Pa Vini, Se Pwazon

The Haitian saying “Pa vini, se pwazon” is appropriate as the theme of St. Mary Cathedral’s fourth mission visit to St. Joseph Parish in Pendus, Haiti. Translated it means “Not to go is poison.” This adage arose when Father Ronel Charelus – or as he is lovingly called, Cha Cha (pronounced in Haiti as “Sha Sha”) – asked a Pendus woman if she would be at Mass the next day. Since a priest does not get to Pendus regularly, she responded “pa vini, se pwazon.” In other words, nothing could keep her from coming!
With the September 11th terrorists’ attacks and the December 17th coop attempt at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince looming in everyone’s minds, travel into Haiti at this time seemed less than ideal. Add to that mix, the hazards of traversing the mountainous roads, rivers and footpaths, and a visit to the upper mountain villages of Haiti seems an incalculably risky endeavor for most. However, once you experience the heavenly welcome at the River Pendus and the mountain chapels at Massacre and Mayombe, it is readily apparent that the effort expended to reach those destinations is not only worth it, but to not have gone would indeed be “poison”.

Wednesday, December 26, 2001

After finishing packing late on Christmas day, we were up at 3 am to begin a daylong journey to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The twelve people going on this mission were Sharon Newell, Kyle Newell, Jorge Figueira, John Velten, Tony VanAlstine, Jenny Banning, Dee Levy, Bob Haan, Ellie Haan, Father Bob Klemme, Molly Brady and myself.
Half of our group was going to Haiti for the first time – Jorge, Tony, Jenny, Dee, Bob and Ellie, while the rest of us had been at least once before. For Father Bob, this would be his tenth trip to Haiti (and third to Pendus)! Molly had spent a year living and doing mission work near Pendus and was one of our interpreters on St. Mary’s first visit to Pendus in March 2000. We also had a young man’s flavor on this mission, as Kyle, Jorge and John were 18-year old high school seniors and Tony a 20-year-old junior at Taylor University.
Bob and Ellie were driving to Florida to visit family for Christmas and were meeting us at the Miami airport. Molly was home from college (Emery in Atlanta) visiting her parents in Indianapolis and would meet us at the Indy airport. The rest of us met at our house at 3:30 am to load the luggage and head for Indianapolis by 4 am.
Doug Granlund, John Willis, Helen Hession and Alan Banning brought three vehicles to transport us and our 40-plus pieces of luggage (including carry-ons) to the airport.
About a week before Christmas our group had a “packing party” at the Haan’s home. All of the wonderful clothes, school supplies, over-the-counter medicines, toys, hats and shoes were sorted and prioritized for taking to Pendus. We wound up with two bags packed with stations-of-the-cross for Massacre, three with school supplies, four with non-prescriptive medicines (no prescriptive medicines since we did not have a doctor going on this trip), one with powdered infant baby formula, three with toys to give to the Haitian children, three with clothes (mostly for children), two with hats and shoes and one guitar. In addition, we all stuffed extras of the above items in our personal bags, making sure no space went unused.
A local businessman had donated over 250 “Carroll Cougar” t-shirts (with a misprinted paw print on them) for us to take to give away. That many extra shirts would be difficult to take due to their bulk. The boys decided to take 10-12 shirts apiece as their own daily clothing for the trip and then simply give them away. The rest of us did the same. This allowed us to take many more of the shirts!
Our travel agent, Annette Crane of Adventure Travel, originally found our best round-trip price of $345 by flying ATA to Ft. Lauderdale, gathering our luggage and shuttling to Miami and then taking American Air into Port-au-Prince (PAP). She learned that ATA had overbooked the first leg to Ft. Lauderdale and was asking for five volunteers to be bumped to Northwest, which went from Indy to Memphis (switching planes) and then Memphis to Miami with just enough time to catch the connecting AA flight to PAP. The biggest benefit of this new route would be that we wouldn’t have to handle the luggage once it was checked in at Indianapolis until we reached PAP! However, we didn’t want to split up our group. After further negotiations with ATA, she then was able to get all 10 of us on the Northwest leg (without any additional cost to us) PLUS ATA gave us a free travel voucher for anywhere it travels within the United States!! She also got most of our seats upgraded to first class for the trip down to Haiti. What a deal!
We soon became aware of the only “down-side” to this scenario. When we checked in the airport in Indy we learned quickly that our group had been “selected” to be searched – both our checked-in luggage and our carry-ons. We later learned that one of the “profiles” the airlines look for is a group that has recently changed its flight schedule. The Indy airport was extremely busy this morning and it was very difficult to maneuver our check-in luggage through the corridors to the extra scanning booth. John and Jorge had the bag with several hundred matchbox cars. They got them through, but only after the airlines security asking if they were trying to set up a distributorship in Haiti!
After the check-in luggage was passed, we all went through the normal airlines security. However, several of us had to remove our shoes for this procedure. Once we got to the boarding gate, our group was again “selected” for addition searching. This time they went through all of our carry-ons and again had each of us remove our shoes for further inspection. Jorge was carrying Sharon’s backpack since it was so heavy with items to pass out. During its inspection, the man pulled out some lipstick (which was part of the make-up we were taking to give away) and asked him if it was his! Tony’s backpack contained pre-natal vitamins and got an equally incredulous look. Obviously both denied the items were theirs! We had a good laugh at both of these revelations.
The aggravating part of the searches wasn’t the fact we were being inspected, but rather the airlines waited until boarding time to start and only had one person doing the inspection for most of the time. Needless-to-say, Northwest flight 705 was 30 minutes late taking off (leaving at 7:35 am). Once in the air, there was a beautiful morning sky after we poked through the lower cloud cover. The rest of the one-hour flight to Memphis went smoothly as did our transferring of planes to Northwest flight 938 for Miami.
The second leg of the trip arrived in Miami about 20 minutes late, leaving us only a little over an hour to hike from Gate G to Gate B (it seemed like two miles!) We met the Haans as we were boarding for PAP. The temperature in Miami was only 62 degrees.
Once on board, Sharon, Father Bob and I were sitting near a lady from the Boston area named Nicole Brown. She was by herself and heading to Haiti for her first time. She was going to work at the Hope For Children of Haiti Orphanage for a week, but the people she was to meet to get there with were delayed one day . . . so she was by herself and not sure what to do when she got there! She didn’t even know the address of the orphanage! We told her she could come with us to Hospice St. Joseph if all else fails when she lands. I don’t think I would have gone by myself on my first trip to Haiti.
This last leg of the trip lasted about one hour and forty minutes and landed in Port-au-Prince at 3:37 pm. Once we landed we got through immigration and began gathering our entire luggage. We found all of it except the four check-in items that the Haans brought. Cha Cha was not there yet as we collected our bags. Finally the missing bags were located (there were several other people also missing luggage) outside the baggage claim area (it simply had not been brought inside the building yet.). By this time Nicole (with the help of the American Airlines personnel) found someone from the orphanage that was there to pick her up.
By now Cha Cha arrived and we were simply waved through customs without any inspections. This time we were ready for the onslaught of “Red Caps” waiting outside the building to help with our luggage for a tip. We had one person pushing each of the carts loaded with bags with at least two others on either side (to keep anything from falling off and to keep others from trying to “help” carry them). Our two friends – Fritzner and Sergo – met us as we began to load the vehicles. The Hospice had a 15-passenger vehicle to pick us up, while Cha Cha had a van and a truck (driven by our friend Tidan) to help as well. This exiting and loading process actually went fairly smoothly. We were soon leaving the airport on a newly improved four-lane divided road. It was so new; it actually had three stoplights that were working – a first for my third visit to Haiti. This road didn’t last long, but it was a great improvement from the past.
Sister Kay greeted us upon our arrival at Hospice St. Joseph at 33 Rue Acacia, PAP. This facility was a hotel until Sister Ann helped start the Hospice about twelve years ago. It is a three-story building. The bottom floor is a clinic, school and storage area. The middle floor has one four-bed guest room, a kitchen, dining room, a chapel and the nuns’ living quarters. The top floor has six or seven guest rooms (one with four beds and the rest with two). Each one has its own bathroom. There is also an open patio area overlooking Port-au-Prince.
Dinner was at 5:30 pm and began with singing a Kreoyl prayer. It consisted of rice, bean sauce, salad, scalloped potatoes, water and pop. Afterwards we all visited on the patio area while some played euchre. I talked for quite a while with Fritzner. Sergo was not able to spend the night at the Hospice, but would meet us early in the morning.
At 9 pm, Father Bob decided to have a “come-as-you-are” Mass in the chapel. John came barefoot, while Dee came in her nightgown. It was a good Mass as we spent a long time reflecting on the events of the day.
Sharon, Molly, Father Bob and I stayed up on the patio talking until about 10:30 before going to bed. I was really tired, as I had no trouble going to sleep despite loud neighborhood music blaring most of the night.

Thursday, December 27, 2001

I got up at 6 am (too many different noises to stay in bed). A cold shower felt good. Several of us watched as Port-au-Prince came to life too. Many people walked the hill outside the Hospice heading toward their day’s activities. Many were carrying various items on their head as they walked.
Breakfast was at 8:00 am. We had sweet rolls, a cereal similar to Corn Flakes called Sweet Mornings, milk (powdered), bananas, bread, peanut butter, coffee and water (Culligan). There were also several jellies – guava, grapefruit, and passion fruit – and all of them were very tasty.
Sister Kay, Father Bob and I planned the itinerary for our day’s visit in and around PAP. Franzy Fortune would be our driver-escort for the day. We had a 15-passenger van that we filled to capacity as Sergo and Fritzner joined us.
Our first stop was at Fonkoze to exchange some American money into Haitian money. One US dollar equals 5.24 Haitian dollars, while one Haitian dollar equals five gourds (pronounced “goo…ds”). Therefore there are about 25 gourdes to one US dollar. All items in Haiti are priced in gourdes.
Anne Hastings, one of the founders of Fonkoze, came out to talk to us about what all it does. It is a banking system – for savings and loans – for the small Haitian street market businesses (mainly women). Since there is no such thing in Haiti as a credit report, five Haitians come to Fonkoze as a group. They begin a small savings plan and can get small loans (about $60 US) that they repay with little or no interest over a short period of time (usually one third of the amount for three months). The catch is each of the five must pay any loans that the others do not or cannot pay. This system works because the people only come with four others that THEY trust will repay (so they don’t have to pay as guarantors). Once a loan is paid as agreed, the group automatically qualifies for a slightly bigger loan and time span. They can work themselves up to more than $2,000 US over a six-month repayment period after a series of successful smaller repayments. Anne called this solidarity group lending.
A separate 501(C)(3) corporation in America raises much of the money used to lend to these people. Many people lend money for a year interest-free so Fonkoze can lend it out to the Haitians. At the end of the year, they get their money back! Money can also be donated for Fonkoze’s lending purposes. For more information on this, go to www.fonkoze.org.
Before she finished her story, Anne told of a recent kidnapping (September 2000) of a trusted Haitian Fonkoze employee named Amos. He knew the inner workings of Fonkoze – where the key people lived, when they came to work, how the loans were made etc. After he was kidnapped, Anne was told he would not be released unless Fonkoze closed down. There was great anguish as to what to do (and many tears – both ours and hers -- fell during her recounting of this story). Sixteen days later his body turned up at the morgue. He had been tortured in an attempt to get information from him. The Fonkoze bank still operates despite this tragedy. However, the notoriety that came with the incident has helped get more worldwide support for the endeavor.
After leaving Fonkoze, we drove past the Haitian National Palace (or White House). This was the location of the coop attempt (which included several people being killed) about one week before our trip. Like our White House in Washington, DC, the street in front of it is now closed to vehicular traffic. We did not stop, but passed by twice during the tour of PAP.
We next stopped at the Catholic Cathedral of PAP. I had never been inside. It was open and a large ceremony was being held. We all went inside and learned there were 9 priests being ordained. After a short stay there, we drove to the Episcapal Cathedral and went inside. All the walls are covered with murals depicting the stories of the Bible (from Adam and Eve through the resurrection). It also had a gift shop and many of us bought nativity scenes, wood carvings and other Haitian artwork. There was a large rubber tree outside the gift shop.
Our next stop was the National Museum of History and Art. It cost $3 US for admission. Inside a tour guide was provided that spoke English. The tour started with a history of Haiti, including key figures in defeating Napoleon for independence on January 1, 1804 – Toussant Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christopher and Alexander Petion. Two of the first exhibits were an anchor from Columbus’s Santa Maria, which first landed near Cape Haitian on December 24, 1492, and some original slave shackles from subsequent slave trade from Africa. Many stories of extreme cruelty occurred over the next centuries as Haiti struggled first for independence and later for a democracy (and freedom from dictatorships). The end of the tour included many examples of Haitian paintings over the years.
Next we drove by the Sacred Heart Church and the statute outside of Antwon Ismarie – a martyr that was drug out of the church and shot during Haiti’s recent struggle for its democracy.
As we headed north to Petionville, we stopped at Fritzner’s house! He just recently moved to the top floor of this multi-leveled, all-concrete block structure. His landlord was busy adding a small bathroom and kitchen area just outside his one room (about 12’ by 12’). He did have an electrical light and outlet in his room, which contained his bed, a nightstand with his Bible on it, a wall clothes rack and a small table. His view from that height (it was about 45 steps up to his level) was great. He said the temperature there is almost always comfortable – not too hot or cold. We met his neighbor, Jonas Macedoine, who speaks English well and used to work for the US Embassy (but now is looking for work). There is a “market” in the bottom floor of the “complex” where Fritzner can get many of the daily essentials he needs.
Next we headed to Petionville to try and find the Haiti Habitat for Humanity office and the children’s hospital -- we had intended to visit Mother Teresa’s Children’s Hospital today but it is closed to the public on Thursdays. On the way we found a Domino’s Pizza!! None of us expected to eat American pizza while in Haiti. Needless to say the boys were thrilled – Kyle actually got sausage pizza and had a couple pieces left over for dinner tonight at the Hospice. I bought two large pizzas and seven soft drinks and the total came to 785 gourdes – or about $31 US. It was worth it!
After our late lunch we drove around Petionville, but could not find the Habitat office. We asked a number of people on the street and no one seemed to know where it was either. We finally stopped at St. Damien’s Children’s Hospital and met Sister Lorainne Malo. She told us of the hospital’s mission to serve the poorest of the poor. The 92-bed hospital only charges two Haitian dollars (10 gourdes or 40 cents) for all the services needed no matter how long the stay. The hospital was an old Holiday Inn and was started by Father Rick Frechette. He was not going to be allowed to become a priest in the United States due to his poor health, so he went to Mexico and became ordained. Upon his arrival in Haiti, he headed up a Father Wasson Orphanage. There he saw the great need for more than food and shelter for the children – he saw the need for medical care for them. In order to do something about this problem, he returned to the United States and obtained his medical degree too (with the help of the Wasson Foundation)!
He returned to Haiti and opened this hospital in 1990. It has an intensive care open 24-hours a day (which is rare in Haiti). There is no running water (water is available only twice a day) and only solar electricity. Many surgeries are performed here. Severe malnutrition is the number one reason for admission to this hospital. Sister Lorraine said they lost two babies earlier today – that many of them come to the hospital too late to be helped. Because of their poverty, most are buried in a mass grave provided by the city. She also said there are 15 women who work shifts round the clock six days a week doing nothing but laundering diapers for the babies here! She added that they have excellent physicians and nursed at this facility.
She then took us on a tour of the facility (there are four floors and the higher you go the better the child’s health is becoming). We started on the second floor and saw several children with severe malnutrition. Sharon was the first one in the first room and came out with tears in her eyes. We all knew we were in for an emotional roller-coaster ride. Common byproducts of malnutrition are heart problems and kidney infections. She said there are some Aids patients but not a lot. There was one little girl with severe malnutrition that was crying. Tony asked if he could pick her up. Once he held her she soon quit crying with the loving attention she was receiving. We all then took turns holding many of the children, talking to them and giving suckers to those who were able to have them. One child was being held by his father (who she said was there everyday with the eight-month old baby – which is a rarity!) This man is 43 years old and has had 26 children – 18 of whom are still alive.
We could not get many of the children to smile despite our many attempts. Sister Lorraine said that when the children do start to smile, that is a good sign they are starting to get better. Even though we couldn’t always get them to smile, there was a comforting feeling between them and us as we simply held, talked with or smiled at them.
Sister Lorraine can be reached by email at malolorraine@hotmail.com.
Our visit at St. Damien’s was cut short when Franzy said he heard there was possible trouble in the streets. We headed back on the only road to the Hospice (we were less than 15 minutes away). We soon saw two tires burning in the road – this is a common form of protest in Haiti. Once we passed it we saw some policemen beating someone (presumably the originator of the fire). There were fairly large rocks strewn along the roadway for about a quarter mile past the burning. Needless-to-say, we were all very relieved to arrive back at the safety of Hospice St. Joseph.
Upon our arrival, there was no electricity (except solar). Dinner was at 5:30 pm. We had rice, potatoes, vegetables (carrots and broccoli), salad, chicken and cream dessert. Shortly after supper, it began to rain some but it didn’t last too long and the humidity seemed to rise!
Father Bob said Mass at 7 pm in the chapel. Our reflection of the day during the service took quite a while. Two of the highlights not mentioned above were a boy at St. Damien’s that had lost both parents and now had cancer and had no sight at all. However, he was happy because he had recently made his First Communion! A second was a man that Tony saw in the hospital courtyard. He was from Canada and had been a missionary in Haiti since 1981 – the year Tony was born! Obviously the Fonkoze story will always be remembered as well.
After Mass we sang a litany of Christmas and Christian songs on the balcony in anticipation of singing them again when we reached Pendus (pronounced Pon-du). Molly, Jenny and the boys took turns playing euchre until we all finally went to bed at 10:45.

Friday, December 28, 2001

What a noisy night . . . especially the blaring music! Since I was awake, I got up at 4:30 am and took a cold shower. Cha Cha arrived at 5:25 am, hoping to be packed up and leaving by 6 am. We had a quick breakfast of cereal, milk, bread, jelly and oranges.
We loaded up our entire luggage in a four-wheel drive pickup truck, while 15 of us (Father Cha Cha, Fritzner, the driver and the 12 of us) filled up the 15-passenger van. Father Bob showed us that he utilized every square inch of space in packing for Haiti as he had handkerchiefs and socks inside his water bottle – he insisted they were clean! Because we had so much stuff (and because Tidan was making another trip to PAP tomorrow), we left six suitcases (mostly school supplies and over-the-counter meds) to be brought up Saturday. Tidan drove his truck as usual (with Sergo with him), while our driver for the day was Maxime Emile. We didn’t pull out from the Hospice until 6:45 am.
Along Highway #1 we made a short stop along the Caribbean for a photo opportunity and then stopped at the Shell gas station for food (everything from a hamburger and sub sandwich to cookies, chips, crackers and pop). We reached Gonaive and stopped at the bishop’s residence. Bishop Emmanuel Constant met us, talked with us for a while and took pictures with us. He has been bishop since 1966! (There are 13 bishops and 12 dioceses in Haiti.)
I brought some hand-held walkie-talkies (range about 2 miles) to give Cha Cha for occasions like this where two vehicles are traveling together and may need to communicate with each other. He really liked talking to Tidan on them. We got a kick out of him saying everything four times before listening: “Tidan, Tidan, Tidan, Tidan. Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello!”
Shortly after noon (and a short distance outside Gonaive) we exited Highway #1 and began our journey on the “Highway to Heaven”. I called this stretch of “road” to Pendus that because it resembles life itself. There are ups and downs and lots of potholes along the road of life, but when you reach the ultimate destination (heaven, what else!), the result is well worth effort in getting there.
We suspected that we would be unable to reach Pendus today due to the high waters in several rivers and the muddy roads. This was confirmed when we reached Gros Morne at 1:30 pm. We stopped at Cha Cha’s rectory and unloaded the luggage. Some of us walked to the Hospital by ourselves (meaning without Sister Jackie to give us a tour).
Sister Jackie was at the rectory when we got back. We had a late lunch at 3 pm of chicken noodle soup, bread, peanut butter, and bananas, with sprite and couronne fruit champaign to drink. As Sister Vivian said, when unexpected guests arrive, simply make soup! Kyle gave Sister Jackie one of her Christmas presents – nacho chips and salsa dip, a real treat in Haiti! He got a great reaction (and a hug) from Sister Jackie!
Upon our arrival an elderly Haitian man named Fessen, whom we’d met briefly on the visit the year before, greeted us. He instantly greeted Sharon: “Bonswa Madam Jeff!” Several minutes later he greeted me too. I responded and asked his name in Kreoyl. He answered, but added much more that I couldn’t understand. I found an interpreter and learned what he said was: “I remembered your name, why didn’t you remember mine!” This about broke my heart as I always try to remember names, as it is important to them to know that they matter to you.
After lunch, Sister Jackie took us on a tour of Gros Morne. Our first stop was at the home of little Dief (pronounced Jeff), his mother Petitlia and his sister. Dief and his mother came to Indiana earlier this year for heart surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital (while staying with Molly’s parents in Indianapolis). Kyle took Dief with him for the rest of the tour until dinner, usually carrying him on his back. Dief’s smiles would instantly melt your heart! Up next was Tidan’s new nightclub – called Panik Nightclub. It has four huge speakers (that seemingly played all night and were audible all over Gros Morne), a basketball court and some video games. Quite the hangout!
Next we stopped at the homeless shelter. There is new construction aplenty as a new hand-dug well (about 50+ feet) was being dug along with a “nursing home” wing for abandoned elderly was being built. We went in the homeless shelter and greeted those residing there. Their faces lit up with smiles as we spent but a moment with each one. Each of the beds had a blanket on it that was donated by the Haans in last year’s sea container!
We then went to see the new convent where Sister Jackie, Sister Vivian and others will be soon living (estimated completion by March). It is high on a hill-side overlooking the Gros Morne area (Gros Morne means Big Mountain in Kreoyl). It sits next to John XXIII, the high school for all of the Gros Morne area (which includes Pendus some 12 miles away.) This construction was all new since my last visit last December. It is much bigger than their present facility and allows much more private space and workspace.
The high school has also been enlarged. Originally completed in March 2000 as a one-level, 10-room school, it now had an entire second floor. Father Jean Baptist was there to greet us. He said they now have 11 rooms dedicated to the high school and four for the secretarial school. There are about 384 students attending here. One of the needs they could use is about 30 computers to teach secretarial skills to the young women who are enrolled (again, this would include those from Pendus). All the computers need is simple word processing and spreadsheet abilities to suffice.
Many young children gathered outside the school. Soon Sharon had them singing songs. They even repeated in English the words to “Jesus loves me.” Led by Tony, we all performed the song “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” (sung to the tune of “Louie, Louie”), complete with all the hand motions. I had my new digital camera, which could immediately display the picture for all to see. This was an instant hit with the kids and adults (and would be throughout our stay). We didn’t leave until after dark and were followed for quite a ways by many running children still singing the Pharaoh refrain.
Back at the rectory, dinner was served at 6:30 pm. We had Spam, noodles, corn, bread, fruit champaign, coke and labwee (a warm porridge dessert).
Afterwards, several of us visited Sister Jackie and Sister Vivian’s current house (where Molly lived when she was here for her year’s mission.) Sister Vivian let us send an email (telling of our day’s delay to Pendus but safe arrival in Haiti) to Doug Granlund, Jorge’s father, and my father.
Father Cha Cha and Father Bob held a Mass on the porch of the rectory for our group, Sister Pat and two of the female missionary volunteers there. Again the sharing and reflection part of the service was very special. Today was also meaningful as it marked the ninth anniversary of Cha Cha’s ordination on the Feast of the Holy Innocents.
Since our group was so big, Sharon, Sergo and I ended up spending the night with Sister Vivian across the street at the French nuns’ home (Sister Vivian was “house sitting” as they were all away on retreat.) After cool showers, we all went to bed at 10:50 pm. At least my side of the building heard Tidan’s disco late into the night.

Saturday, December 29, 2001

I must have slept well as I didn’t even wake up until 4 am and didn’t get up until 5:30. Mass at Our Lady of the Light was at 6 am and was fairly well attended for an early morning, non-Sunday service. Life in Haiti can sometimes be difficult to comprehend by our American standards. Early in the Mass a large mouse meandered across the front of the church, while two dogs roamed in and out of the always open doors – all without any particular attention from the Haitians there.
Breakfast was at 7:45 am and consisted of Spam and eggs, bananas, grapefruit juice, bread and peanut butter. At this point in time, we only had one vehicle available to attempt to drive to the 20 kilometers (or about 12 miles) to Pendus and we weren’t sure how the roads were yet. We loaded up the four-wheel drive truck with all the luggage we had in Gros Morne (remember six bags were still in PAP until later today). We left the two suitcases of Stations of the Cross to come up later when things weren’t so cramped. The bed of the truck was piled higher than the top of the truck Everything had to be lashed securely. The backseat of the truck barely had enough room for one person and there were three items in the front seat where I was to sit. John and I were to go ahead with Barak (the driver) and attempt to get through on the roads. Another vehicle was to come along later and bring the rest of our group. As we pulled out at 8 am, that second vehicle arrived, so it wasn’t far behind.
However, we didn’t have a chance to get very far ahead as there was a traffic jam at the river on the north edge of Gros Morne. The water was extra high and a large truck was stuck on the other side where it attempted to exit the riverbank. There literally were several hundred Haitians at this crossing, everyone seemingly wanting to be on the opposite side of the river. Many people simply waded across the moving water to get to the other side while the vehicular traffic was at a standstill. One older lady lost her footing and four fully dressed men quickly jumped in to help her up and get her out of the water. After 45 minutes, a large enough vehicle approached from the opposite side and used a chain to pull the stranded vehicle on up the bank and out of the water. We were on our way again.
About a half hour later, Sharon, who was standing in the bed of the second truck with Jorge, said we hadn’t had a flat tire yet this trip. Within a couple minutes, they were stopped with the first – and only – flat tire of the trip. Barak and Augustine quickly changed the tire and we were on our way again by 9:30. At a subsequent muddy, creek crossing, our vehicle got stuck. Barak was having trouble with the front wheel drive working properly. John, Kyle, Tony and several Haitians got out to push our vehicle through the muddy mess. It wasn’t far from there that we arrived at the River Pendus (the fourth of five river crossings between Gros Morne and Pendus) at 10 am. The hill down to the water was the only place between the two cities that had any concrete at all. It was necessary as this hill was so steep a grade that vehicles could barely traverse it when it wasn’t wet, let alone when it was muddy.
However, at the bottom, the water had been so high recently that over a foot of dirt and rocks covered the ramp’s entry into the river. In addition, the water level was high enough and the current fast enough that no vehicles were crossing this river today. Barak and our vehicle with all the luggage was supposed to go back to Gros Morne and pick up Father Cha Cha and Sister Jackie and any of the bags left behind. Augustine’s vehicle was to turn around and get to PAP before dark. Therefore, both emptied their cargo of things and people and left us along the side of the river. There were 30-50 Haitians there, but we didn’t recognize any of them as being from Pendus (which was still a mile away – or a 45-minute walk from the river). We sat and watched the locals expertly cross the river. One gentleman named Antwone must have crossed the flowing waters over 100 times in the next couple hours, carrying people and stuff without ever slipping (and he was barefoot!) Those who weren’t so sure-footed were led upstream 30-40 feet and aimed across stream. By the time they crossed the water, the current had pushed them downstream to where they wanted to wind up. The toughest part was not tripping on unseen river-bottom rocks or being pushed over them by the swift current.
Tony and John crossed the river by themselves. When John slipped a little, two Haitian men were quickly at his side to make sure he crossed safely. After waiting for a half an hour (it would take Barak nearly 3 hours to get Cha Cha back here), we decided to send Kyle, John and Fritzner across the river and up to Pendus. Since they were here previously, they could recognize Madam Garcon, Jean Claude or several others to try and get help of some kind. Antwone simply picked Kyle up and carried him over his shoulder across the water. Two men then helped John back across to the other side.
Kyle said they found several local boys (mainly 10-13 years olds), such as Benedict, Jonne, Woodle, David and others, before they reached Pendus. Those boys were soon at the river’s edge. When Sharon and I saw Benedict (the 12-year-old boy we are sponsoring), we both crossed (Sharon with the help of two men) to greet him with a big hug. Sharon said: “I’m not coming this far and getting this close to not get a hug!” She thought Cha Cha would not want us to cross because of the danger and she wasn’t going to be denied!
Soon Ken arrived with a basket of bananas, courtesy of Madam Garcon. Not long thereafter, Jean Claude, deOnville and several others arrived. There was great happiness is seeing each other, especially for those of us that had been there before.
They picked out several of the men at the river that we didn’t recognize to help. We soon had all of our luggage and all of us on the other side of the river. When they helped us cross, they were very careful assisting us. Father Bob said he couldn’t have fallen even if he wanted!
Now our only obstacle was transporting all of that stuff the last mile to Pendus (there were no vehicles on this side of the river). All the locals, men and boys alike, began picking up our luggage and carrying it on top of their heads. Most of us wound up not even carrying our own water bottles! One bag was nearly three-feet long, by two-feet wide, by two-feet high and weighed over 60 pounds. Another suitcase (with mostly matchbox cars) weighed nearly 70 pounds. One man easily carried one on the top of his head the whole way. I wanted to get a picture of the largest suitcase being carried. By the time I got my camera out of my backpack, the man was 75 yards ahead of me. I thought I’d catch up to him to get a picture, but I was wrong. Sharon said when he passed by her, he was doing a slight jog! In about 45-minutes, all of us and our luggage arrived in Pendus!! We paid the several veteran river crossers $2 each (which is 10 Haitian dollars or double what was thought prudent) and gave each a polo type shirt for their efforts in helping us.
We hadn’t even put our bags into our rooms and there were nearly 100 children there to greet us. A game of “Oo-oo-skee-wat-on-tani” was soon being played. The kids all remembered how to play and the chant that went along with it from our last visits.
One little boy named Fagant gave me a big hug. I remembered him from my first visit but did not see him on my second trip. Cha Cha and Sister Jackie arrived about 90 minutes after we got to Pendus. They, too, had to ford the river and walk the rest of the way to Pendus.
We had a very late lunch at 4:10 pm. Madam Garcon had fixed rice, chicken, French fries, bananas, bread, and grapefruit jelly (with Coke, Couronne fruit champaign and culligan water to drink.)
Afterwards, Cha Cha took us to the dispensary’s construction site. It is located just east of the church complex, downhill toward the river and just across from Jean Claude’s home. There is a block fence around about a two-acre area. There is a huge shade tree in the front yard of the dispensary, which should provide a great, and cool gathering space for patients. Cha Cha said the construction should be complete by the time the March St. Mary visit occurs. The general layout of the facility was very similar to that which Dr. Adel Yaacoub, Dr Ronette Chua and Cha Cha drew up at Bruno’s Restaurant during his visit to Lafayette last August. There is a general receiving room (for triage if needed), two examining rooms, an office/records room, a birthing room, a pharmacy room and a room for overnight stay if needed. A cistern is being built immediately behind the main building and an outhouse is started clear at the back of the property. Cha Cha would eventually like a watchman’s house up front (so some security would always be provided due to the drugs that will be housed there) and another house in the back in case a doctor would need a place to stay while working there.
When we got back, we gave Benedict the gifts we brought for him (a pair of pants, a shirt and a watch). We also told Cha Cha that Larry and Carolyn O’Connell would sponsor the church’s employment of Jean Marie Jean Louie (as electrician, general handyman).
My nephew Jade Anthrop, through his sixth grade class at St. Lawrence, raised $225 from their December all-school Masses for us to give to the St. Joseph school. Benoir, the principle, said he would like to be able to teach a trade to the older kids (this school goes through 6th grade, but the ages of the attendees can and usually are much older than we would think a 6th grader should be – even as old as 16!). Woodcarving, sewing and tailoring were the trades he had in mind. He would love to have some non-electric sewing machines for both sewing and tailoring. He said with the $225 he could get three such machines!
Mike Molter, the owner of Twin City Collision Repair -- Alan Banning’s place of employment -- gave Jenny a Polaroid camera, 10 rolls of film and $200 to put to a good use. She found out that Ken (the 21-year-old young man that brought bananas to the river and helped get us across the Pendus River) was in mechanical school in Port-au-Prince. He needed $200 to be able to finish this his first year of a three-year program. What a perfect match!
The mother of Sentana told me her six-year-old little girl (who has not yet begun school) had a prayer to say for me. When I bent down to listen to her better, she placed her hand squarely on top of my head (as if a priest were blessing someone) and promptly began singing a beautiful prayer in Kreoyl. Of course I understood none of what Sentana was saying. I did know that her prayer was quite lengthy and was quite a bit of memorization for such a young child. When she was finally done, one of the interpreters said she had recited the 23rd Psalm! Quite impressive! I had her repeat this for Molly. Father Cha Cha then had her do for the entire group at supper. When he started to interrupt her, she simply closed her eyes and began to recite faster! We all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Supper (at 7 pm) was lighter than usual since we had such a late lunch. We had labwee, both regular and banana flavored, bread, peanut butter, grapefruit jelly and bananas. We had a good session reflecting and sharing our impressions of all the wonderful events of the day.
We mingled with the children and adults in the courtyard between the dining room and the guesthouse and talked amongst ourselves as we took turns getting a cold, yet very welcome, shower. Several of the children were practicing their songs for the upcoming children’s benediction. Hubert and Jean Claude hand-pumped the water from the cistern to fill the three 55-gallon drums on top of the bathroom (to provide gravity fed shower, stool and sink inside.) This would be a daily chore for them to do.
I know I had a difficult time going to sleep (I went to bed at 11 pm) as I was still excited about the day’s events, especially the heavenly welcome we received at the river.

Sunday, December 30, 2001

Although I didn’t hear it, it must have rained a little last night as the ground and courtyard was wet when we got up. The 6 am bells (ringing the prayer of the Angeles at 6 am, noon and 6 pm) and the swooshing of Jean Claude’s palm broom are typical early morning noises at Pendus (along with a few roosters!) By the time we had breakfast at 7:45 am, there already were a number of children here waiting for our attention.
Breakfast consisted of spaghetti, tang, grapefruit juice, bananas, bread, grapefruit jelly and peanut butter (mamba).
Cha Cha said Mass would start sometime between 9:30 and 10 am. Can you imagine that happening in Lafayette? Father Bob co-celebrated the Mass with Cha Cha and both gave a homily. The interpreters helped us understand Cha Cha (who spoke in Kreoyl) while Sister Jackie translated Father Bob’s words to the congregation. Today was the Feast of the Holy Family. The readings were Sirach 3:2-14; Col. 3:12-21; and Mt. 2:13-25. Mass lasted over two hours and was not completed until noon. Since Cha Cha had to go to Gros Morne for midnight Mass on January 1, he asked the congregation when they would prefer Mass later on New Year’s Day when he got back to Pendus. Again, imagine our church getting to vote on when Mass will be held!
After Mass, Mula Nesan, one of the teachers from Massacre, picked up the guitar we had brought to give to that chapel. I also gave him a Kreoyl Bible. He indicated his favorite verse in the Bible was Psalm 31. I also gave one to Ken, who said his favorite verse was Psalm 33. It was not very common for a Haitian to own his own Bible.
Father Cha Cha introduced me to Simeon Inotesse and Pierre Fiminese. They have 10 children, three of whom still live at home. Their children’s names and ages are: Frino (31), Gerlande (29), Ibsene (27), Lemanie (25), Fermisia (23), Fedeline (21), Periklesse (18), Samuel (15), Wesle (13) and Diana (10). Doug and Kim Granlund sponsor Periklesse’s schooling in Gonaive.
Lunch was served at 1 pm. We had goat (Kabrit), rice, potatoes, bean sause, carrots, bananas, green beans, bread and jelly.
After lunch Sharon, Jenny, Dee and Ellie helped Sister Jackie set up for the children’s benediction, which would include gifts from St Mary parishioners of toys, clothes, candy and balloons. While that was happening, Father Bob, Father Cha Cha, Tony, John, Kyle and I (along with a throng of local children) visited deOnville’s property. His old hut was torn down and a new house begun. So far the foundation, the “studs” (vertical wood pieces) and the roof were all in place. The floors and the walls were still to be completed. The construction would continue as he could afford to complete it (and could take up to another year to finish.) This is the family that Bob and Shirley Fitzgerald sponsor.
Cha Cha also took us to see the home of Carmille Vernet and her family. Her parents are Sewois and Evelyn Vernet. They are farmers. Their six children (and their ages) are: Jean Humaine (22), Adeline (20), Cecile (18), Carmille (16), and Christian (14). John and Joanne Willis sponsor Carmille. Their home needs some work to make it more habitable as it leaks, and needs new doors and a floor (instead of dirt).
At 3 pm the children’s service began. Several of the local children sang songs for us, including an octet of older teenage girls (led by Cecile Vernet). Our whole group sang Na Mache Men Nan Men for them as well as the “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” song. After Father Cha Cha and Father Bob blessed all the children, they came forward one row at a time to select either a toy or clothing item and receive some candy and a balloon. The matchbox cars (or “machines” as they are called in Kreoyl), balls and socks were popular choices for all the children. The older children would instead get hats (for boys) and make-up (for girls). We had enough things left over to take some to Massacre, Mayombe and at least one other chapel area.
Afterward, the Pendus Habitat committee (10 local people representing all of Pendus, including the chapel areas) had a meeting that Father Bob, Jenny, Dee and I attended. The local committee members are Benoir Thaties (St. Joseph principal), Laman Francois, Sister Jackie, Cha Cha, Francois Amelese, Fanel (a teacher from Massacre), Etienne Fritz (Baptist minister in Pendus), Yves Vernet, Madam Leonie Sanen and Golicoeur Vernet (the man that sold the land for the dispensary).
They have met several times since last year and have filled out all of the Habitat application paperwork. They turned it in to the PAP office in mid-November but have not yet heard back from them. They have also been busy educating the community how Habitat works – such as it is not a gift, but something one must pay for (albeit interest free over time), and the fact that strong community volunteerism is necessary for Habitat to succeed. Sister Jackie said that most Habitat applications in third world countries take 18-24 months to get up and running, so we are on schedule according to that timeline. A lot of good discussion was held concerning their desire to have Habitat and to have it initiated with the strongest grassroots support possible – which hopefully will continue to grow over time.
Bob Haan has an engineering background. He was constantly looking at possible ways to help improve things -- such as the missing grate in the cooking area of the school kitchen and various wiring enhancements that could easily be made. The generator St. Mary sent in the sea container is only being used to half of its capacity due to the manner it is currently set up (it was possibly set up this way as that was all the materials available at the time.) With some simple changes, it could be utilized more effectively. He’s going to try to assemble the necessary parts and get them sent down to Pendus (either with the next group or on the next sea container.)
Dinner was served at 6:40 pm. Madam Garcon and her helpers fixed chicken and noodles, labwee, bread, jelly and various drinks.
With Sergo’s help, I later talked with Jean Claude and Hubert in the courtyard area. One of the children teasingly called him “pastor Jean Claude.” Hubert (pronounced “a-bear”) said that was because he helps to teach the Bible to others – and in particular to Hubert. I asked and neither of them owned a Bible. Jean Claude said he simply borrows one from the church from time-to-time and copies down the pertinent verses in a notebook for later reflection. I had two more Kreoyl Bibles left so I gave one to each of them.
We continued to talk. Jean Claude’s favorite verse in the Bible is Psalm 91, while Hubert’s was Psalms 23 and 91. Several other gentlemen joined our conversation and we took turns telling our favorite Biblical verse and having it read in both Kreoyl and then English. My favorite verse is Proverb 3:5. Hubert taught me how to say that in Kreoyl: “Proveb chapit twa, vese sink.” I really enjoyed this exercise.
The night sky was awesome. There was a bright full moon that lit up the whole courtyard area. There was not a cloud anywhere. Several of us continued to talk until finally going to bed at 11 pm.

Monday, December 31, 2001

I really had a great night’s sleep. I think this was the absolute quietest night I ever had in Haiti! I was up and showered by the time the 6 am bells rang out. I sat out by the St. Joseph basketball court area, watched the sun rise and read my Bible. I wanted to read Psalm 91 since Jean Claude and Hubert liked it so much.
There are a couple verses in Psalm 91 that most are familiar with, such as verses 1-2: “You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord . . . my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust” and verse 5: “You shall not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day.” However, it was verses 11 and 12 that really spoke to me this morning. They are:

“For God commands the angels to guard you in all your ways.
With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your
foot against a stone.”

Was this not what happened Saturday at the Pendus River? God sent his angels (all of the local Pendus residents) to protect us and to keep us from dashing our foot upon a stone (as we crossed the river)! The sunrise over the eastern mountaintop that accompanied this morning’s revelation was equally spectacular!
Benedict and Jonne were both here early as they were going to hike with us today. Benedict has a red winter coat on – while I had shorts, sandals and a t-shirt!
Since we were heading up to Massacre (pronounced “Maw-sok”) this morning, we had breakfast at 6:40 am. We ate scrambled eggs with Spam, mangos, bananas, orange slices, bread, grapefruit jelly, coffee and water.
We set out on this approximate 10-kilometer mountain hike at 7:30 am. Everyone in our group was going except for Dee, John and Sergo, who stayed behind and interacted with the children while we were gone. Sharon woke up this morning and had a slight fever and wasn’t going to go. However, when it came time to leave, she was ready and was not going to miss this experience.
The first of five river crossings came at the edge of Pendus as we headed northward. There was a large tree that had fallen across the river. Some of us simply hiked through the water to get across, while others walked or crawled across the tree. It was a great sight to see. When we crossed, we turned left and closely followed the water for a while before being the ascent upward. Hubert also walked with us and spent most of the round trip walking with me. As we walked (without the aid of an interpreter), we would point out an object to each other. He would say the word in Kreoyl (“bef”, “poul”, or “cock”) and I would say it in English (“cow”, “chicken”, or “rooster”). He kept repeating many of the words to help me retain them. Two new words that I will never forget are “ampil laboo” – or “much mud!” Many stretches of the path we traversed were literally a muddy mess. We don’t appreciate how reliant on the weather the Haitians are – not only for growing crops, but also for simple things as traveling the countryside.
Along the way, Father Bob said it would be a sin not to stop and view the beauty of the terrain. He said this would be a sin of omission! There were several places along with way where he decided to “stop” to avoid this sin!!
Despite the climb, the mud and the river crossings, we arrived at the new chapel and school (that was built with funds raised by St. Mary) in only two hours. As in past visits to Massacre, we heard the school children’s singing well before we arrived at the chapel. The musical welcome – being led by Amotese (the founder of the school here) – was louder and more joyful as we all filed into the chapel area. What a wonderful structure this chapel and four-room school was! They are now building a fence around it.
We also saw the 33 school desks that Doug Granlund designed and many St. Mary parishioners cut, sanded, stained and packaged for the sea container. Each desk was four foot wide and was turned around backward when used as a pew in the chapel. Two desks sitting side-by-side (8-foot total width) had 12 Haitian children sitting on them!
Father Cha Cha addressed the crowd. He asked if anyone there recognized any of the guests. Many hands shot up as several individuals greeted with a big hug those of us who had previously been there – Father Bob, me, Sharon, Kyle and Molly. He then introduced the new members of our group – Bob and Ellie Haan, Tony, Jorge and Jenny.
I told the congregation that if the welcome into heaven is anything like our joyful reception at the River Pendus and here at Massacre, then I couldn’t wait to experience it!
Father Cha Cha and Father Bob celebrated Mass, complete with much Haitian music (tambos or drums) and singing. Afterwards, we wandered in and around the facilities. Several of us met with Amotese and the teachers. I presented to Amotese a pair of moccasins made by Lafayette resident Carol Kuebler out of elk leather (which is more durable than deer leather.) He was ecstatic to once again have a pair of shoes (his right foot suffers from elephantiasis and is more than double the size of his right foot.)
The teachers told us of their “needs” for the school. They could use another 25 desks and would love to have a world globe in French. They could also use a table (with a lockable drawer) for each teacher there. For the chapel, they could use a generator (about 2500 watts) with electrical cords, a microphone and speaker (like we sent to St. Joseph church), and a battery-powered keyboard.
They then treated us to fresh coconut (“cocoye”) – first you drink the juice and then cut out the white coconut meat after it is cracked open – and sugar cane (“kanana”). I know I enjoyed both treats.
The hike back down was a beautiful walk along the mountain paths and through stretches of green, lush tropical foliage – as well as through the same mud patches! Roger Sainvil, the principal of Massacre, walked most of the way back with us before turning back.
Madam Garcon had lunch ready for us upon our arrival at 2:25 pm. We ate chicken, rice, bananas, plantains, French fries, pop and water. We also had Kasava, made from mayak root.
It was a gorgeous sunny day and there was much interaction with the Pendus children all afternoon. Tony, John, Jorge and Jenny took lots of Polaroid pictures of the children. This is a great treat for them to instantly receive their picture. Kyle spent quite a while playing both soccer and basketball with many of the children (and Sergo in soccer and Fritzner in basketball).
Jean Claude got out two tambos (Haitian drums) and spent a long time teaching Jorge how to properly play them. The two of them were soon playing well together many rhymetic beats. Jorge said they played so long his hands began to get sore!
There was even a game of “Oo-oo-skee-wat-an-toni” and other musical games played. The children – with the initial help of Madam Garcon and later with a neatly dressed young man (I didn’t get his name) – sang some of their chants and songs for us. They soon had many of us involved in the dancing portions of the game. The beats of the music were wonderful to listen to and keep time with by clapping!
During the early evening, Jenny and Molly joined Madam Garcon in the kitchen (a 12-foot by 12-foot room with only one window and three charcoal grills and a table for preparing food in it). They learned how to make labwee.
Supper was at 7:15. The main course was the labwee that Jenny and Molly helped make. We also ate bananas, mangos, bread and jelly. Afterwards, our group had a lengthy reflection time about all the events of the day. Cha Cha was not with us this evening, as he had to return to Gros Morne for a midnight Mass ceremony there. Since he was not here, there would not be a midnight Mass here as there was last year. Molly also went with him to visit more of her friends she made while living in Gros Morne.
There was not much going on in Pendus for New Year’s Eve, although a lot of music could be heard quite late into the night from a neighboring party not far away. Most of us sat in the courtyard and talked among ourselves and with some of the residents (with the aid of the interpreters). When I finally decided to go to bed it was 12:01 – I hadn’t realized it was that late and now a NEW YEAR!

Tuesday, January 1, 2002

Bon ane! Happy New Year! Today is Independence Day for Haiti. Haiti was the second country in the western hemisphere to gain its independence – the United State obviously was first. Haiti was also the first country to defeat Napoleon’s army to gain this independence on January 1, 1804.
Day Seven of our trip began for me at 6:30 (I slept in!). We had breakfast early in anticipation of hiking to Mayombe today. Our breakfast featured soup joumou – the national meal in Haiti. It is a squash soup with potatoes, carrots and meat. It was a meal the plantation owners used to eat – but not the slaves. Upon gaining their independence in 1804, the slaves celebrated by eating the soup with meat. Ever since, it has been the national meal (much like turkey is for us on thanksgiving).
Sister Jackie said we shouldn’t wait for Cha Cha to return (he’d catch up to us quickly anyway) before hiking up to Mayombe. This would give us more time and help beat the heat of the day as this climb would involve much more steepness in the ascent. Father Bob, Bob, Jenny, Sister Jackie and I left at 8 am. Hubert was going as our guide.
Again we walked through Pendus and crossed the river (where the tree was down.) After crossing, we turned right and followed the river downstream until we headed uphill. Along the way, Hubert introduced us to most of the people who lived near the path (they were all home as today’s holiday traditionally is a gathering of families at home!) I think Hubert was related to most of the families – including his own immediate family whom we all met at their residence.
Again, Father Bob found many spots for us to avoid the “sin of not stopping” to absorb the beauty of the mountains and valleys we were being blessed with today.
About two-thirds of the way up the mountainside, I met a mute man that I had met on my first trip but had not seen on the second visit. When our eyes met along the narrow mountain path, there was instant recognition that we knew each other. He had the same look when he saw Father Bob right behind me. He could only make some grunting sounds and couldn’t talk to us. He ran back down the hillside about 200 feet toward a thatch-roofed hut. He quickly came back out, making as much noise as he could, waving a rosary he had received back on that first visit. This was his way of telling us he KNEW us!!
Mayombe is one of six chapel areas connected to St. Joseph Church in Pendus. The others are Massacre, Montbayard, Savan Carre, Bara and Kayimic. These chapel areas are at least an hour’s walk or more from Pendus and exist because these villages often cannot make the hike for church services at St. Joseph. Each chapel area has its own sacristan who will lead scripture readings, lead songs, or give a homily whenever a priest is unable to be there (which is most of the time). They can conduct funerals too. What they do not do is the consecration of the Eucharist, confessions and weddings.
Father Cha Cha, Father Jean Baptist and Father Nestle handle all of the duties at Our Lady of the Light and the twenty chapels surrounding Gros Morne and at St. Joseph and the six chapels near Pendus. With many of the chapels unreachable by vehicle, the priests have to be able to hike the often-treacherous terrain.
We arrived in Mayombe a lot quicker than Sister Jackie anticipated we would – in just two hours! We came totally unannounced to the people of Mayombe (as we weren’t scheduled to visit here until the rivers and mud kept us from going to Montbayard.)
Within ten minutes of our arrival the sacristan Senjust Fortuna and nearly 60 men, women and children greeted us at the chapel. Senjust was wearing a Gus Macker shirt from our prior sea container! We opened with a group prayer and then had several introductions, including the sacristan’s two sons Julian Fortuna (who attends high school in Gonaive) and Mertelien Forturna (who had completed high school). We passed out candy to all who were there, including the adults. One little boy (no more than 1 year old) began to cry as I approached with a tootsie roll. He had never seen a white person before! He even cried for Jenny. After I backed away he did quit and took the candy that we had given to his mother.
We were told that we were the first whites to come to Mayombe in over eight years. The last one was a French priest. They could not specifically remember any Americans coming there.
There was a discussion about the social-economic condition of Mayombe. It got a little spirited when the sacristan said four children from his family had gone on to high school. One gentleman – Elvis Sanfelis – said to tell the “real picture.” He had never been to school but learned English in the Bahamas where he worked until he was not allowed to stay in that country. There were only a handful of Mayombe children that ever went on to high school. There is a “school” here of five classes and about 70 children that meet in the chapel area. However, Sister Jackie had warned us beforehand that they do not recognize or encourage this “school”. Those residents that teach there often do not themselves have beyond a second grade education. Since there is little or no work up here, it is very difficult to get any qualified teachers to live and work here. It is so remote, that it takes the locals 35 minutes down the backside of the mountain to get to the closest water source to Mayombe (and 35 minutes back up!). Despite all the hardships, they continue to live here because it is the only place they can afford!
After we were there for about an hour, Cha Cha arrived. He had walked up with deOnville.
The chapel was one of the poorer structures we had seen. It was approximately 20-feet by 30-feet in dimension with an uneven dirt floor. The roof was all tin but there were several pieces missing leaving a gaping hole. The sides were a combination of tin and palm-woven mats that also had gaps where wind had created holes. The roof and walls were a protection from sun more than wind and rain. Heavy winds and flash flooding between the mountain top and below are big concerns for those who live in Mayombe (that is why they did not make Mass Sunday in Pendus).
The sacristan said their dream in Mayombe is to one day have a chapel with a concrete roof, block walls and a concrete floor. He also said that this area was once all Catholic, but now there are at least three other churches in the area (that don’t put demands on people – ie: before getting married etc) and have a “nicer” worship space (his words as we did not see them). Cha Cha estimated a cost of $15,000 to construct such a building (including the added expense of having all the building materials carried up the mountainside!)
Before we left, Cha Cha asked the people if they had anything to say. The first woman to respond said, “Now we believe new blood will come into the area.” A second woman added “What God has brought to us today, no flood can take away!” How powerful is a little ray of hope that we are able to bring to them!
As we began our walk home, a large number of them walked with us and continued to wave to us as we got further away. Bob Haan was leading the pack down, when Espagnal Olissaint (Helen Hession’s family she sponsors) stopped us and insisted we have some soup joumou. All of us stopped (except Bob who was well ahead of our group) and went inside her home to eat. The soup was very good (and safe to eat because it had been boiled.)
After leaving her home, Cha Cha pointed out a poor, thatched roofed hut about 100 yards off the path. It was the home of Anisette Verned – the family Cha Cha choose for Brian and Kathy Roark’s sponsorship money. She has no husband and her oldest daughter Ganie (over 30 years old) had died this past year, whom she was still mourning. She had also taken a bad fall recently and was in bed not feeling well. She has four other children Clere (30), Elan (28), Guerrie (20) and Nixen (18) and five grandchildren, two of which were Ganie’s that now live with her – Anicia (18) and Francia (11). We took the path to visit her and her two granddaughters for a short while.
As we approached Pendus we met Tony and John at the river and walked the rest of the way home with them. Tony and John had wanted to buy a goat for our supper (and help in its preparation). It had taken most of the day to find one (it would cost $10 US which they paid) but someone had to go to Massacre to get it and was not yet back!
Madam Garcon had lunch ready for us (and still warm!) when we arrived at 2:30. She fixed turkey and chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, rice, plantains, macaroni, bread pudding cake and butter pound cake. It was quite a feast for New Year’s Day. When the meal was over, we gave two scarves filled with lotion, fingernail polish, lipstick, and a miniature nativity scene to Madam Garcon and each of her kitchen helpers.
Kyle, Tony, John, Jorge and I took a number of the local boys to a hilltop just west of Pendus that overlooked the entire church compound and the nearby dispensary. What a glorious view of the entire mountain valley area! All the Haitian boys loved looking through the binoculars I brought. While we were up there, John discovered a 3 or 4-inch tarantula hiding under a rock. All the boys liked looking at it. We soon heard Sister Jackie on the bullhorn below saying, “Jeff Newell, there is a guest here for you.”
When we climbed back down, we discovered the goat from Massacre had arrived. John said he named it “Billy” but Tony said he simply called it “Dinner!” Under the watchful eye of Madam Garcon, the two of them helped slaughter it and prepare it for cooking for tonight.
After lunch and unbeknown to the rest of us, Bob took Ellie and walked back up to Mayombe (without any interpreter). He said there still were people who greeted them at the chapel when they again arrived unexpectedly. Imagine, no white men visit in over 8 years and possibly no Americans ever, and Bob made the hike TWICE in one day! They were only able to stay a few minutes, as they wanted to make sure they would be able to get back to Pendus before it got dark. They did as they arrived right before 6:30 New Year’s Mass was to begin.
Father Cha Cha co-celebrated Mass with Father Bob. Cha Cha asked where the people in attendance were from and at least one-forth came from Massacre and a dozen or so from Mayombe! Remember that it will be well past dark when they all walk home after the service! Sitting in front of the Massacre contingent was Amotese – proudly wearing his new moccasins.
Cha Cha gave his homily first, which Sister Jackie, Sergo and Fritzner quietly translated in our several small groups. Sister Jackie then translated Father Bob’s homily for the entire congregation. When he was done, the parishioners of St. Joseph gave Father Bob a big round of applause. He then told them that he does not get such applause back home at St. Mary. (After Father Bob’s homily on the Haiti experience at the first 11 am Mass back home, we made sure he got his well-earned round of applause!) Cha Cha then said he too never gets applause for his homilies . . . so they applauded for him as well!
At the end of Mass, Father Cha Cha called our whole group to the altar area and presented us with a gift of two Haitian woodcarvings to take back to St. Mary. One was of a Haitian woman carrying something on her head and the other was a Haitian man playing the tambo. Later on, Madam Garcon also gave our parish two large Haitian oil paintings depicting life in her country.
More Polaroid pictures were taken in the courtyard area as well as several last-minute photos with various people of Pendus before suppertime.
Our last supper in Pendus did not start until 8:30 pm and featured the goat (kabrit) that Tony and John bought and prepared for tonight. We also had rice, bananas, bread, jelly, pop and water. Our whole group, along with Cha Cha and Sister Jackie stayed in the dining room and had a wrap-up meeting for this visit. We talked about the married women (especially those who come without their husbands) being called “Madam _______,” instead of by their own name as a precautionary measure for them. It was also suggested that sometime during the day (and most likely in the evening – such as after 9 pm) that there be some “down time” where especially the children are not around. It can be pretty tiresome to go full tilt from before sunrise to well after sunset. We also addressed the feeling that some were trying to catch your attention during the visit so as to possibly get “sponsored”. We need to make sure Father Cha Cha handles all sponsorships – both the requests and the giving end. There was also discussion about some Haitian teen behavior possibly being curiosity or inappropriate.
On the plus side, our teenagers were a great asset on this trip, both with their ability to interact with the Haitian children and teenagers but as hope for our adults who observed them all week. Also, our heavenly welcomes at the Pendus River, at Massacre and at Mayombe will be difficult, it not impossible, to ever surpass! As Bob Haan said earlier in the trip, “I could have planned for three months and not had the great experiences I got on this trip!”
Father Cha Cha’s capital priorities for St. Mary Cathedral to help with are as follows:
1. Chapel at Mayombe (about $15,000)
2. Chapel and six-room classroom at Montbayard ($40,000)
3. Food for schools at St. Joseph and Massacre (on-going)

He would also still like for us to make and send pews for St. Joseph, more school desks for St. Joseph and Massacre, desks (with lockable drawer) for the teachers at both schools, a globe (in French) and some items for equipping the new dispensary.
Fritzner offered to spend some of his summer in Pendus teaching English. Cha Cha also asked Kyle if he would do so as well. Our meeting did not end until 10:15 pm.
Most of us still had to finish packing for the trip back to Port-au-Prince tomorrow and in the process make sure everything we had brought here to leave got left! We also got one last cool, yet very welcomed shower before the evening was over. There were also many people, adults and children alike that we wanted to say our last good-byes to as well. The last of our group didn’t get to bed until 12:15.

Wednesday, January 2, 2002

I was up at 4:50. I didn’t want to forget my luggage in Pendus (like I did last year!) I had some shirts and other items that I gave to Fritzner and Sergo. Everyone’s bags were placed in the courtyard in front of the guest rooms by 6:15 breakfast.
A quick morning meal consisted of spaghetti, bananas, bread, peanut butter and jelly, coffee, tang and water.
Father Cha Cha did not eat with us as he was down the road making sure the one washed out area and the Pendus riverbank were passable by vehicle. He had several locals working the past couple days – thereby making our return trip a lot easier! Nonetheless, the first truck to pick us up arrived late at 7:15. Sister Jackie said for us to all pile in the back of the first Toyota and head toward PAP (she knew we wanted to make a couple stops along the way and needed all the daylight we could to make PAP before dark.) That meant LEAVING our entire luggage for her to bring with her when the second vehicle finally arrives. She said if she didn’t catch up to us somewhere along the way, we would see her at Hospice St. Joseph. Since we would be fairly crowded for the ride home, we only took small backpacks and water bottles, but dressed for taking a swim in the Caribbean along the way. I had a funny feeling that this was exactly how I left Pendus last year – dressed in a swimsuit, shirt and sandals (although not leaving my things on purpose.)
We pulled away from the gathered throng at St. Joseph at 7:45. Again, the view as we began our journey to Gros Morne was spectacular. The river level was low enough and the entry area cleaned out enough that we passed through that prior trouble spot without any problem. There were no muddy areas to contend with either on our way home. We arrived at the rectory in Gros Morne in great time at 9 am
Here we were to switch from the Toyota to the 15-passenger van, which was not yet here to meet us. Several of us walked to Sister Vivian’s house to get Molly and to see Dief again (who was there waiting for Kyle!) The nuns treated us to some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. I also made sure I talked to Fesson and told him I would never forget his name again.
Finally we headed for PAP at 10:15 with Augustine as our driver. He had some concern about us making any stops along the way, as he needed to be at the PAP airport by 3:30. Father Cha Cha assured him we could make two quick stops and still be OK for his schedule.
The first such stop was near Gonaive where we stopped at Mother Theresa’s Home for the Dying. One on the nuns met us at the door and gave us a short half hour tour. The facility has 50 beds and most were empty as many of the residents were home or visiting some relatives over New Year’s. There was one woman named Vivian, who could no longer see, that sang several songs for us – including the Haitian song to the tune of Jingle Bells (when translated the words were not the same as Jingle Bells.) She sang all the verses of each tune she sang and wasn’t going to be interrupted!
We left there at 11:55, got to St. Marc at 1:35 and finally at the Shell gas station at 2 pm. We all grabbed a snack or light lunch and drink and headed to our swimming stop a short distance toward PAP from there. We knew this stop had to be short for Augustine’s sake, but the quick dip in the Caribbean felt wonderful. However, Tony ended up with 30-40 stings from a sea urchin (he said he must have sat on it and then stood up on it as they were in his hip and his foot.) Despite the two stops, Augustine got us to Hospice St. Joseph at 3:50 and quickly headed back to the airport.
Since none of us had our clothes (remember Jackie is bringing them later), we couldn’t take a shower – we had nothing to change into! As we waited for Sister Jackie to arrive, John, Kyle and I spent some time with the street merchant across from the Hospice. He had both woodcarvings and Haitian paintings. I got a wooden manger scene while John bought a couple more paintings. Kyle, meanwhile, bought a machete and sheath from the vendor next door.
Suppertime came at 5:30, and still no Jackie. We all simply ate in the same attire we had worn all day (for most of us it was swimsuits.) Dinner was rice and beans, salad, pasta and cheese, and water.
We took up a collection to give some money to Sergo and Fritzner and collected $278 to split equally between the two. Sergo could not spend the night with us and wanted me to hold his money until he came back in the morning. It would be safer for him not to have that much money on him at night. Fritzner again spent the night with Father Bob.
At 7 pm, Cha Cha called from Gros Morne to make sure we arrived safely and to say goodbye again. We told him Sister Jackie was still not here, nor had we heard from her yet. He said he’d make some calls. About a half an hour later Sister Jackie called from St. Marc. She and Barak (they also had four other passengers) had car trouble just before they reached St. Marc. The differential was out. Being a mechanic, Barak attempted to get another one at a shop in St. Marc, but didn’t have enough money without going back to Sister Jackie. In the meantime, someone they knew had passed them and said they’d send their brother back to get them. That person never showed up (and most likely never got the message.)
They managed to get to the Catholic church in St. Marc. Had we not had such an early flight tomorrow, she would have simply waited until Thursday to get the vehicle fixed and then come to PAP as it is not always safe to travel after dark (especially if you encounter more car trouble). St. Marc is about half the distance mileage-wise between Pendus and PAP, but travel-time-wise only a couple hours from PAP (as the roads were considerably better between there and PAP). But all of our clothes, medicines, contact supplies etc were with Sister Jackie. She also had the four others to get to PAP.
She called back and said she’d rent a “tap-tap” to them everyone and everything to the Hospice, but it’d be at least two hours before she would arrive. So we continued to wait.
Father Bob decided to have Mass in the chapel while we waited. Again it was a “come-as-you-are” affair, only this time because we had nothing else. For John it was the third Mass at the Hospice he attended barefoot! It was my (and several others) first Mass in a swimsuit. Tony did not even have a shirt as his got muddy and wet at the midday swim stop. We spent a long time during the homily-reflection time remembering the many blessings we’d encountered this past week.
At last, the tap-tap with Sister Jackie arrived about 11 pm. It was so loaded down, it couldn’t make it all the way up the hill to the Hospice. We had to carry everything the last 100-feet or so into the Hospice. The tap-tap had cost $80 US, but it did get them here safely. We gladly paid the tap-tap fee for her.
Finally we were all able to get showers, packed for the final leg home and ready for bed. We went to bed about midnight.

Thursday, January 3, 2002

It was an awfully noisy night, especially the local music. I woke up at 4 and couldn’t get back to sleep. I finally got up at 5:15.
Our plane was scheduled to take off at 10:02 am so we had to be up, showered, packed and ready to leave the Hospice by 7 am. It was another beautiful morning and sunrise. Sergo was here early, too, to spend the last moments he could with us.
Our last meal at the Hospice was a quick one – cereal (Sweet Mornings), milk (powdered), bananas, orange slices, bread, jelly, coffee and water. Everyone had his stuff (we only took home 7 checked-in items as opposed to 23 going down!) ready on time for Franzy to take us to the airport. Sister Kay took one last round of group photos on everyone’s camera before we left promptly at 7 am.
Sister Jackie would not be going with us as usual to the airport as she needed to get back to St. Marc to attend to her broken-down vehicle. Our goodbyes with her were said at the Hospice. Molly would not be flying home with us either as she was scheduled to stay in Haiti until Sunday. However, she did come with us to the airport to act as our interpreter inside the terminal in case one was needed.
One last drive through the crowded streets of Port-au-Prince and we were at the airport by 7:30. There were plenty of “Red Caps” willing to help with our luggage but we convinced them we could handle it ourselves. Fritzner and Sergo said their last goodbyes (we thought) and got a round of hugs before we went inside the terminal. They typically do not go inside with us. Since we had a group, we were allowed to by-pass the long line for the ticket counter (for a small tip of course). I gathered all the passports and was able to get everyone’s boarding passes fairly easily and quickly. Next we had to pay our exit fees of $30 US and $2 Haitian apiece (exact change is required for this).
Afterwards we stood together as a group with Molly (we were ready way before boarding time!) to finish talking. All of a sudden Fritzner and Sergo appeared. They had gotten into the building to spend a few more minutes together with us. As is usual, there were several vendors working the crowds inside the building, selling things such a necklaces, bracelets, English-Kreoyl books, Haitian musical CDs etc.
With about an hour before departure, we finally said our last goodbyes to Fritzner, Sergo and Molly and went through customs. There was a gathering room upstairs from the final waiting room that had food, drinks, Haitian duty-free rum and a variety of other souvenirs (including the only map of Haiti that I have found that has Pendus on it!) Kyle got a hot dog and soda and Bob and Ellie found some ice cream. Dee bought a wooden bell with the inscription: “No one listens to the cry of the poor or the sound of a wooden bell.”
As we waited for what appeared to be the first of only two flights leaving PAP that morning, we ran into Father Dan Davis and the rest of the St. Thomas Aquinas group that had been in southern Haiti near Jacmel. Their entire flight home coincided exactly with ours. We each had many stories to being telling each other.
Our flight – American Air #328 – left nearly on time. As we took off, our flight carried us over more of the mountainous interior part of the country than I remembered before. I imagined we just covered the entire trek to Pendus in less than 10 minutes. We filled out the customs declarations before landing just after noon.
Since he was part of our group and actually living in the United States, Jorge was able to go through the American customs line with the rest of us. This greatly eased Sharon’s mind. None of us were selected this time for any extra searches! For our flight home we had to catch a shuttle bus to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. The St. Thomas group spotted the prearranged shuttle service before we did and we all waited for the two vans to pick us up. We were not very warm as we waited outside, as it was only 62 degrees! On the half-hour ride to Ft. Lauderdale, I hooked up my new digital camera to the televisions on the bus and played most of the nearly 400 pictures from my two Smart media cards.
We immediately got our luggage checked and boarding passes upon arrival at Ft. Lauderdale about 1:30. The first thing on everyone’s mind was to get something to eat. There was a “Chile’s too” close to the ATA ticket counter. Both groups wound up eating there. I know our group almost all had a big hamburger with French fries. Kyle was wearing only shorts, thinking he wouldn’t be cold until Indianapolis. He had to borrow a pair of pants from Jenny because is was even cold inside at the Ft. Lauderdale airport.
While our two groups waited at the boarding gate, we had three games of cards going the last hour or so before takeoff. Guess what? Our St. Mary group was “selected” again to be searched before departure. Because of this, we were 20 minutes late taking off at 6:30 pm. The flight was uneventful the rest of the ride home. We landed at the Indy airport at 8:47.
Doug, John, Alan and Helen were all waiting for us after we landed. Many stories were told as we gathered our luggage and headed for home. I was in Doug’s truck for the ride home when I saw my Dad drive up in my van to pick us up. It took one lap around the Indy airport drive for the other three vehicles to get his attention and tell him where we were. He had misunderstood whether he was needed to help pick people up in Indy or not. Good thing we weren’t two minutes quicker or he wouldn’t have known where we were – and he had my keys to the house when we all met there (Dee’s husband was picking her up there as was Tony’s father.)
We arrived back home shortly after 10 pm. I was so excited to see some of my digital pictures that I hooked the camera up to the basement television and watched them all with Doug and Helen until nearly midnight.
What a great trip! What special memories! Pa vini, se pwazon!