Today was the day to go see other parts of Haiti, so we loaded up our vehicle and headed out toward Port-au-Prince.  Our goal was to go through the capitol city and up into the mountains to Baptist Mission.  Another goal was to drop off Belinda at an orphanage called “God’s Littlest Angels” that she works with at Bethany Christian Services.  It didn’t take us long to see that our real goal was to survive Haitian driving.  In Phil’s words, “Driving in Haiti is a game you play.”  To us Americans it seemed as if we were playing the game of “chicken” with real cars and trucks.  After a while we found it best not to look ahead as we drove, but to look back.  It was best just to not know what was going on. 

Port-au-Prince is quite the crowded city with poor infrastructure throughout.  After a while we could see why the country around the city was a better place to live.  There were just too many people and too many vehicles in too small a place.  Of course, we find this problem in our own country too, but, the infrastructure, traffic flow, and pedestrian pattern differences between our country and Haiti are quite stark.   [Note: we really saw this once we landed in Chicago late Saturday night]

Emily holds what we used to dry our seats. But whose is it?

Our trip up in the mountains refreshed us because the temperature dropped a bit and it started drizzling.  We actually did not mind getting wet.  At about 3500 ft. above sea level, we came to a lookout point that was amazing.  The view encompassed all of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding mountains and harbor.  If it wasn’t for the smog and haze, the view would have been spectacular.  At this point, we actually had to clean the grime off our faces that had collected there on our trip up.  This is another good reason to look back rather than forward while driving in Haiti.  Also in the mountains we visited Fort Jacques, built by the Haitians to protect itself in case of an attack by the French.  We stopped also at the Baptist Mission and ate in an American style restaurant.  Our group was missing the food of our country by this point in our visit to Haiti.  Hamburgers, French Fries, and an ice cream cone really hit the spot for us.

The rain increased in intensity, and once we loaded up again, our seats were soaked.  Phil found a pair of large men’s underwear to wipe off the seats.  We got a big kick out of this and accusations were flying everywhere as to whose it was.  It did not take much for this group to laugh and have fun.

2008 Teacher Summit Team: (Front) Robin Maxson, Sara Downs, Joyce Johnson, Emily Dozeman, Sue Sluiter, Belinda Geertsma (Back) Scott Sluiter, Ed Baron, Jim Geertsma, Nathan Moeri, Chip Schaddelee

The trip down the mountain was uneventful as long as you looked back the whole time.  Phil was having a blast playing the driving game, and claimed he only needed “3 millimeter” of room to get by someone.  We thought he was being a bit generous after driving with him all day.  As Joyce put it during one of our conversations, “Phil makes the trips fun!”  We couldn’t argue with that.

By the end of the trip , due to his driving, we were calling Phil a cowboy!

Our last stop for day was at the New Life Children’s Home.  Calvary has been involved in the work at this orphanage both financially and with sending teams of people to volunteer here.  We met Sam, the director, and spent much time in conversation with him.   He is definitely a humble man of God who has given his life to this ministry.  The children in the orphanage are blessed to be here under his guidance.  He has been in Haiti for over 25 years and is a good friend of Phil’s.

Sam, director of this home, with one of the orphans

We spent time with the children and joined them for movie night.  Robin gave each child a tie-dyed head band which they absolutely loved and wore the whole time we were there.  It is difficult to see children who cannot live with their parents, but it is a reality in Haiti.  Some parents just have to give their children to the orphanage, so they have a chance to survive.  Despite their circumstances, these children are quick to smile and laugh with you.  We were honored to visit this place and spend time with these children.

Children at New Life Children's Home enjoying movie night with their new head bands.

Ed leads us all in a scavenger hunt.

One of the major goals of the teacher summit this first year is to develop relationships with our Haitian teachers from the GLOW schools that Calvary supports.  It was decided that we would invite all the teachers and family members to the Kaliko Resort for a day of fun and games.  What a day it was!  Ed Baron, a PE teacher in real life, organized the beginning of the day with games.  Part of the list of supplies that we brought along this year included bocci ball, ladder golf, and badminton.  Besides those three games, Ed had a great game of scavenger hunt going also.   

This is a game of bocci ball in progress.

The Kaliko Resort has a wonderful pool.

We found out that Haitians learn quickly, are extremely competitive, and are very athletic!  It was not like us Americans were cleaning their clocks, so to speak.  Fun was had by all, but we also learned that Haitians do not spend much time in the sun if they can help it.  Next year we will have to set up the games in the shade (what were we thinking?!).

As the time moved on and the temperature increased, the pool became the hot spot along with the lounge chairs along the perimeter shaded by large umbrellas.  It was a joy to see many conversations going on between the American and Haitian teachers.  Some teachers were more bashful than others, mainly due to their lack of ability to speak English.  Interpreters were also helping out as much as they could.

Robin getting some lessons in Creole.

This was a great day to develop relationships.  We took a picture of all the teachers, so we can remember their names the next time we come. 

Early that afternoon, we all said our goodbyes to each and every one, wishing them God’s blessing in the coming year.  Many of them thanked us for coming to Haiti, but do want us to come back again.  Perhaps they have seen many people come from the states, but only for one time. 

The Teacher Summit is a combination of work and play.

Later that evening Phil brought us to a Haitian wedding just down the road.  The young man showed up a Phil’s house many years ago with a broken down banjo.  Over the years Phil had made sure this young man had another banjo when he needed it, and now Phil was a guest of honor at the wedding.  If you ever come to Haiti with Phil, you will see how trusted and loved he is by the people he works with.   God has blessed us with a Godly man to work with in Haiti.

This is a group picture we took at the Kaliko on game day.

Robin's lesson on the use of gel boards.

Day 2 begins with many of us having a few stomach problems, but God is bigger and helped us keep going.  We arrived once again at Grande Gote  school in time for the worship service.  The singing is fantastic, rich men’s voices singing with exuberance and gusto.  We joined in worship with them, interspersing ourselves among them.  

These teachers worship with gusto!

  This time we recognized names and faces of those we had met the day before.  This time we knew who the primary teachers were and who the secondary teachers were.  Lessons were given in English first with the same interpreter as the day before.  As a Haitian teacher began his talk, however, things got a little heated amongst them, and we did not quite understand all what was going on. Apparently, there was a disagreement about the test that all students must take to progress to upper levels of education.  Haitian teachers speak their minds and do not hesitate to speak over each other to do so. 

Sue Sluiter's lesson on patterns.

A lesson on types of sentences from a secondary teacher from Haiti.

Highlights of the day include lessons on the location of Michigan,  probability in math, the use of gel boards, using sponge cubes for math facts review, learning a new song on recorders, how to use an abacas, a science lesson on flowers, and a slideshow of Jim’s school. 

It took a bit to learn how to use an interpreter, but after a while we were all used to it.

As part of the recorder lesson, Ed came up with a fancy kazoo that has a trombone like slide on it.  He showed our teacher friends how much easier it was to play the kazoo than the recorder.  This little impromptu lesson ended up with all of us marching around the room playing “When the Saints Go Marching In”

It was a warm day and we all sort of crashed when we got back to the Kalico Resort.  It took a lot of energy out of us, but we all felt that we had done a good thing, and that God had given us the strength to do it well.  God blessed us with a place like the Kalico to come home to after a long day.

We stayed at the Kaliko Resort and loved the air-conditioning most of all!

Chip's lesson on the animals of Haiti.

So many have been in prayer over the teacher summit and in a few short words I will do my best to give you an idea of how God was present at the summit and answered all of our prayers in an amazing way.   When we arrived at the Grande Gote school, the teachers were having a worship service.  Once they finished we were invited to come in and began making introductions and forming relationships.  The Haitian teachers were so grateful for our willingness to take time out of our summer vacation to travel hundreds of miles to come and spend time with them.  God blessed us with an interpreter who was passionate about what he was doing, and through him, we were able to spend time on math, language arts, science, music, and social studies.   We took turns teaching lessons and the Haitian teachers also taught us some lessons.  The difference in our teaching styles was quite evident. 

Ed Baron is helping his group with a lesson on number theory.

One of our goals for today was to have fun.  Everyone did, especially when it was time for the recorder lesson!  Emily and Belinda did a great job of leading it and I think most of us can now play “Hot Cross Buns!” 

Belinda and Emily teach "Hot Cross Buns" on the recorder. Our translator is helping out too.

The Haitian teachers have an incredible knowledge of the Bible and were applying their biblical knowledge to so many things.  For example, when they were asked to write about a snake, the writing was all about the snake being the one who tempted Eve and was known as the devil.  At the end of a very hot and humid day, we were blessed once again to witness the Haitians in worship.  They sing and clap and pray with such enthusiasm. We are tired tonight, but going to bed tonight with a sense of encouragement and excitement for day two of the summit tomorrow.  

 Thank you all for your prayers.

The summit took place in the Grand Gote church. A generator powered the fans and the projection equipment.

Today was a little frustrating as our travel difficulties spilled over from Saturday to Sunday.  We got up plenty early and made it to the airport at the prearranged time, taking the shuttle from the hotel to the airport.  From then on everything slowed down to a crawl.  We loaded a little late and took off really late.  Since it was raining really hard, some carpet in the rear of the plane got wet and had to be vacuumed out (I have never heard of that one before). That was only one of the problems. I think we ended up getting off a couple hours later than we were supposed to, and the whole affair included upset passengers and panicky stewardesses.  The passengers broke out in applause when we lifted off, and after a non-eventful flight, broke out in applause again once we landed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Customs and luggage acquisition went off without a hitch.  Up to 10 helpers, eagerly hoping for a tip, helped us with our luggage, even arguing over who was the “head helper.”  Phil Snyder calmed them down by yelling at them a bit. 

We were transported as a group in Phil’s pickup with bench seats in the back.  A metal cage-like frame surrounded the rear area, and you felt a bit like you were in a cage, but safe, nonetheless.  Phil took a short cut he called “ambush-alley” to get out of Port-au-Prince quickly since we were late already.  We wondered why he called it that. Surprises along the way included out of control traffic flow (at least to our standards) with busses ruling the roads, passing on both hills and curves.  Pedestrians carrying various goods for bartering dotted the shoulders of the road and most seemed unperturbed by the racing traffic at times inches away from their bodies.  Smells of exhaust, burning rubbish, and dust trumped out any natural smells that may have approach us.

Phil let us take showers and relax a bit at our lodgings, the Kalico Inn, before embarking on our day’s journey.  Highlights of the day include a visit to a small village and playing games with the kids and a visit of a Haitian Museum.  In particular, the village visit struck me as significant.  I got a good glimpse of what kind of group I was traveling with in a short time.  Robin, Belinda, Sue, Sarah, and Emily had all kinds of activities going on with the kids.  Others in our group were involved in conversations using our translation books (very limited choices of words to use, but still useful).  We visited some homes that had roof damage from the recent strong winds and watched Phil assess what needed to be done.  I sense that Phil takes care of a lot of needs for these people.  By the time we left, we felt like friends with many of the adults and children.  It was a great experience. 

At the museum a iron cross had the words “The Crucifixion of Haiti” printed across the top with the years 1492 to 1804 listed also.  This represented the enslavement time of  the Haitians, starting with Columbus and the Spanish/French and ending with the Independence Day (from France).  This country has had a sad history overall.

Our teachers did not hesitate getting to know the children in this village.

Later that evening we had what we called a “secret” meeting.  I am not sure how that started, but it stuck.  Basically, we talked about the next day’s summit and made decisions about what we planned to do, and what we would do with all the supplies we brought along. 

Everyone is doing well, with a little sickness, but not enough to curtail any activities.  Pray that the summit goes well on Tuesday and Wednesday.  

We are going to travel in that?

Oh no! We have to live without the internet.

Keep praying for them!

Daniel Maat

PS.  Weather in Haiti is supposed to be in the high 90′s with chances of thunderstorms each day!

Thanks for your interest!