The Co-op (as it's called here) is a good sized block building with a really nice porch and yard enclosed in a block wall. Artists from the area create goods here throughout the week. One room was full of empty cement bags which they collect from work sites. The bags are ironed flat and cut into squares for pages in a journal. The beautiful brown craft paper makes for rich journal writing - covers ranged from the single wording from the cement bag (my personal fav!), to denim with a pocket, to dainty floral cottons. Another room had paintings on canvas and metal. Still another had a sewing machine and a bag of scrap fabrics. We can't wait to see the final products at the Artisan Market Sunday morning! We have decided to donate all the sewing kits from the Girl Scouts to the Co-op. Angelica said the scissors would be very helpful, not to mention the packs of needles and spools of thread. I could already see so many of the fabrics on the covers of journals!
It is an amazing thing they do here at HAPI by teaching sustainability. Nothing is a handout here. People don't beg or ask for money. HAPI has created opportunity and that is all any Haitian wants. Opportunity to learn. Opportunity to gain a skill. Opportunity to support themselves and the ones they love. Really, they are no different than us. How many of us don't want the very same thing for those we love?
We also went by the Health Clinic. The Clinic is another ministry of HAPI. Doctors are brought to the church to teach nursing classes to young women in Mizak. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing these women sitting on the benches in the church wearing clean, crisp, pink and white uniform dresses. Each a professional. Each realizing that their education is not a right, but a privelege. They carry themselves with such pride, as they should. I am certainly so very proud of each of them for being so dedicated and studying like they do.
Mona is one of these nursing students, as well. She used to live with her eight siblings, parents and her five year old son. Then the earthquake hit. Now her family lives in a stick built home directly behind the crumbled cement family home. The thatch roof still lays half up, half down in the center of the house. The walls are crumbled or missing completely. Mona and her son live in a small burnt orange pup tent to the side, just behind some small shade trees. She has lived this way for over a year now. She is very excited about the new home that is being built for her and her family.
We arrived back to HAPI just in time for some of the Peace Pals to begin showing up. Peace Pals are hundreds of local children who walk up the mountain to attend Saturday school at the church. It is run like Vacation Bible School with songs, dancing, recreation, games, bible stores and more.
Pastor Paul said we were welcome to take part in the program, teach the kids a song, or dance, or anything we wanted. The kids had been sitting for a while, so I suggested to the team acting out the story of Jonah. Kids love seeing God's word come alive, so I knew they'd love a skit.
After talking the team into it, we left the church and went to Pastor's porch to practice. Several of the girls became the ship while Whitney took on the part of Jonah. And what a Jonah she was! Others on the team became the rowers and the captain, while still others the fish that surrounded Jonah once God had him swallowed.
The boat rocked in the waves as Jonah slept in the bottom. Eventually Jonah was thrown out of the ship and the large fish swallowed Jonah up. At this point in the story, Jonah gets on his knees and prays and prays to God, schmoozing him into allowing the fish to vomit him ashore.
Then the team became feuding Ninevites who Jonah prophesized God's displeasure to. Immediately King Cooley made a decree that all the people should put on sack cloth and not eat, so that possibly God would change his mind. And once God does change his mind, Jonah gets mad again and pouts under a tree. Megan made for a great tree and Darryl acutally became the worm that ate the tree to smitherines. It's a wonderful story to act out for children, being so animated and with several great lessons attached, from not running from God, to not getting mad when God blesses someone you don't feel God should bless.
Well, after a quick run through, we went on.... and the kids loved it! They laughed and laughed as I told the scripture and the team pantomined it out in the center of the pavilion (the church). Pastor Frank, a visiting bilingual Haitian Pastor from Port au Prince, translated for me as I told the story.
After we were done, the kids were asked if they wanted to act it out and they all yelled, "Wi! Wi!" (Yes! Yes!).
So I ran through it a second time with the kids taking all the parts. A little girl who took on Jonah was just as dramatic as Whitney in the part. Everyone enjoyed it.
Meanwhile Jerry and Kevin were setting up all the music sound equipment in a tent with sides. It is a large tent with a truck parked in one half, sort of like a two car garage. Haitians swarmed around as excitement rose at all the equipment.
Within just a few hours, they had two guitars, a full drum set, a full sound board, full size keyboard, two 15" speakers on stands and six mics on stands all set up. It was an increadible site. By 2 pm more than 20 young men and women had arrived and stood at the mics for vocals or behind an instrument. Then the practicing began. And it went on, and on, and on, and on! In fact, they never stopped singing or playing even once until almost 10 pm! Unbelievable! They were just so excited to have such awesome equipment. Jerry, Kevin, God, and the rest of us simply watched and smiled.
Once the Peace Pals left a little after noon, the rest of us (minus Jerry & Kevin) headed out to see both the work sites and the market in Mizak. The trek took a couple hours combined, but was well worth it.
We started through the market, getting lunch there, a deep fried pastry filled with cole slaw and spicey sausage. We all agreed it was delicious! Then we headed further into the market for some freezies, a flavored iced juice in a plastic sleeve about 6-8" long and 3-4" around. You just tear off a corner and begin sucking on it. Papaya, coconut, orange, and more. Sweet, sweet though. Way sweeter than our icees at home in America, but tasty nonetheless.
Leaving the market I noticed a parking garage for all the horses and mules. Pretty funny actually.
Onward we went up the mountain to Mona's house to see the site there and then back down the mountain a bit to see Gertrudes. Gertrude is an elderly woman who is handicapped. I don't know her story well, but she lays flat in her bed with her arms and legs twisted and writhing in pain. She is thinner than you can imagine and cannot walk or even sit up. Her home was damaged with the earthquake and we will be trying out a new innovative foam block construction on her house. She was so very little. The least we can do is provide her with a nice safe home. If another disaster struck and her brother or nieces were not there, there would be no way for Gertrude to save herself by moving to safer ground. Both homes will be started on Monday when supplies begin to arrive.
In the meantime, we get a better idea of what work lies ahead and how much we need to start praying now!! Mona's house sits atop a mountain with spectacular views. We need to dig 2' deep trenches around the entire house and porch in order to fill with rocks and cement for the foundation. The ground is hard. Real hard. Gertrude's is even worse, as the only plot to build on there has cement already poured. So that needs to be broken up with a pick axe before a similar foundation can be laid for the foam blocks.
Let the praying begin!!
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