Mennville Haiti Missions Trip

We were harmoniously awoken this morning by a set of dogs who were determined to test the capacity of their voices while graciously ruining our saturday morning "sleep in".  But then again, maybe that was just me (Jared); Alyssa thought she was hearing a rock band outside the compound at 1 in the morning, so this 30 degree weather must just be getting to our heads after a week. 

After knocking down some egg casserole which seemed oddly simular to the menu a week ago, we set out to work.  If I had the knack of keeping track of useless trivia such as what everyone did today, I would be just overjoyed to tell you.  But unfortunately I have much more important things to archive, and would rather not give you the untruthful inpression that I know what I'm talking about.  But the tasks of our group today ranged from welding to painting, cement laying to electrical work, sanding rust off of pipes that should have just been thrown away to applying duct tape to deadly stray wires and thus protecting innocent maringa-tree users from a gastly prick of the thumb.  Very important stuff, really.  I can tell you though, that Aimee and I worked exceedingly hard to keep our skills in check and maintain the delicate balance between showing off our phenomenal painting abilities and just humbly slapping paint onto the wood like the average American teenager.  Yes, it could be argued that our meager shelf was just being put in a storage room and adorned with junk that may come in hand one day, but ask anyone else and they would have to admit that if they could they would trade it in for their mahogany coffee table in a heartbeat.

Finally after a day of hard work (and obviously no drawn out pepsi breaks *coughs*), everyone majestically swiped the sweat off their foreheads and called it a week.  And what a great week it was!  Although we are still adjusting to the new group of people that we're working this week, I strongly believe that we can make this next week equally as good!  We will depart for Saint Marc at 6:30 tomorrow morning (morning as in a.m.) for church, that is, if our alarm clocks can handle the strain of being cranked down to a "5".  I personally am pumped, as the previous Haitian church experiences have been far from disappointing.  One note to self though, so as not to make the same mistakes twice- before butchering your Creole phrases and utterly confusing the poor victem stuck talking with you, ask if they know English before overhearing them speak it fluently with a fellow tourist.

As there is not a whole lot else to blog, and I have nothing better to do, I will end this exciting link with the real world by sharing a few random stories from the week past-
Yesterday, as Andrew mentioned, a few of us went to Port-au-Prince to drop off the Americans/pick up new ones.  I had to struggle to close my gaping jaws after seeing a half-dozen sheep dangling from their feet from a passing half-ton- only to be informed they were still alive!  It didn't help the situation to see that on the opposite side of the cattle truck we were currently occupying was a women carrying multiple live roosters on an oversized basket on her head.  No easy task if anything like the obnoxious beasts roaming around our dorms. 

Also, just wanted to quickly share a tidbit of my first Haitian shopping experience.  To begin with, I am terrible at saying no, nevermind with salesmen on every side of me begging me to look @ their merch.  So I had definitely spent a few dollars before the thought crosed my mind that I was wasting my few American dollars on things that I didn't even want.  And second of all, when I get on a shopping high I stop being keen on the details.  In this instance, I was trying to purchase a painting which I had proudly bartered down, and at the same time, rapidly count out my American bills in the near darkness.  And I don't know if you've ever tried, but somehow a $5 and a $50 dollar bill look quite simular when you're in a rush.  Within 10 minutes of my first purchase, I realized in a panic that I had doled out $80 dollars for the painting instead of $35.  No wonder the the salesman looked so happy when I asked him if it was the right amount.  I quickly voiced my concerns to one of the group leaders, thinking I would surely never see half of my souveneer money again.  But she told me to just go tell him what had happened.  I did so, thinking it was a waste of time, and with no hesitiation he reached into his pocket and gave me my $50 back- it would have been so easy for him to keep the money, and it wasn't his fault at all.  But instead, he readily gave back what was likely his "biggest tip" to date with a smile on his face!  These truly are amazing people!

In closing, I just want to repeat what Pam (one of the leaders) said at our meeting tonight, and I hope that when I'm repeating it I sincerely believe the same thing.  She said that she is no longer seeing Americans, Canadians, and Haitians, but she is seeing people.  We are all the same in the things that really matter, all equally loved by God, and as much as we may think it at times, us North Americans are really no better then the man struggling to feed his family with any means possible, no better then the little girl with burns on her arms, no better then the young single mom trying to put her children through school and provide them with water in a desolate land where water is a commodity not in abundance in the least.  There is no upper class, no lower class, just a world filled with people made by the same creator.  I thought that was a good reminder, and I hope that these 2 weeks will really alter my thinking in that way.

I apologize that there are no pics once again tonight, but I will be sure to post some tomorrow, so check back soon!  Gnite