Haiti Flag Day – Haiti Libere

May18
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by Ryan

Today is flag day. Haiti Libere – Haiti free!

The Haitian flag is a symbol of pride for many Haitians. You will see the flag on TapTap’s, painted on walls, tattooed on bodies.

From this article, “One of the primary symbols of Haitian freedom is the Haitian flag created in Arcahaie, a town located outside of Port-Au-Prince) on May 18, 1803. Since then, May 18th has been observed as the Haitian Flag Day as it has become a symbol of pride, unity, and individual liberty. In Haiti, Flag Day is a major national holiday celebrated with great fanfare on the grounds of the national palace and all cities in the country; also in other countries with a large number of Haitians.”

Schools and others will march down the street dressed up and waving the flag.

10 Facts You May Not Have Known About the Haitian Flag

Below are some pictures off of Twitter:

Taken By Troy Livesay

Before Earthquake - From @iamstheliejean

There were rumors of the rouge Haitian army showing themselves today and “not scared to shed blood” but that has pretty much been silenced. While a group of people might be training, the Haitians say that both the Haitian police and the UN still have bigger guns so this army will probably not be disrupting to many places today

Posted in Haiti, Life - Tagged flag day, haiti

Packed Guest House / Construction / Painting / Pictures

May12
2012 3 Comments

Written by Ryan

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind at the guest house:

We had an over-packed house with 41 people at the guest house. We just keep trying to break records here There were enough cots for the groups and everyone had such a great spirits. To God’s credit, it went very smoothly!
Adopting: We had a family at the guest house for a couple weeks hoping to adopt. They felt called to apply for a visa so that they could take the child home on this visit. Unfortunately they were turned down. We prayed with them on their last night. You could see the tears in their eyes. Sometimes we just don’t understand God’s plan and we just need to keep trusting him. That can be very very difficult when the rubber meets the road!
Construction: Asher (official title: driver | really: driver + knows everything about construction + electrical) has been here helping Heartline the last two months! It has been an honor and pleasure having him with Heartline especially with the much needed projects! In the picture – we built a cabinet to hold the tools at the Guest House. We also re-used the workbench that was in the old tool room.
Additional Room: We turned the tool room into another bedroom! The room will mostly likely be used for the rotating drivers that come through the house. The next driver, Evan, will stay in this room. Melissa in her “officially cool” shirt is painting away!
HeartlineMinistries.org: Moved the website to a different server, added support for secure donations via credit card and paypal.
Haitian Creations: This needs to be a full blog update at some point. We continue to pray that God guides this ministry. We want to be best prepared for our current operations and for future expansions of this ministry. Ultimately, whatever we do we want it to benefit the ladies in the program and future ladies that will be coming through the program. This work has been exciting work! Look forward to updating you soon!
Water: The water outside the village is still very bad and getting worse this evening. I am always amazed at the Haitians – they walk through this stuff day in and day out.

How are you?! Let us know how you are doing! What is new in your life! We continue to pray for you all back in the states.

Other Random Pictures

Posted in Guest House, Haiti, Haitian Creations, Heartline - Tagged adoption, construction, guest house, haiti, haitian creations, website

“Excuse me, but I don’t own any chairs for you to sit on.”

May09
2012 8 Comments

Written by melissa

One of our Haitian workers, Edphort, invited us over to his house last Sunday to see his wife and six-month old daughter. We felt very honored, as he was the first Haitian to invite us to his house. We were a bit nervous, as we had no idea what to expect.

Edphort took a tap-tap and met us half way there to show us the way. (As if we couldn’t have found it … Turn at the tin shack by the red broken down car… follow the dirt road to the third large pothole, then turn right… ) It was very nice of him to take the time to do that. When we were almost there, he turned timidly to us and said, “Excuse me, but I don’t own any chairs for you to sit on.” It was very sweet of him, and of course we said no problem.

We followed several dirt roads until we arrived at his house. It was made of concrete blocks and was actually very “big” for a Haitian home. It had a “living room?” – a big empty room with only a crib for the baby, a bedroom, an area to cook and wash dishes, and a bathroom area (no toilet or shower – just a bucket with some water). No electricity though. It was very nice, and we were so thankful to get a glimpse into his life.

He had us sit on their bed since there were no chairs. This was a bit awkward, but again, we were so appreciative. His wife brought in a tray with two glasses and a bottle of water that they had bought for us, knowing that the water they drink may make us sick. After that she bought out two glass bottles of soda that they had also purchased specially for us. We were so humbled and thankful that they would do this. We chatted with Edphort for a bit while his wife, Katelyn, cooked us lunch. We offered to help, but she laughed and said no thank you.

Soon she brought out what looked kind of like tator-tots, but they were made of rice, mixed with milk, cinnamon, egg, and some other things, fried and pressed down. There were a lot of them, so we ate a bunch, but left some. Me, in my stupid American mindset, thought, I don’t want to get too full or I won’t be able to eat the actual meal. Well, duh. That was the whole meal.

Being a Sunday, Edphort and his family had church that day – but they go twice every Sunday – 7 a.m. to noon, and again from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.! Incredible! They truly make Sundays a day to worship the Lord!

We wish we could show you pictures of his house, but didn’t want to be disrespectful by taking them. It was an awesome experience, and we were so thankful to get to know their family better. They were truly joyful with, by American standards, so little. It reminded me of the verse in 1 Timothy 6:8:

If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

What a great picture of that verse.

Posted in Haiti, Life - Tagged driving, haiti, house, visit

Pineapple & Barbequed Cat Pizza, Anyone?

May02
2012 1 Comment

Written by melissa

Ryan and I got a kitten about a month ago, thinking, great it will be so fun to have a pet. Well, we had no idea how challenging it would be to “raise” a cat in Haiti.

First of all, we didn’t know that in Haiti, most people consider cats food – just like chicken or fish. So our Haitian workers thought we “crazy Americans” were strange for bringing this cat into the house to live. What a weird concept. They laugh when they see us carrying him around the house, playing with him, cleaning his litter box…

That’s a whole other thing. Finding cat litter in Haiti is very difficult. I finally found it at Megamart, sort of like Haiti’s Costco. However, it was ridiculously expensive. I think it was over $30 for the smallest box, which in the states would cost under $10. Surprisingly you can find cat food at most grocery stores, thankfully.

Then there’s the issue of her being so tiny that our dog, Larry, a bullmastiff, could fit her completely in his mouth and eat her in one bite. And the cat is about the size of a Haitian rat right now, which the dogs are ecstatic about eating whenever one runs across the yard. So the cat would for sure be a goner if she got loose.

We have tried introducing the cat to the dogs several times, and this resulted in much hissing, clawing and sheer terror on the part of the cat. She is getting bigger though, and is able to run faster and jump higher. So she may have a chance at life yet. We’ll see. John, our boss, suggested that we make bets on the day Larry will eat the cat – you know, turn it into some kind of fundraiser for Heartline. Thankfully he picked April 1^st, and that has passed now.

And about the pizza, Monise, one of our workers, suggested that instead of barbeque chicken pizza for dinner, we do barbeque cat. And she likes to tease me and say, “Melissa, I’m hungry,” whenever she sees me carrying the cat around.

I apologize for writing a blog all about cats – I have learned since getting this kitten that there are a lot of cat-haters in this world – this includes Americans. But to those of you who do like them – he is sooo cute and his name is “Pistach” meaning “Peanut” in Creole. I’m sure you’ll hear more about Pistach in future blogs, and if any of you want to donate money and place a bet, feel free to do so!

Posted in Haiti, Life - Tagged cat, haiti, pistach

Men’s Bakery

Apr28
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by Ryan

The men’s bakery is taking shape! This is a prefab building that was donated by a company in the Netherlands. They are working to possibly do more construction of this kind in Haiti so shipped over two demo houses. Maxima was kind enough to donate the one to Heartline.

Eventually, this building will be filled with bakery equipment. As of now, we are still working on the electrical. They will make a hole in the concrete outer wall which will create a window to sell bread out of to the community! A group of guys will work and run the bakery.

Please continue to pray for this part of the ministry as it is still taking shape and a lot more steps need to be finished before it is running.

The link to the full album. Thank you to Asher who took most of these photos!

Posted in Haiti, Heartline - Tagged bakery, haiti

Protests End, Haitian Graffiti Art, Other Haiti News

Apr27
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by Ryan

Protests End near Heartline Property

There were two protests that happened near the property. The first one described here was originally because some police officers have been killed under questionable circumstances and had planned a strike. The strike included all traffic police. As far as we know roadblocks and barricades were put in place around town by the community.

Since then, the police are back to work. Two days ago, the again erected tire-burning barricade was mostly put out due to the rain. This time it was said that the protest was over the water and the streets.

Things seem to be back to the regular good ol’ Haiti! For. Now.

Thoughts

Art Work on Wall in Pétionville, Haiti

When reading the news or even the above it’s clear we live in a broken world. We ourselves are also broken, aren’t we!?!

The pictures by a Haitian artist shows Haiti crucified to a cross. Or the lady below crying. These are not pictures of happiness but of brokenness.

Maybe this is all because (a) our world is not how it was intended to be and (b) we are influenced by this world with our flesh and temptations of sin.

Even the protests in Haiti are because of broken relationships with one another. I think of even our families and friends. We can have broken relationships – on a ~~smaller~~ more powerful scale.

And we cannot fix this problem by ourselves. It is not simply a matter of being better people. We need Jesus.

Art Work on Wall in Pétionville, Haiti

One day there will be no more tears; one day there will be no more pain, no more ‘stupid poverty’ as Bono calls it, no more war and no more injustice. One day everything will fit; it will all make sense. And it will all be because of Jesus.

Haiti Top News Stories

I imagine most probably don’t follow as closely with the Haiti news as we do here but I thought I would highlight some stories over the past couple days.

Heavy rain causes up to 9 deaths in #Haiti, forces evacuations of 11,000 in Dominican Republic wapo.st/IdVLLi

On Twitter, “Saw my 1st landslide today in #Haiti. Everyone OK, but a reminder of threats during rainy season bit.ly/Ioihem“

Haiti’s president, Michel Martelly, describing “near death” experience before coming to Miami. “I could not breath, do anything.”
Haitian rogue force refuses to disband bit.ly/InyP6p
Economy to Grow 7.8%, Lead Caribbean in 2012: IMF Report

Posted in Haiti - Tagged art, broken, haiti

Walking 4 Miles in the Rain

Apr26
2012 1 Comment

Written by melissa

Taken by Alice Smeets/Unicef

The beginning of the rainy season has brought on many challenges for Haitians who are trying to get anywhere. Most of them take tap-taps to get around, but now that it’s raining more and the roads are becoming flooded, it’s a lot harder to find one. People in Haiti don’t like to come out when it’s raining, and understandably so, and this includes tap-tap drivers. So often the people will start walking from their houses on a rocky, muddy, puddle-filled road – often with their hands full, carrying a heavy load. When they get to the “main road” they will wait until a tap-tap comes. When there are less available, people jump on as quickly as possible to get a spot, and if you don’t make it on, then you wait again for the next one.

Our cook Marjorie leaves her house early in the morning while it is still dark, which is dangerous especially for a woman. She walks carrying her four month old baby and her things for the day. Lately she’s had a very tough time getting a tap-tap, partially because she has a baby in her arms and cannot jump on as quickly as everyone else. So many times these past few weeks she has had to walk at least half way – if not all the way – to the guesthouse. This translates into probably 4 miles in the mud, water, and yuck. Then she is on her feet all day working, and has the same challenge in order to get home.
Since her husband cannot find work, she is the only one supporting her family. So it’s not like she can just call in sick or quit in hopes of finding another job. This is it. And unfortunately many people share her same story. My heart goes out to all the Haitians who face these challenges. I am thankful that we at the guesthouse and all the Heartline facilities can offer so many jobs to so many people, although it doesn’t make getting to work any easier.

The other part of this picture I’ve described is that I never hear them complaining about how difficult things are. The only reason I know is that I ask them daily how it was getting to work. It’s amazing.
So what to do with all this information, I wish I knew. As an American, I’ve never had to face the same challenges and will never be able to relate. All I really know is that I have a lot to be thankful for, and instead of complaining about stupid, insignificant things, I need to focus my mind of being thankful for everything God has blessed me with. And though I can’t change the situation in Haiti, I can look each day for little ways to help people out.

Posted in Haiti, Heartline, Life - Tagged haiti, rain

Haiti Police on Strike, Protests, Rumors, and a Very Cloudy Dark Day

Apr23
2012 3 Comments

Written by Ryan

I can not even pretend to understand what happened today. The longer we are here in Haiti the more complex these situations seem. Before you start reading… we are all safe and their was no problems around the guest house.

On top of everything that happened today – it has been the first dark day I have seen in a while. It also started to rain a bit today (which hardly ever happens). It makes this day kind of weird.

In everything – The most important thing is to remember to continue to pray for Haiti.

Outside the Heartline property there were some protests today. The picture below is one that John took while he was out there. He made it out at the property by going “though 2 barricades with no problem but had to talk my way though the 3rd one.”

This is first day that the building for the Men’s Discipleship program is being put up. The men working on the project successfully made it inside the property before the barricades went up. Yea!

Here is a clip from the following blog on one person’s perspective of the rumors and facts:

“A rumor that a ti machann (merchant) selling street food in the Delmas 33 area was arrested for having killed and cooked up an 8-year old child has turned our stomachs.

But, wait… how could she have been arrested when the national police are on strike?

Wait, wait… why would the police choose to go on strike precisely when paramilitary wannabes are occupying camps around the country and just last week forced entry to the grounds of the national palace?

Strike or no strike, at the end of the Haiti Diaspora Marathon yesterday (which was actually a half marathon with only a few diaspora), a police officer performed chest compressions and full-on mouth to mouth resuscitation on two still-breathing but collapsed runners. I imagine this was for the benefit of the TV cameras trained on him. Apparently our cop, who was outfitted in a lab coat and stethoscope, is also a doctor.

Speaking of doctors, President Martelly has just been discharged from a Miami hospital. Word on the street is that he was cursed by black magic and plop! landed in the hospital. Word in the news is that he had a pulmonary embolism. He hasn’t mentioned yet when he’ll be back in country.

Meanwhile, Haiti has been without a functional government since the prime minister resigned on February 24th, and elections have yet to be organized for municipal authorities or for the 1/3 of the Senate whose terms are about to expire.

If you told me there were elephants and zebras parading down Route Delmas right now, I would believe you (and probably just chalk it up to a Clowns Without Borders PR event).”

Things in Haiti are not always as the seem and sometimes you just don’t know the fiction from reality but thankfully our purpose in Haiti is not to figure out or investigate these events it’s to continue on the path of helping!

Posted in Haiti - Tagged haiti, protest, strike

Haitian Creations Video

Apr17
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by Ryan

Here is a fantastic video of expressing what the Haitian Creations program is really about:

Ladies showing off clothes they made at the Heartline Ministries Sewing School:

Heartline Haiti Ladies Showing off Clothes They Made

I saw this posted somewhere. Thought I would re-post it for kicks…

Posted in Haiti, Video - Tagged haitian creations

Haiti Happenings in Pictures & Video

Apr11
2012 1 Comment

Written by Ryan

Always Amazing What They Can Carry

A number of things have been happening around Heartline and with us:

Men’s Bakery

The cement pad has been poured and we are getting ready for the shop to be built. I will try to get a picture of this the next time I am out at the property.

Only in Haiti

Haiti is a great place. You just have to smile at certain things. I now have a collection of pictures! It’s great! Here is one to add to the list. Same exact can of mushrooms but different price!

Donations

I have been working on making it easier to donate through heartline’s website. It has been troublesome for people and we wanted to make it less complicated. The current hosting service we are using doesn’t allow me to do configure the site to take credit card transactions. This means we will have to move it elsewhere. Looking at DreamHost as they offer a free service for non-profits.

Cooking School

They had a two day seminar at the cooking school. Melissa taught on Friday how to make stuffed green peppers! All ingredients haitians can buy around here! It was funny, the cooking ladies had never heard of such a thing! They were asking John if this recipe was for real

Bible

A girl came through the guest house who had an amazing spirit, hungry for hearing the word. She had a King James Bible, which is great, but she was having a heard time understanding it. Melissa spent a lot of time talking with her while she was here. Melissa wanted to give her a more contemporary version of the Bible that would be easier for her to understand. So we ordered her a bible and also sent her Letters from a Skeptic. We continue to pray for her as she grows up to be a young adult. It is exciting to see her passion for the good news!

Easter Dance @ Port-au-Prince Fellowship:

Posted in Haiti, Heartline - Tagged bakery, cooking school, haiti

Haiti Flag Day – Haiti Libere

Packed Guest House / Construction / Painting / Pictures

“Excuse me, but I don’t own any chairs for you to sit on.”

Pineapple & Barbequed Cat Pizza, Anyone?

Men’s Bakery

Protests End, Haitian Graffiti Art, Other Haiti News

Walking 4 Miles in the Rain

Haiti Police on Strike, Protests, Rumors, and a Very Cloudy Dark Day

Haitian Creations Video

Haiti Happenings in Pictures & Video

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