Thursday, April 9, 1998

Terry was up and out early this morning. She swam twelve lengths of the pool and then read a bit. We showered, dressed, worshipped and ate breakfast. We hung out for a bit and were very interested to observe a lady who came to the villa to display her vegetables for sale to the hotel management. The group left Coconut Villa around 9:15 a.m. and headed up the mountain for the Baptist Mission. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety that filled our eyes, getting the first glimpses of the Haitian countryside and farmland, animals, markets and the homes of the elite. The mountainside was covered terraced farming.

The country's elite raced up and down the mountainous roads in expensive cars, seemingly uncaring for the other drivers. We stopped at a large cement building called Wings of Hope, a home started and maintained for handicapped children. One girl in a wheelchair squealed with delight when she saw us.

We then went next door to the Baptist Mission, a site started by American Baptists to serve the area of Haiti. We shopped at the mission and on the street outside where people were quick to offer their "best deals", but then bartered for a better deal. John chose a unique souvenir, a hand carved walking stick. Terry selected a Haitian painting, a children's book about Haiti, some cross necklaces for our children and some note cards. We were joined by Octavius Liberius, a Pentecostal pastor who was working hard to bring the Word of God to the rural areas of Haiti. We accompanied him even further into the mountains on unpaved roads which made several of our group nervous thinking we might slid over the edge. We arrived at a church which also had a clinic and vocational school. He told us he oversees 20 churchs and would even like to open a restaurant and gift shop here to help the local economy. He spoke so positively to us about what is going on and his incredible vision. He shared that "All is possible with God who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13. We headed back to the Coconut Villa with a scenic stop which provided an incredible overlook of Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, the beauty of the moment was spoiled by street vendors who put their wares in our faces and insisted we barter with them. At the villa, we relaxed by the pool and wrote in our journal for 1 1/2 hours. Dinner was spaghetti, salad, bread and papaya. With our stomachs stuffed, we pushed away from the table while ravaging hunger lies rampant just outside our walls. This evening we enjoyed our final guest speaker, John Yates, a Canadian who is the administrator of the children's hospital in Port-au-Prince. It was very enlightening as he shared from a different point of view - North American who has chosen to live and raise his family here. He has four children ages 8 to 15. Some facts he shared with us: the leading causes of children's death in Haiti - #1 Diarrhea, #2 chest infections, #3 malnutrition, #4 TB, 130 of every 1000 children will die before reaching the age of five, Haitian woman bear an average of 5.3 children and 80% of all births occur in the home. He loves living here with his family. His children attend private school and he feels they benefit immensely from a culture different from their own. We turned in early since John was not feeling too well.