Current website:

It’s been a great help and has all the information nicely condensed.

New website:

This new website is now moved to http://heartlineguesthouse.com.  Since it’s on it’s own, I was able to add more details about the guest house.  My goal was to make it easier for those that haven’t stayed here before to explore the guest house in greater detail.  Wergsy has even translated the text into French

Some questions I have for you…

• Have you stayed before and know something you would like to have added?
• Do you see something you have a question about that would be helpful to add?
• Is anything confusing?
• Something you really liked?

Recently I had someone asking me about the bakery.  I am super excited to go eat my first piece of bread *hopefully soon*!  What will be even more exciting is seeing these young men forging and consuming the bread of life.

John recently wrote, “The oven is in its new home, a custom built concrete enclosure, right next to the bakery.  Our 20 quart mixer [HAS] arrived! Soon we will begin the process of recipe development, and tying down loose ends on our exact processes as far as baking and management go. We have 12 guys selected for the program, and will most likely open our doors (or windows rather), in early May!”

Moise, pictured at the top of the blog post looking out the bakery window, is such an outstanding guy.  He is defying the negative norms and stands on a solid foundation.  He comes to work humbly and ready to do anything.

Josh is the genius chef of all things food!  I have enjoyed his friendship and frankness.  Pretty refreshing .  It has been so awesome to hear his ideas and thoughts for the bakery and eventually for the restaurant!  I know, just surprised you with the restaurant thing in there.  Umm… Heartline Ministries has a cooking school… so it almost makes sense to start a  rest-au-ra-thing… but, alas, that is for another time in the future.

My very very tiny role in all of this… and to which I look forward to doing … is working with Josh in the coming days on the technology aspect of the bakery and restaurant.  Especially since it is always fun and challenging living in this Haiti world of power maybe’s, internet sort-of’s, and other chutes and ladders.

These are some points I recently read in African Friends and Money Matters by David Maranz.  The 3 bullet points are a summary of about 10 pages.  I also replaced African with Haitian since we are in the mindset of Haiti.  The Haitians here today were originally brought over as slaves from Africa and you find many similarities between the two cultures.

1. Compliments are frequently given indirectly in the form of a requests for gifts and are often formulated as questions.

Examples are: “Why don’t you give me your blouse?” Or “Give me your pants.”

These mean that the blouse and pants are really nice.  Typical compliments and acceptable responses are like these:

“I like your shirt.”

Response:

• “I will give it to you when I take it off,”
• Or better yet, “When it has a little brother I will give it to you,” meaning, “When I have another I’ll give it to you.”

The responses imply that they will give it to the person, yet really they have no intention of doing so!  Haitians understand those responses as replies that mean No.  For the average foreigner the answers seem a bit dishonest, or at least deceptive.  To a Haitian it would be considerate of their feelings than would be a blunt “No, I won’t give it to you.”  It may seem strange that these compliments are given as requests, and the responses are given as though they were real requests.

The American may think that if these are complements, why not just answer with, “Thank you for the compliment, I’m glad you like my blouse.”  But this is not how the GAME is played.  The rules of the game dictate that the response to the compliment be given on two or three levels.

3 Levels

1. Level 1 – The first level is to appear to take the request seriously as a request.
2. Level 2 – To fend off the request with a polite and phony excuse as to why it will not be granted
3. Level 3 – If the one receiving the compliment is capable of responding on this level, what most delights Haitians is to have a joke made out of it in a clever way.
4. Better still – is to be humorous or clever and in addition mildly embarrass the other person.  Playing word games of this kind is one of the joys of conversation.

Example of Level 3

When a friend was hiking in the mountains she came upon a cattle herder watching over his animals.  He admired the watch she was wearing and asked her to give it to him.  She said, “Gladly, and I’ll take one of your cows in exchange.”  The man was incredulous, “One of my cows?”  She responded, “Yes, but since the watch doesn’t keep good time, you can give me a cow that limps.”  At that point they both began to laugh, and each went on their way content with having had a pleasant verbal exchange.

2. Westerners are not accustomed to compliments being formulated as requests, and easily misinterpret them and take offense.

It makes sense why we, foreigners, misunderstand compliments.  In our own culture compliments are virtually never given as requests.  In Haiti, foreigners are constantly approached by people requesting money, aid, loans, or real requests.  We can feel bombarded by these requests.  After time we can become conditioned to quickly react negatively to all requests, not understanding the subtle differences between importunity and compliment.  *I didn’t learn this until much later.  If only I had read this book the first month we came .

Example of a request not expected to be granted

“Can you take me to your country?” Or, “Will you teach me English?” Certainly the asker would like to have these requests filled, but when the foreigner being addressed is almost a total stranger, he knows it is very unlikely.  I understand these requests to be conversational openers, attempts to establish a friendly relationship, and verbalization of the recognition that the person being addressed has access to resources, position, and power.

3.  Haitians prefer to apologize symbolically, rather than verbally, when they have made a mistake or feel personal shame.

Haitians want to maintain dignity, honor and similar personal qualities, and avoid shame and humiliation.  These are extremely important.  So direct apologies, which might be construed as admissions of weakness, insufficienty, or ineptitude are avoided, yet are obliquely admitted through symbolic apologies.

I have seen this at the guest house, when a worker has made a rather major mistake, I have looked for an apology or some kind of acknowledgment of fault or regret.  Usually in vain.

An example of a symbolic apology

When constructing, the head carpenter made a major mistake in the pitch of the roof he was building, requiring that wasted time, energy and money be spent to correct the error.  The construction supervisor, let the carpenter know of his displeasure with the situation.  The next morning, the carpenter brought several pineapples to the supervisor’s door.  Nothing was said but the implicit message was: “Let this gift put our relationship back on course.”

Conclusion

Some of these things you learn as you go along in Haiti.  It would have been great to have this book back when we first arrived.  This will sounds strange but the book is very dry and boring to an extent BUT it has fantastic insights into the depths of the Haitian/African culture.  Must read for anyone who is moving to Haiti.

]]> http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/3006/3-mind-blowing-learnings-about-haitians/feed/ 2 http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/2932/projects-focused-on-the-guest-house/ http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/2932/projects-focused-on-the-guest-house/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:16:32 +0000 Ryan http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/?p=2932 Continue reading →]]> What a couple weeks!  Melissa and I are working fully on Heartline projects.  Thankfully we have had the help of close friends!  Barry, Nick and Josh have helped out so so much!

At the guest house:

- This week we were focused on stocking the gift shop… which was getting empty!  We headed to the tin market and stepped into a shop we have never seen before.  All I can say is… freeeaakkyyy.

Thankfully our shop is looking better:

- Preparing and working on the new “Information Center”.  Barry was the brains behind this project!  It looks so awesome!  Today we were able to wire Ethernet cable over to the VoIP international phone.  Now it will be very visible .

- Fixing the downstairs shower.  This has been an issue for a while.  I wish I could say there were know-how behind this project but none of us really knew what we were doing  Amazingly, it’s finished!  Soooooooo Thankful!

- Modified the guest house introduction video.  This is to prepare for the coming summer months of teams that will arrive.

- Responding to email

- Most of my time has been spent creating a new website just for the guest house.  Troy helped take pictures of the guest house for the website!

 - One thing I have been trying to do more of recently is doing a devotional before supper each night with the guests.  This hasn’t been happening every night but I usually like to read a story of those that have been killed or persecuted for their faith.  Very vivid stories but also thankful that we can all worship freely in Haiti and in the U.S.!

Haitian Creations

- Chandler and I met to start discussing updating the Haitian Creations website

- Helped Fabienne at Haitian Creations with new barcodes

- Here is a quick glimpse into the new shop – looks pretty amazing!

Interesting

- While doing the shelves… Barry noticed this message on the can of stain

Several weeks ago Cathy and I (Melissa’s parents) had an opportunity to revisit Haiti. We previously spent a week in this incredible country last Christmas. During our first trip we experienced only the city of Port au Prince, witnessing the effects of two million people living in a city built for 200,000. We saw people living in terrible conditions in a dirty, dusty, deteriorated city of which no person should be subject to live. We witnessed individuals who were strong-willed , determined, and tough living in conditions you and I would never endure. We returned from our trip last year with a new appreciation for the many luxuries we enjoy in the United States, realizing that our problems are few compared to the daily challenges of survival encountered by so many Haitians.

Upon our return we immediately planned a return trip to expand our experiences and to bring additional supplies and support to ease the burden placed on Melissa and Ryan, and the wonderful people to whom they are ministering. This trip, though, was totally different from our previous adventure. As Ryan and Melissa have learned the lay of the land and have become quite fluent in the Haitian language, we asked them to show us a different perspective of Haiti, allowing us to experience life outside of the city of Port au Prince.

Similar to Lewis and Clark, they took us to areas of Haiti where few foreigners have ever traveled. It was like stepping into a National Geographic magazine and experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and taste of the Haitian culture. We walked mountain pathways which lead to the tiny shacks occupied by families, viewed incredible hills and valleys colored with beautiful greenery, spoke to Haitians who shared their daily lives with us, and once again witnessed a culture of people who were strong and determined to survive. We were able to hand out dresses, designed by Cathy’s Bible Study group, to young girls we met as they walked long distances to and from school, and saw the joy they displayed from such a simple gift received from us. In addition, we enjoyed very tasty, breaded snacks sold from old, rusty, roadside stands and watched the locals playing dominoes at a local gathering area. Despite their poverty, every person we met was friendly, smiling, and welcoming as we talked with them throughout the gorgeous countryside.

We had two highlights on our mountaintop experience of which we will never forget. The first occurred as Melissa and I had ventured into the hills. We met a family of five who had welcomed us into their living area to experience life in the mountains of Haiti. They answered many questions we asked regarding their everyday lives, allowed us to view their cooking hut, and even attempted to sell us a chicken and a rabbit of which we declined. The view from their shacks was heavenly, with miles of rolling, green hills in every direction, it was truly a far cry from the subdivisions where many of us live back in the States. As we departed to continue on our hike and were several hundred yards up the steep mountainside, we stopped and I asked Melissa if I could give the family some money for their needs of which she agreed would be a good gesture. I barely reached into my pocket and suddenly we saw the mother running up the hill toward us in anticipation of the gift, she had a smile the size of the state of Texas. Upon giving her only $5.00 she started jumping up and down shouting “Merci” (thank you), and proceeded to run down the hill to her family, waving the money and voicing continued thanks. Upon her arrival back down to her home, the entire family began rejoicing over the gift, it was as if they had just won the lottery. Cathy and Ryan were one quarter mile away and could here the family proclaiming their thanks and joy. Do you believe it, all for $5.00?

Another highlight was when we met a ten year old boy on the hilly pathways. He asked us if he could give us a tour of the area (for money), sell to us some potatoes or a fresh bouquet of mint from the hills. We declined his offerings but continued to talk with him about life in the mountains. He was very polite and respectful and shared with us information about his schooling; he then gave us six potatoes and the fresh mint as a gift expecting nothing in return. It turned out he loved school but unfortunately his parents could no longer afford tuition; the young man was attempting to earn the $6.00 necessary to attend classes for a month. As our hearts fell to the ground, I reached into my wallet and gave him the money for tuition for one month. He repeatedly thanked us proclaiming that he would walk to school the following morning to pay the tuition; we then watched him run down the hill with excitement. When you compare that experience to purchasing a morning “latte”, quite frankly there is no comparison.

Our experiences on this trip provided us a view of Haiti which showed a country of beauty and hope. Their new president is making positive changes such as cleaning up the garbage on the streets, repairing the roads, rebuilding the State Capitol, tightening the adoption requirements, designing greenhouses, and promoting a tourism package. Like turning around the Titanic, it will take many years for these changes, but with much prayer, support, and continued commitment by many missionaries, the Haitian people may once again experience a life of joy and unlimited potential. Cathy and I thank Ryan and Melissa for allowing us to experience the fascinating country of Haiti. We pray for them and wish them safety as they complete the final months of their mission.

Dad & Mom

Before we went OUT of Port we rode IN Port   Not a typical adventure for most visitors but we went on a motorcycle ride to the Heartline property.  On the way we stopped at a small market and bought some Krem Maye – basically ice cream-ish thing made in the Dominican Republic. We decided that for their visit we would also take them outside of Port-Au-Prince and do some mountain climbing in the hills of Furcy, Haiti.  After Run For Life we were planning to take a few days off in Furcy but we delayed it a bit to wait for Melissa’s parents. Furcy is quite a trek especially for our little Mits  After a few stops we did make it.

Mountain Hiking

Once up the mountain we did some hiking and got to talk a bit with the locals.  The one kid in the picture was screaming after seeing us “blan” white people.  Poor kid.  I would be frightened too

After Melissa did some weights we found some what might have been OLD time TapTap’s pulled by horses!

Beach Day with Workers

We did a beach day last year with the workers and this year we scheduled a day with them while Mel’s parents were here.  A friend of ours from church is starting a ministry out on this beach.  It’s very new and rustic as it had no bathrooms or running water.  He was soooo gracious to invite us to bring our workers.  It was a much needed time as our workers had been having some small quarrels between each other.  It was a good team-building

Melissa’s dad had made up some games to play as well!  You will see one of the games was a sandcastle building contest.  The highest sandcastle wins!

]]> http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/2887/melissas-parents-visit-haiti/feed/ 0 http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/2913/break-in-update/ http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/2913/break-in-update/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:56:06 +0000 Ryan http://ryanandmelissaalberts.com/?p=2913 Continue reading →]]> What a week! We had Melissa’s parents here this last week. We are thankful that months prior to the break-in, Melissa’s parents had scheduled to come this last week. They came at a time which helped us take our mind off of the recent break-in.

We were so grateful for all of your prayers, words of encouragement, thoughts, and support. Even though we are far away – you are such blessings to our hearts! A few people gave extra money and our home church took up a second offering. I feel so much gratitude and humbleness -  I had tears from hearing how you, our friends and family, have helped.  You are truly with us as we endeavor to be the helping hands and feet in Haiti.

John, the pastor at our Haiti church, and his wife stopped by to talk through what happened, pray with us and give us some Bible verses we could post around the house.  They have had a few robberies themselves and were very so thoughtful to take time out of their day to visit.

John told us about a guy at church that used to do security.  Believe it or not… the next Sunday Melissa, unknowingly, sat down right next to the guy. He gave us some great advice on some small things that we can do to help secure our apartment.

We were able to put in our window a beeper (very loud beeper) that goes off if the window is opened.  It’s a noise maker that would wake us up and hopefully scare the intruder.

I try to remember that we can take some steps for more security but the biggest thing we can continue is to take steps towards walking closer with Jesus.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” – More

Before this all happened, I was typing up our final conclusions of the Run For Life event.  Attempting to muster up enough energy to give a decent conclusion of the event.  It was the day after Barry finished the 315 mile run, and we had finally arrived back home after 17 days on the road.

Believing that we were safe…

I had dispersed the money needed for the run between different bags and backpacks during the event so if one item was stolen we would still have money in another location.  I was now consolidating all of that on our table back at our apartment.

After unpacking, I opened my laptop to begin loading the pictures of the run and to begin the final blog entry.

Realizing that we felt the weight of the two weeks catch up to us, my eye-lids became very heavy!  Thinking how wonderful it will be to sleep in our own bed.  I crash on the bed not long after 6pm.

During the night, I woke up.  Totally out of it and feeling disoriented, I said to Melissa, “Did you hear something?”  She half-awake said yes, but we didn’t think much of it.

Hearing noises is really a way of life down here in Haiti.  With our windows always open, our bedroom door always open, we can wake up many times during the night hearing music, dogs, roosters, crashing, banging, drums, shouting, or you-name-it!  It really isn’t unusual to hear something.  Why would tonight be any different.

Thinking nothing of the noise, I lay with my eyes closed, listening a little bit as I dose off to sleep again…

until the morning…

Melissa runs into the room terrified…

“Ryan… I think someone broke into our house last night.”

Confused as I was completely passed out from exhaustion from the days before.  I asked, “What?”

Melissa said, “Did you have your computer out on the table?”  I nodded while getting the sleep out of my eyes.  ”It’s gone.”

Of course, that got my attention.  I ruffled out of bed only a few feet to our table.  The same table that I had consolidated the money from the Run For Life.

“It’s all gone.” I said.  Melissa saw that the window to the balcony was open.  We immediately noticed the bars had been chiseled away from the cement and bent enough for a person to get in and out.

——

It’s a terribly uncomfortable feeling knowing that someone was in our  place, looking around and taking items.  Knowing they were feet away from our open bedroom.  Did they have a gun?  Did they have a knife?  Your thoughts seem to be never ending about the situation.  Even more so are my thoughts about what would I have done if I would have caught them taking the money and computer.

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” – John 10:10

It breaks my heart that money, to be used for good, was taken and rewarded to a thief.  It breaks my heart that justice is not immediately served.  It kills me to know that this person is still able to break into other peoples houses and take their things.

For one moment, do you remember the women in scripture who was caught in the very act of adultery.  The law of Moses said that she should be stoned.  The Pharisees, question Jesus about whether they should stone her.  He responds, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  One by one, as the invitation settled in, the religious leaders moved away.  The eldest departed first, followed by the youngest, until Jesus and the women were left alone.  Then Jesus spoke the words that free a broken life: “Neither do I condemn you.  Go your way and from now on, sin no more.”

It strikes a chord in all of us.  The story shows Jesus’ mercy and compassion.  We could see ourselves as the bystanders holding a rock.  I can see myself, looking into the eyes of the thief that broke into our house.  Then we pause and can also see ourselves in the women – as sinners set free.

Scripture tells us that the wages of sin, any sin, is death.  We stand guilty before Jesus, who was without sin but bore its punshiment on the cross to bring us redemption.  Like the women, we have experienced the extravagant kindness and undeserved mercy of Christ.

When someone commits a sin that threatens my comfort level, I have to fight my tendency to resort to judgment.  It’s all too easy to forget my own sins, condemn the other person, and fail to extend the very grace I’ve received.

If we’re truly walking with Jesus, every day we will encounter individuals whose lives do not align with God’s Word. Our opportunity, however, is to act the way Jesus did.

If I have a chance to meet this criminal, I want to extend to him the grace, mercy and forgiveness that Christ gave us.  I am not saying it’s easy to type these words but if I say I follow Christ, I want to act like Christ.

Melissa and I have continued to pray for the person that broke-in.  We pray that he will find the joy in Christ that we have found.

As scary as the feeling is after knowing someone was in your place.  We have been so thankful for the prayers and support of family and friends.

Over half way done!  183.4 miles Barry has crossed Haiti.  We now travel North up the mountains of Haiti through to Cap-Haitien.

Lots has happened along this journey.  Barry has continued to run across Haiti.  We have been working hard to support him along the way.

Our accommodations have been wonderful.  We have stayed with different organizations along the way. On Monday & Tuesday, Nate and Brenda Yonker at Ebeneezer were such a blessing and graciously gave our cooks the two days off as we stayed during our rest day.  They met us along the road to give out a cheer.  After that we stayed in Gressier where Respire Haiti surprised Barry by having all the children come out to the road to cheer him onward!  They were gracious enough to let us stay with them.

Then the half-way point into Port-Au-Prince.  We changed the route slightly to stop by Medishare hospital where a physical therapist was able to help Barry with a problem he was having.  After we passed by the current maternity center where a number of kids gathered from Byron & Shelly Tlucek’s Marathon Children’s Ministries gathered to cheer him on.  We also picked up a surprise old friend of Barry’s, Collins and some other Haiti friends that where willing to run.  We then ran with them about 3 miles to the new property where the new maternity center will be built!

All-in-all, it was a good day as we support Barry through this journey.  Great to see support!  We think of those back in the states that are behind Heartline, Barry, Melissa and I on this journey in Haiti.

On a personal note, I had a blast going through all the craziness of Port-Au-Prince.  Doctor Jen was a passenger on my moto must of the time as we slowly weaved through traffic keeping up with Barry.  She was able to jump off in places and able to access Barry as needed.

I wish I had time to describe all the pictures but here are a bunch:

The run continues!

Yesterday, during the evening, we took a moment of silence as it has been 3 years since the earthquake.  Our place was by the ocean – so we went down to gather as a group.

It’s hard to put into words what this is about.  It’s obviously much more then Barry running.  It’s even hard to comprehend what Barry is doing, sometimes much less what is happening with maternal care in Haiti.

We have been getting up at 4 am each morning to head out so Barry can be running at 5 am.  Makes for an early schedule but it’s much needed for Barry to be in the cool temperatures.

Here is my view from the bike:

• The water bottle for Barry that gets switched in and out.
• The Hema GPS donated by Hema in Australia
• Bluetooth Speaker that I use to play some tunes and worship music from my phone.

Of course – here are some more interesting pictures.  Many have been pulled from the facebook Run For Life page.  Like the group to see more immediate updates!  Otherwise, stay tuned and I will keep posting

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