This is the first mission trip I've been on where I've (Blake) been in my "sweet spot": teaching the scripture. It has truly been sweet! I'm teaching on leadership and really enjoying the challenge/experience.
By now ours are becoming familiar faces to the Haitians. And their faces are becoming familiar to us too. And they're so hungry: to learn, to know, to discover. The teachers here at MPCA (Mission Possible Christian Academy, hosting the seminar) and the other six MP schools make this a joyous place--full of hospitality, and everywhere, there are warm smiles.
Speaking of warm.... Someone told me before I left the US that the phrase "Hotter than Haiti" (a take-off on a better-known phrase) would have real meaning when I experienced it. He was correct. Air conditioning is a luxury we only experience in the van on the way to and from the school (about a five-minute trip from Lanzac). Michael is the only exception to this rule. He's been tackling a month's worth of problem computers in the computer lab (the only air conditioned room any of us have experienced since we arrived) and even brought several back to our mission center tonight to attempt to solve some "virus issues."
Several of us have been wanting to see more "real" Haitian life. So, after the seminar today (we teach four, one-hour seminars each day so it was around 3:30 pm) we piled into the back of a "cattle truck" (see picture) to drive up into the mountains to visit another school and community. Mission Possible calls this school "Chardene" (after its location--see picture). It's the school where Madame Mark (the former principal of the school and now lead educator for Mission Possible in Haiti) worked some wonders with the teachers in terms of quality and culture. The younger children attend school in the morning. The older (advanced) students attend in the afternoon. Some of the math problems left on the chalkboards (with their exponents and square roots) bewildered me! Charden School serves the surrounding rural community. We spent about an hour walking through this area, visiting with families, meeting the Director of the School (we'd call him a "principal). It was sobering. None of the people had access to running water (unless you count the stream) or electricity (unless you count the solar-powered cell-phone charging station halfway up the mountain [YES! That's what I said: a solar-powered cell-phone charging station!]) and certainly no sewer. Mission Possible is working with some desperately poor children, introducing them (and their families) to the love of Christ and enlarging their worlds through a first-class education. We have seen evidence of that call and their work everywhere we've been.
Thank you for your prayers for us all. God has been good to us--giving us opportunities to grow, be disturbed, share our hearts with each other and the Haitians and, as a bonus, no one's been sick so far. Keep praying. God is the only hope Haiti has. In fact, God is the only Hope any of us has. Ask Him to do what only He can do for His Church throughout the world.
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| The school at Chardene |
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| Our "ride" up the mountain. |
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| Charging cell phones on the mountain near Chardene school |
