." I looked around and saw that I came in about third place, so I didn't get to sit all the way in the front. (The heaviest guy actually got to be co-pilot, so next time I think I might have to bulk up a little.) "And I need the two lightest people in the back." I haven't qualified for lightest person on the plane since I was in diapers, so I knew that I was going to be somewhere in the middle. So we all snuggled into the plane (all nine of us), and prayed without ceasing (sometimes more often) as we went down the runway and then out over the ocean. As one light after another flashed and beeped, the pilot commented that we probably had too much weight on board (what did he think with a bunch of Americans!), but we should be fine. About 45 minutes later (or 11 hours and 15 minutes faster than the ship), we arrived in Port Au Prince to await our next flight. We didn't get any frequent flyer miles, nor was there in-flight service, but we had a beautiful view of Haiti on the way. And we all got window seats. And, hey, those window seat were also aisle seats, so top that, Southwest Airlines!

Read All About It!

After walking around picking up trash for a couple hours, I decided to join the paint crew at the local library, for I have painted a lot in my day. In short, the group was painting the library inside and out. So I grabbed a brush and a bucket of paint and started painting the building. Before long, however, I had a young boy who wanted to help me paint. Initially, I was thinking, "This kid is going to get paint all over the place," but then I warmed up to the idea, so I gave him a brush and showed him how to paint. He then began to enthusiastically paint the library. A few minutes later, another young boy showed up looking to join the painting crew. As such, I got him a brush and showed him what to do. And, before long, another young boy joined us, so I showed him the ropes, and let him paint. After awhile, I went from painter to painting supervisor, as these young men began to paint the building. While they were a bit messy, it was a beautiful sight. For they had taken ownership of the project, and they could tangibly see the difference that they made.

Forget Texas, Don't Mess with Jeremie

The State of Texas's Department of Transporation wanted to stir the public's awareness of its trash problem, as such, it created the slogan, "Don't Mess with Texas." If you have ever passed through the State of Texas, then you know that you can get anything and everything with that slogan pasted on it.

Well, on our last full day in Jeremie, we decided to join the team that had been out in the streets picking up trash. On the first day that the team picked up trash, they had a crowd of many hundreds following them around. Jeremie, you see, has very few trash cans, so everyone throws their trash all over the place. So when the trash team started picking it up, it was instantly noticeable. On the day that we went, we had people expressing gratitude for what we had done for their city. One vendor in the park even had a bag of trash waiting for me when we came through the park to pick up the trash again. Can you change a mindset in a week? I don't know, but it was obvious that such a small thing as picking up trash can have a positive impact upon an entire city. So "Don't Mess with Jeremie!"

Plugged In?

One of the things that I love about a short-term mission trip is when God speaks to your heart. As much as you would love to be able to "make it happen," God just has His timing and His way about things. So as Susan, Tyler, and I were sitting there one morning for a devotional teaching, the Lord really spoke to our hearts as George used an example of a fan. Briefly, he said that a fan is absolutely no good unless it is plugged into a power source. So, too, we can look great on the outside, but be utterly worthless unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Is your life lacking power? Could it be that you have yet to be filled with the Holy Spirit? When the early church leaders heard of a situation where some new Christians had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit, they sent the apostles John and Peter to pray for them to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Put simply, if anyone knew what life was like before and after receiving the Holy Spirit, then it was these two. Before receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter denied Jesus. After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up and preached and 3,000 people believed. Are you like an unplugged fan? If so, then follow Luke 11:3's direction: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Being filled with the Holy Spirit isn't about getting some chill up your spine, rather, it is about being filled with His love, so that you love like He does. Nothing matters anymore when the love of God touches you. When you ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you are asking Him to fill you with His agenda, purpose, and heart. Put simply, you lose yourself in the transaction. Is it worth it? Jesus said that "he who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel's sake will find it."

Hot as Haitis

"Come on, Daddy," said Tyler as it began to lightly rain, "let's go out into the rain." Although I was as hot as Haitis, I really wasn't in the mood to get wet, but I decided to go anyway with Tyler, for it was only sprinkling at the moment, and I could tell that it sounded like fun to him. So out into the rain we went on our balcony, for we had returned home from our day at the orphanage. And before long it began to pour . . . and then torrential rain came down . . . and Tyler and I just soaked it up. And before long, Susan joined us, and then our friend, Josiah, came out with a bar of soap and we began taking a shower. For, you see, in Haiti, you cannot take a normal shower, for water is so precious. So when the rain started coming down in buckets, we started to fully enjoy our first "real" shower. And, oh, how wonderful it was to cool down. God is so good; open your eyes and see His goodness, for it is all around you.

They Are Filthy Rich By Comparison

During our stay in Haiti, we visited four different orphanages. On one occasion, we visited an orphanage next to the sea. The buildings were in terrible shape, and, quite frankly, it should have been condemned. What is worse, during our six-hour stay, the children never were given any food or water. One of the nurses commented that the children had bloated stomachs, which was a sign of starvation. Yet as bad off as these orphans were, there were children living below them in a blighted area. In fact, Tyler accurately commented that the orphans were "filthy rich by comparison" to the kids who lived below them. As you can see from the photo, the children had no shoes, some had no shirts, and some had shirts that wouldn't be used as a rag in America. So it came as no surprise when the kids from the area below the orphanage delighted in our company and joined us for fun and fellowship. I only wish that we could have fed and clothed them all.

Pure Religion

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble . . ." James 1:27. There is nothing quite like visiting an orphanage to touch your heart. If you have never done it, then let me wholeheartedly encourage you to do it soon. But let me caution you: there is a good chance that you instantly will fall in love with a child. Susan fell particularly in love with this little girl. And as Susan and the rest of the group were leaving, the little girl had to be pried away from her, for she had fallen in love with Susan. In fact, after showing her this photo, the little girl pointed to Susan's picture and said, "Mom." It broke Susan's heart.

Seven Beatitudes of a Missionary

Since we joined the group from Impact 195 for this trip, we had the good fortune of listening in on some wonderful Bible studies. One of my favorite Bible studies that we did on the trip was a study entitled the "Seven Beatitudes of a Missionary." So what are they? 1) be patient; 2) be thankful; 3) be joyful; 4) be flexible; 5) be focused; 6) be strong; and 7) be a servant to all. Simply put, if you want to be a good missionary, then do these seven things. You'll have very little competition, but great rewards.

Strangest Thing I Have Ever Eaten?

As most people know, I really don't like to eat many strange things. So when we sat down to eat our first dinner in Haiti, I didn't want to ask what kind of meat it was that was being served, for it didn't really look like beef, or chicken, or even lamb, yet I wanted to try it, for I was hungry. So what was it? What was that tasty food? (It actually was tasty.) It was none other than goat spine. It was so tasty that I actually ate it two nights in a row until I found out that Haitians don't refrigerate their meat. But at least I now have eaten something strange.

"If it Rains, Then They Get Wet."

Outside of our cabin, the locals simply slept on the open deck of the ship with their luggage. It was a large ship, and reminded me of an aircraft carrier, for it was long and flat. Most of the people on board had come to Port Au Prince earlier in the week to buy food, water, and other supplies to bring to Jeremie. The ship sails between the two cities twice a week.

When we set sail, the weather looked a bit ominous, so I asked someone what the people do if it rains. The answer was short and to-the-point: "If it rains, then they get wet. It is just part of life for them." And, sure enough, before long, it began to rain. As we stood on the upper most deck (only rich people were allowed up there), we watched them scramble to cover their goods with tarps, and I felt bad for them. Something like that is just not right. So Susan asked if she should get the three tarps that we had brought to give it to someone in need. My response surprised me, for I said, "What good would three tarps do?" My statement reminded me of the disciples' statement when they said, "Here are three fish, and a few loves of bread, but what good are they?" Put simply, I was caught off guard by my lack of faith.

"Blancs! Blancs!"

After waiting several hours for George and his uncle to run a few errands before we boarded the ship, we finally made our way to the dock, which was about three to five miles away from the cafe. Our driver, who obviously must be in the New York City Cabbie Hall of Fame, was more than pleased that Port Au Prince currently had no traffic laws. How bad was his driving? An armed UN soldier motioned for him to slow down. Did he? Or course not. He just kept honking, swerving, honking, and passing everybody and anybody.

On the way to the dock, there was rubble from the earthquake all over town. Many of the Haitians' home were made of cinder block and were poorly constructed, as such, when the earthquake hit, their homes simply fell down. But the saddest part of the whole thing was that rather than move to a new location, the people who lived through the earthquake (230,000 died), chose to live in the rubble pile. So there they sat, on top of their former homes, with absolutely nothing to do.

But then in the midst of the rubble piles I saw something unbelievable. If we had not been driving at the speed of light, then I would have taken a picture of it. At first, I didn't believe my eyes. Right smack dab in the middle of all the rubble was a building that stood intact. It was no bigger than a telephone booth, but it was standing. And it was open for business. What type of business was it? Lotto. That's right, Lotto. (Apparently Susan is faster than the speed of light, for she got a picture of the Lotto store--see above.) I couldn't believe that even Haitians, with all that they have gone through, could believe that they might hit it big and life would be great. Such is the power of deception.

As we turned down the road to the ship, the locals began to shout, "Blancs! Blancs!" as they began moving out of the way of our vehicles. I would quickly learn that "Blancs" was Creole for "whites." "Beep! Beep! Beep!" our driver incessantly honked as he literally shoved his way to the front of the line. I presumed that the driver was going to drive his vehicle onto the ship, and that is why he was honking at all the people to get out of the way.

But then I learned that the driver was simply getting us closer, so that we wouldn't have to walk so far with our luggage. It seemed quite rude to me, and I grew concerned that the locals would not take kindly to us "Blancs" honking at them to get out of the way.

To my surprise, however, the locals didn't seem to care one bit that we had cut in line. In fact, when we got out of the vehicles, they quickly grabbed some of our bags and started loading them onto the ship. Now, mind you, I had no clue where our bags were going, but at least they were going to be on the ship . . . somewhere.

To say that we were being submerged in the culture was an understatement. "Drowned" would have been a better choice of words. Be that as it may, we were led to our "cabin," which had six beds (three bunk beds). Believe it or not, we had one of only two cabins on the ship. The rest of the people would be on the deck (rain or shine).

When we got into our cabin, I thought of the Hampton Inn commercial where the woman looks disgustingly at a hotel bed that she views as deplorable before dawning a Hazmat suit to get into bed. "What a joke," I thought. Suddenly, America's ridiculous standards came to mind. Susan and my bed was about 2 1/2 feet in width (see Tyler's in the picture) and had not been washed in a long time. If the Hampton Inn lady had been there, then she would have keeled over and died on the spot. Before long, roaches were coming out of their hiding places, a rat or a mouse ran into the room, and before the night was out, our friend Josiah would come to feel the unique sensation of a roach crawling up his nose in his sleep. Susan could relate to him, for a roach tried to cozy up in her ear. Regardless, I saw the cabin as a refuge from the sea of humanity. Yes, this was a surprise, but it would be the most memorable night of our lives, bar none. We would spend 12 hours on this boat and arrive at Jeremie around 5:30 a.m.

"I've Got a Surprise for You!"

Flying into Port Au Prince, evidence of the January earthquake was everywhere. Tent cities were visible from the air. Collapsed buildings were all over the place. And, on the sea, there was only one sailboat, even though it was a beautiful Friday afternoon. Put simply, it was obvious that recreation was not on any one's mind.

When we arrived at the airport, however, and made it through customs (that's a story for another day), there was no one waiting for us and the land was very foreign. Instead of being greeted by our friend, George, who had arrived a few hours before us, we were greeted by a mob of men who all wanted to take our luggage for us. "My friend," they would say as they tried to take our luggage. "No, no," I would say, "my friend is coming to get us." Apparently I wasn't too convincing, so they continued to plead to carry our luggage, but we had nowhere to go, so we had to stay put. Moreover, we had no cell phone, no contact number for George, and no clue where he was at the moment, although we were confident that he would meet us at the gate, and preferably sooner rather than later.

Before long, George did arrive, much to our comfort. To boot, he brought his cousin, Gary, and his uncle, Jean (pronounced "Gene"). We proceeded to walk through the many locals, hop into a small SUV, and then wait for Uncle Jean to have a somewhat heated discussion in French over the local man's request for money. All the while, a young boy begged for money at our window. Needless to say, all the activity was a bit unnerving.

After breaking free from the throng of people at the airport, we went down the road, passed several United Nations armed vehicles, and arrived at a small, gated hotel, which had a small cafe. The gate was left open, but was guarded by a heavily armed security guard. I have no clue what kind of rifle he had, but I hoped he would not have to use it.

The plan was for us to spend the night at George's aunt's house in Port Au Prince, and then to catch a puddle jumper to Jeremie in the morning.

As were hopping out of the car and walking to the cafe, George announced, "I've got a surprise for you!" Surprises and Haiti, I would soon learn, are not exactly the same thing as they are in America. "We're going on a cruise tonight." Instantly, I thought that sounded a bit off. And then George added a bit more of his surprise: "With a thousand Haitians . . . overnight . . . to Jeremie." "Okay," we replied. It sounded adventurous to us, and would it ever be.

“Civil War is Coming!”

Rather than take a red-eye flight out of LAX to Miami and an early morning flight the following morning to Port Au Prince, we decided to take a 2:30 p.m. flight from LAX to Miami, so that we could arrive in Miami early enough to get a good night's sleep before taking a mid-morning flight to Port Au Prince. But then a thunderstorm rolled into Miami as we were in the air, and the Miami airport was shut three separate times for over five hours in total. As a result, we ended up arriving in Miami around 1 a.m. and had to take a taxi to our hotel, for the hotel already had cut off its free shuttle service (memo to file: never again book a hotel that is more than a mile from the airport, even if you are saving $5). Our cabbie was Haitian and looked a tad bit angry for having to stay up so late, so I started to engage him in conversation in hopes of brightening his evening. Before long, however, he was angrily telling me that "civil war is coming to Haiti, and it could break out at anytime." "Great," I thought, "just as long as it doesn't break out in the next eight days." To be candid, I started to wonder what in the world I had gotten us into, but we had no intention of backtracking, for we truly sensed that God had called us to go on this trip to Haiti.

Travel Warning

I didn't know all that much about Haiti before we were asked to go on the trip, so I started doing a little research about the country, so that I wasn't completely ignorant upon my arrival. Before long, I learned that on March 15, 2010, the U.S. State Department had ordered the departure of all non-emergency government personnel from Haiti. (Hmmm? I didn't recall seeing that on my travel brochure.) Moreover, the State Department was strongly urging U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Haiti, in part due to the extremely limited access to basic services. The State Department also warned U.S. travelers about recent murders of Americans in Haiti, and advised travelers not to be out after dark. But rather than shrink back because of the travel warnings, I decided to not share my newly found information with anyone, for I knew that it would only lead to people trying to discourage us from going. Plain and simple: war is always dangerous, but our weapons are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.

Ouch!

I don't know why, but I have some sort of phobia when it comes to shots. So you can imagine my displeasure when Kaiser's travel advice nurse had a slue of shots lined up for me for our trip to Haiti. A booster shot for Measels, the Mumps, and Rubella (What is "Rubella" anyway? I don't remember any kids getting it in my 4th grade class.)? In the old days, I would just line up and wait for the nurse to fire away. But the more research that I conduct about the long-term effects of immunizations, the less inclined I am to be vaccinated. Put simply, I would rather take the short-term risk of catching the disease, and avoid the long-term impact upon my body. In short, I was hesitant about getting any of the recommended immunizations . . . until it was a few days before our trip, and then the thought of getting Malaria, Measels, or some other disease while in Haiti (maybe that's where Rubella comes from!) had a funny way of changing my long-term perspective about the dangers of immunization. (Check back in about 20 years to see if I made the right decision.) So off Susan, Tyler, and I went to Kaiser, rolled up our sleeves, and waited for that dreaded prick of the needle . . . and the next needle . . . and the next needle.