DEAR SEVEN,

Your mom sent me a message on Facebook the other day, packed full of your questions regarding my friend Daniel and the kids in his neighborhood he seeks to minister to on a regular basis.  I can tell that your mom (who is an old friend of mine) is proud to have an 11 year old daughter who is so concerned for kids she has never met in a country she has never visited. (Yet!) 

You've asked about Daniel and the needs of the kids and how you can help but before I TRY to answer your specific questions, I feel like I have to make something clear: "try" is the best I can do ... because things are complicated.  Haiti is complicated.  Navigating cultural differences is complicated.  Communicating across two languages - English and Kreyol - is complicated.  AND Daniel keeps taking me to meet people living in the MOST complicated situations.

And quick and easy answers are in short supply here!

To illustrate how language and culture sometimes gets in the way of even basic understanding, I will start with this truly embarrassing example: I just learned this morning that "Daniel" is not my friend's first name - it's what you and I would call his "last name"!  

But Haitians will normally give or sign their names the opposite of what we do.  Which means if you ask a Haitian what his first name is, he'll probably tell you his family name - because here the family name comes first! For a year he has allowed me to call him Daniel because, he says, most other Americans do it - we all assume it is his first name and it is a familiar name to us, so he let's it go.  But I wouldn't want him calling me "Gross" all the time, so I need to make a change.  ;-)

So from here on out, I need to call him either "Mr. Daniel" (which is WAY too formal for such a good friend) or "Rodolphe", his actual first name.  (Pronounced "Row-dolf".)  It's going to take some getting used to!

Here's another complication I feel like you need to understand:  Rodolphe has NOTHING of his own.  He has no job.  He has very few possessions of his own. As a Christian, he sees his neighborhood as his mission field.  He sees malnourished and hungry kids outside his door and knows he is called by a loving and just Lord to care for them. But he has no resources of his own to share.  What he gives to the neighborhood kids comes from the outside: gifts from missionaries here in Haiti or new friends who have met him during their visit from the United States or Canada, sometimes even complete strangers - like YOU!

Last spring, you and your family and some friends from your church raised $200 over Easter and sent it to me to help Rodolphe feed the neighborhood children.  It came at the perfect time - a missionary who had been helping Rodolphe get soup mix each month to share with the kids had to go back to the States for health reasons. Very soon he was running short of food for the 100 kids he feeds each weekend.

When I received your check, I went out shopping with Rodolphe and we were able to buy a couple of BIG bags of rice, some spices, some fish for seasoning, some charcoal for cooking and some bleach for cleaning up dishes.  He was well stocked by the end of the morning.

At the time, my family and I were getting ready to leave for Indiana for the summer, so, thanks to you and your friends and family, we were able to go with the confidence of knowing Rodolphe was supplied for a while. (I meant to tell you all this back in May, but I never got to it.  Please forgive me and know how grateful Rodolphe and I both were for your family's efforts.)

Here's a picture from this morning inside Rodolphe's "house".  I use quotation marks because it's just a single room, maybe 8 foot by 10 at most.  There's a single light bulb - and that only functions when there is power, which comes and goes.  No sink.  No bathroom. Just his bed, a small table, some books and several large barrels filled with cooking supplies and food.

Here he is showing a couple of bags of the soup mix.  

He used to be given around 50 bags of soup mix each month. But in October he only received 9; this month he was thankful to get 20. Still, he tends to go through 2 or 3 bags on Saturday morning and the same on Sunday.  So lately he has been running short and he hasn't been able to feed the kids every weekend.  I think it really breaks his heart when he cannot share food with his neighbors. Recently, his missionary friend sent him some cash and so he's had rice to make up the difference again.  

This morning my son Caleb and I went to Rodolphe's house at 8:00 hoping to help with feeding the kids. They were already finished and washing dishes! Apparently the kids started showing up at 6:00 am, asking for food, so the meal was started early.  

 There's a small well just outside Rodolphe's door and he and his brother pull water out of it by lowering a bucket on a rope.  The water is yellow and not at all safe to drink, but with a little bleach added it is usable for washing all the bowls and cooking utensils.

 Some of the kids were still hanging around after the meal.  They are so excited about getting their pictures taken.

This little guy is not much older than you are.  (He said he was already 12 and I hear your birthday is only a few weeks away!)  His name is Michael Joseph and, in case you are wondering, yes, I double checked to make sure Michael was his FIRST name.  But, it's not pronounced the same way in Kreyol as English.  It sounds more like "Mee-ki-el".  

Michael is one of a handful of kids in the neighborhood who are actually in school.  Beyond feeding him on the weekends, Rodolphe helps Michael by tutoring him in English and practicing conversations in English with him.



It's gotten late and I need to get ready for a new school week.  I will write more tomorrow to tell you more about what Rodolphe does beyond feeding kids and will TRY to get to your questions about the kids living by the river and how to help.

God bless you and your family, Seven!  

-Steve

BYE, BUDDY...

Buddy the Dog's time has expired.  Don't worry - he's not dead. (By the grace of God and the strength of my willpower and the fact there was never a blunt object available when I needed one.)  

I am joking, of course.  I am not the type to harm a dumb animal. 

When I think of how incredibly cute Buddy was as a puppy, I kind of miss him. (The puppy.  I miss the cute puppy.)



And when I think of how excited Sarah was to receive Buddy for her birthday last January, it makes my heart ache to have sent him away.



He was the very center of her 7th birthday party.



In those early days, there seemed to be an unspoken promise of years of loyalty and togetherness.



But that "promise" went unfulfilled.  More recently, puppy cuteness was replaced by Buddy's unbridled enthusiasm ... for doing whatever Buddy wanted to do. 

He seemed to lack the loyalty gene.  As well as whatever DNA governs intelligence.

When Buddy slept, he was a good dog.  When Buddy was awake, he demanded constant attention. Here, for example, we are having a family moment while opening a care package from Grandma Gross.  Caleb is involuntarily "playing" with Buddy.



Buddy did a lot of barking, especially since we returned to Haiti in August.  Often he barked just to hear his own voice.  Sometimes he barked to helpfully let us know that there was movement somewhere on the 30 acres of mission grounds.  Roughly 18 hours of each day he barked. Or whined.   Or ... and this is something he invented ... he whine-barked. 

He whine-barked because he was unhappy about being tied to a dog run. But there was no other option.  

If Buddy had just proven to be annoying and needy, that might have been tolerable in the long run.  He was still technically a puppy, after all. 

But there were bigger problems.  When we returned after a summer away, we found Buddy quite used to being free as a bird and the mission's night guardsmen quite fearful of Buddy.  While they made their rounds, he would chase after them threateningly and, in return, they would fend him off with rocks and sticks.  A few times, the men had managed to land a blow to his hide and a few times Buddy had gotten close enough to sink his teeth into a leg.

So for the last 5 or 6 weeks, Buddy was either inside (which caused him to pout like a teenager with an unfair curfew) or tied up on the line outside (where he'd whine-bark to be free). 

Each evening, I ran with him on a leash to tire him out so that he wouldn't nibble on my toes at 2:00 am for attention.  I made an effort to introduce him personally to various night guardsmen.  I punished him when he made threatening moves at strangers and rewarded him when he was friendly.

Then, one evening, he slipped out the front door a few steps behind Melissa and within 30 seconds, literally, had charged a slender, innocent Haitian woman 200 feet away at full speed. For her part, she did everything correctly: she stopped in her tracks, stood still and made no threatening moves.  Buddy savagely tore into her skirt anyway, ripping it and biting her leg several times before we could intervene and pull him away.  

Melissa helped to calm the lady down and gave her a new dress to wear home.  I turned to the kids and broke the hard news: that was the last straw.  Buddy was too unpredictable and had to go.

There were a few tears and protests, but Melissa and I had made up our minds.

So Buddy was allowed to live, but required to do it elsewhere. Fortunately, he was able to go back to his original owner, Johnny, up the mountainside about a mile from our house.  That's a safe distance.  We no longer hear him barking.  



Peace has been restored to our home and Melissa and I are getting much better sleep.  

(And apparently Buddy has made a name for himself in Johnny's neighborhood ... and Johnny's mom couldn't be happier to have him around.  She no longer fears outsiders disturbing the safety of the house or her family!) 

For our part, we replaced Buddy with a bunny, yet to be named.

A choice I have not regretted one second... The bunny is sweet, quiet, and quite unable to bite anyone's butt even if he had the inclination.

Bye, Buddy.  We'll come visit you sometime.

Briefly.

KAYAKING IN CAP HAITIEN

This past week was like none other we have experienced so far in our time here in Haiti.  I wrote last time about the rains that had threatened three vulnerable families along the river bank on Monday - and I will update that story as soon as I have any new information to share.  (The only new development I had heard was that there was some strife at the rental because a number of extra people showed up to share the floor space as the rains continued to fall!)

All through Monday night the rain fell in torrents.  God's timing couldn't have been better with Daniel and I visiting those families on Monday to get them and the children to safe ground because the flood waters rose several FEET overnight and into Tuesday.  I will not be surprised if their houses are not even left standing.  

On Tuesday morning, school was cancelled for us again and Melissa started worrying about Rose and David and their kids.  Rose teaches the 4 year old class at Cowman and David is our gym teacher and playground supervisor.  Their house, though concrete and raised above street level, also sits right next to the same river, just a couple of blocks from Daniel's neighborhood.  Melissa called Rose to see if she needed help in getting out.  At first, Rose wasn't terribly concerned, but then the water reached her top front step and she decided that she and the kids would gladly leave if they had a safe way to get out of the neighborhood.

That's when I remembered the folks at Emmaus Seminary have a large kayak.  I drove over to pick it up and found Daniel anxiously looking for a ride back to check on friends and family in his neighborhood. We picked up a couple of new friends from visiting short term teams - Robert from Ohio and Scott from Oregon - and headed towards Cap Haitien.

I was going to drop Daniel in his neighborhood, but then he insisted that if I were going to go paddling down Cap Haitien streets in a kayak, I would need a local with me.  

I can't tell you how glad I was to have him along.  The narrow streets leading into Rose's neighborhood were CRAZY. I've experienced some stressful times behind the wheel since we moved to Haiti, but this was to a whole new degree: trying to maneuver various narrow side streets where cars and trucks parked in odd locations or were trying to back up from too deep water, people wading this way and that.  And all the while knowing the murky waters hid some truly deep gutters and holes which I would not want to put a tire into.  I only backed into one electrical pole.

Eventually we decided we could get no closer with the truck and the four of us unloaded the kayak and walked it down to Grace en Sion Church, where a lot of locals were gathering on the second floor.  We are familiar with this church because one of its pastors is also a teacher at Cowman.

I paddled the kayak down the street from Grace towards the river and found Coach David at his front gate, smiling even as the waters continued to rise.  



Since their house sits several feet above street level, they never guessed the flood waters would reach floor level.  In the end, the waters came about six to eight inches above their floor.



Here's the view looking back towards Grace.  At one point, I saw a young man who was full-on swimming in this water, diving under the surface, bobbing up to wipe his face and smile.  Me?  I literally had a nightmare later that night that I fell face first into that muck and it startled me awake!



Our first passengers were the two boys, Ryan and Rashied.  

Pastor Migueleson, of Grace, was taking pictures from the church - I was obviously unaware of that fact!  Not sure what I was grimacing about, but the boys look so cute, I had to include this picture.



A moment later, I was apparently much happier!

We took the boys to the steps of Grace and then Scott and Daniel stayed with them while I went back for Rose.

It doesn't look like Rose trusts me 100% not to capsize us and put her in the water.  ;-)

We made several runs up and down the street, often being watched and greeted and cheered on by folks standing on second floor balconies along the way.  We brought Rose's young cousin, Adlene, too and a few bags of dry clothes and Rose's computer so she could work on report cards later.  We also gave rides to a few elderly ladies, a blind man, and a couple of children while Rose's family waited for us at Grace.  We could have kept busy until sunset, but the plan was to get the family to our house, showered and warm as soon as possible.  

And speaking of warm, I didn't think it possible, but standing in the rain in the middle of the street while Robert and Scott made a couple of runs with the kayak, I was shivering.  The first time I have been cold in Haiti!

Scott, Daniel and Robert stand outside Grace Church at first floor level, where most days the church operates a primary school.  

All of their desks and chairs had been carried to the second floor and piled in a corner.

Quite a few people had sought refuge on the second floor of the church.  I heard they still had 40 people staying there even a few days later.

The view out the window of the church, looking towards Rose and David's house, which would be at the horizon.  

The final leg of the journey was from the front step of Grace, back up the street towards the truck. Since Robert, Scott, Daniel and I were already wet, we walked and steadied the kayak while Rose and the kids rode inside it.  

Isn't she cute with her umbrella?

While Rose was eager to get to our place, David decided to stay back with their house.  I couldn't figure out why that was necessary, but within 30 minutes of our departure, Rose got a phone call from David: a stranger had jumped over the wall and landed in their yard "accidentally".  He seemed to be surprised to find somebody home!

So while David kept watch at home, Rose, Adlene and the boys stayed with us for two nights.  We really enjoyed having them in the house.  We made sure everyone stayed warm and dry and well fed.

The second evening we were watching a movie and Ryan (age 4) fell asleep in my arms - and that was the highlight of my week.

We even had some strawberry ice cream!  Every cloud has its silver lining, right?

It's Sunday night as I write this.  Rose and the kids went home on Thursday afternoon.  It was remarkable how quickly the clean up effort went all over the city and in individual homes.  Most families are back to "normal" at this point. It was reported that several lives were lost and, for many families, the new "normal" is even less than what they had before.  That was definitely true for Rose and David.  

I will have to tell you about what the flood waters took from them in my next post ...

In the meantime, I know they and others who were impacted by the floods would appreciate your continued prayers.

THE TROUBLE WITH DANIEL ...

... is that he's always taking me into trouble.

It all started with the rain - all day yesterday and all last night. Heavy rains. Enough rain to send up a small forest of mushrooms outside our house overnight.



Enough to cancel school for the day.  Our kids were so excited to have a "Haitian snow day" off from classes.  Melissa and I went with our principal, Angie, to intercept any parents and students who did not get the text message in time.  Many of our teachers and students had called in to say they could not pass flooded streets to get to Cowman. 

The photo below is Melissa and the kindergarten teacher, Djouly, on the sidewalks out in front of the preschool building.  

We couldn't blame people for not being able to get to school.  Some make an hour long trip even in the best of conditions.



So Melissa and I headed back home around 8:00 to enjoy a quiet day of "bonus time" with the kids.  I worked on cutting up some onions and peppers for a big pot of chili (which the cooler, damp air made more appealing than usual) and Melissa started a card game with the kids.  Heck, we were halfway tempted to drag out the Christmas decorations!

But then Daniel called.  

He was at school - he's a student now at the OMS Emmaus Biblical Seminary - and he had seen on Facebook that we were out of school today.  He was out as well - the Emmaus community had woken to a fallen property wall, flooding in a classroom building, and - like Cowman - teachers who couldn't get to their classrooms.

He was worried about his neighborhood kids - the ones he feeds each weekend (when he has the funds to do so).  He was especially worried about three particular families living on the edge of the river.  Rising waters in the past had been known to sweep children away.  At the very least, he knew that the houses there had leaky roofs - and not the drip, drip, drip you probably envision - more like multiple streams of water, soaking everything and everyone and making sleep impossible.  

He was having trouble finding a tap-tap to bring him into town and wondered if I would come get him and then accompany him to check on the families.  

I really should have known better. Daniel's heart is definitely with "the least of these".

Caleb wanted to tag along and so we both pulled on some high-water boots, I grabbed Melissa's phone for pictures and we jumped in the pickup to go get Daniel.  By the time he and Caleb and I reached his neighborhood, the rain had let up and life seemed to be pretty normal for most folks out on the streets.  But as we walked back to the houses on the river, we found the path still completely flooded.




We saw this poor thing hanging around the neighborhood.  The dogs in Haiti are often pretty scraggly and thin, surviving on leftovers tossed by their human companions, but when you see one looking this bad, you know there's NOTHING to spare.



The river was well beyond its normal banks.



And the houses of Daniel's neighbors were islands, barely keeping their noses above water - brown with mud and sewage.





We met with the first family - a man and woman with two sons and two daughters.  



Daniel explained to Caleb and me the plight of this man, Jak, and his family.  Heavy rains are in the forecast for several more days. Jak fears for the safety of his children.  Ideally, he would find some other place to live and move his family far away from the river. But there's NO steady work and NO money. 

But it's even more complicated. There's an impending deadline. The government has told them that these houses are due for demolition within the next two to three months.  "The government will break their houses," Daniel tells me.

And nobody doubts the government's threat. Not currently, as authorities have recently torn down dozens of houses and businesses near the airport in the interest of beautifying the area to lure the tourist trade dollars. And right outside our own front gate in Vaudreuil a dozen businesses have been razed in the past few weeks in preparation for a road-widening project.  

In those cases, landowners were duly compensated (I have heard). Daniel says there will be no money for these families.  I suspect that's because they don't actually own title to the land. (After all, it hardly even qualifies as land.)

Utter helplessness - I can't tell you how many times I have felt this way since we have moved to Haiti.  And it's usually in Daniel's presence.  (Hmmmm.) 

I asked how much a modest house might cost in rent per year a bit further from the river and Daniel suggests they might be able to find something for 25,000 goudes.  I do the math on Melissa's phone: that's about $555. 

Per year. Not a bad deal all things considered, but outside my budget, especially when multiplied by three.  But Daniel's still looking at me.  We try to think of short-term solutions.  A couple of hotel rooms for a few nights, until the rains pass?  

Still too expensive and also too far away.  Then Daniel's face brightens as he remembers a friend who has a place to rent.  Maybe he'd rent it for a week or two.  

We head back towards Daniel's house and several of the boys follow us.  While Daniel locates his friend, Caleb and the boys kick around a tennis ball beside our truck.  One of the boys saddles up next to me and asks if he can have my wedding ring.  

 Daniel's got a grin on his face when he returns and soon we're unlocking a door (just a block away) which leads to a hallway connecting three small, dark rooms.  The owner, a fellow believer, says we can have the three rooms for one week for $33 US.  

It's a deal.  The kids and their parents will be safe and dry here over the next few nights.  

We hurry back to the families, eager to show them what God has provided to help them weather the storms. 

This second family is happy to hear the news, but as we move on to tell the others, the tall woman in the crocheted hat catches up with us ...

... and seems to be half pleading and half complaining to Daniel in Creole.  Daniel translates for me: She has come to say that she is concerned about having to return after the week is over.

"When she leaves, she wants to never come back."

All we can do is tell her that we will work on it and seek God's guidance and help. I say, "Bondye konnen" - "God knows", a Haitian expression I have grown to love because it seems to acknowledge both our limited knowledge of the future and our trust in a good God.

Soon, folks have gathered up a few belongings for the "move" and they follow Daniel, Caleb and me to check out their (temporary) shelter from the rain.

Here's the front door ... and the only window in the entire space.



I had to use a flash to get any sort of inside pictures:

Except for this one of three of the boys standing in a bit of daylight streaming through that one window.

So when all was said and done, Caleb and I missed our quiet "snow day" at home but we were back in time to enjoy the chili all together. And knowing that these particular three boys, their siblings, and parents are dry and safe tonight, as the rains have picked up again through this evening, is more than enough for us.

I must admit that I've spent most of my life sheltered from these kinds of troubles.  Sometimes working hard to avoid them! But in reality, this is a dark and troubled world ... and it does my heart good to be stretched a bit, even when it's painful.  

And I've got a sneaking suspicion that Daniel rather enjoys leading me into trouble. He knows what he's doing.


"But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'"
- Luke 10:29