Thursday in the Village

On our last full day on the Plateau, we once again woke to the swish, swish, swish of the brooms outside.  Our first task for the morning was to help a local gentleman paint the inside of his new rental house.  We hurried to don our paint clothes – or lack thereof, so some of us just turned our clothes inside out and hoped for the best.  We had hoped to get an early start to beat the heat, but by 8:00 the sun is already extremely intense and the sweat began to flow… When we arrived at “DJ Wilfred’s” house, bearing all the paint rollers and paintbrushes that could be found, we were ready to paint the cement grey interior a nice bright coral colour.  To make the paint stretch a bit, some water was added, in varying degrees much to the painters’ dismay as some paint trays had nice thick paint and others were trying to (not very successfully) cover the walls with thin watery paint.  But, by working together the main area of the house was finished and looking good after an hour and a half.

We hurried back to dry out and wash up before computer classes began again at 10:00 a.m..  By this time, many of us were familiar with the local youth and knew several by name and their relation to one another.  It was neat to see the various skills the students were working on.  One table had two Haitian boys attempting to type an English sentence using correct hand placement while racing one another.  “Een, de, twa, ale!”  But, with the pressure on, hand placement went out the window and pecking with one finger was much quicker! 

Another table was working on Powerpoint, inserting pictures from Shayna’s phone and labelling the pictures, delighted with the multiple options for transitions between slides. 

In another corner, students were sharing details of their personal lives while typing in English, changing font sizes and colours.  All meanwhile, calls kept coming from all directions, “Will, can you please come here!  How do you say …. in creole?”  “Will, can you come translate? What does this mean?” 

After lunch with the youth – another gourmet Haitian meal of rice and beans, but this time with an additional treat: peanut butter oatmeal cookies! – some of the girls and one certain guy with voluminous hair had the local girls put a few braids in their hair.  Exclamations of “Ow!  This is tight!” or “Man, they can braid fast” were heard as the girls made quick work of their hair.

At 4:00 p.m. we loaded into, or onto, two vehicles so Brad could show us some of the projects that we had funded.  Our first stop was at a local family home where a water cistern had been built and water provided for them.  They were so pleased to see us and very grateful for the fresh water.  We were given various pails, bowls, and jugs to help him water some of the trees on his property, all the while Benji, their energetic son, ran ahead, directing us from tiny tree to tiny tree. 

To protect the plants from the goats or other animals, some of the overabundant thorny branches were woven together and stacked around and over the tree.  After saying our “Orevwa!”s we drove on to the next place.  Here they were in the process of building a latrine for the family.  Once again, thanks to the generous support of our family, friends and businesses back home, we were able to provide the funds needed to complete this project. 

After that visit we were ready for our next project.  This time we would be taking food supplies to some local elderly and sick people.  Each would receive the same food supplies we had brought to the distant village a few days ago.  We had 12 bags of rice and 12 boxes of food loaded into the vehicles and were on our way, bumping along on the dusty roads.  As we drive from one place to the next, the driver has to make some decisions – either hit the big bump in the road, or swerve to the edge and miss the bump, scraping along the thorny bushes and trees.  Sadly for the person on the running board, swerving to the side usually won. 

Our first stop was at the home of an 87 year old woman, the grandmother of Manis, the founder of Lemuel ministries.  As we entered her simple, but tidy home, we were met with a frail woman lying on her mattress.  Her food was brought into another room, but when Will explained to her why we had come, she asked us to put it beside her on the mattress.  Before leaving, we decided to sing a Psalter for her.  As we all stood around her singing, she attempted to sit up and face everyone, with a smile on her face from ear to ear and tears trickling down her cheeks.  It was really touching to witness. 

Our next stop brought us to the home of an elderly gentleman who was reclining on the ground in front of his hut.  Thankfully Will was along and able to communicate with the people and translate for us.  As he received his food, he said he was thankful first to God and then to us.  Once again we sang a few songs and then took a group picture with him and his wife.  Ashley had her Polaroid camera with her and he was pleased as can be to receive his own picture.  After repeated mesi’s (thank-yous) we drove off to another elderly woman’s home.  She was inside her hut, but Will and a family member went inside and helped her outside.  “I’ve always wanted to see a little white kid” she said with a mischievous smile, even though it was obvious that she could no longer see.  After singing one song she asked for another and was clearly so happy to have us come and sing for her.  As she was being brought back to her room, she was singing, “I am so happy!” and doing a little happy dance.  Such a short little visit and gift and yet they are so grateful for what they have received. 

After making one more visit, this time to a woman who suffers from constant migraines, we headed back to the Lemuel compound for supper. 

When we arrived back at the compound, we heard that there was a good-bye party planned for the evening together with the local youth.  And, sure enough, preparations were being made  – wood piled up for a campfire, popcorn being popped and plantains being fried, tables set up outside, and the local kids arriving, all dressed up for an evening of fun.  It was a fun last evening together with the same kids that we’ve spent the past week with.  And so our eventful week on the Plateau ended.