POW! Dadadada...THUMP!
"Mango!"
"Mango!"
Tiffany dashes for the mango, racing to snatch it up. She retrieves it and hands it over to Galynn, who salivates over it as she carves the skin off carefully with Chad's leatherman knife. She continues to do the same with the other three gathered yesterday and passes the plate of freshly fallen mango around our breakfast table. I stare at the mango longingly and fearfully. I've been watching Galynn eat it all week, but I am still leery. In previous trips to developing countries, eating fruit off trees was a no-go, unless you wanted a parasite. Mostly this was because the water that fruits and veggies were washed in was parasite ridden. You know, 'don't drink the water' (lest you want your system cleared.) Since we were last at MOHI, a kind and very smart man installed a water system he patented that purified and cleaned the water better than our water in the States. This meant we could drink any water on the base, brush our teeth out of the sink (which because of previous habit, I was still skeptical of), and heck, drink the water in the shower. So eating a mango that had been 'baptized' in the mission water should be fine. I watched everyone else eat it but I still couldn't. Hey, one person on the team had to stay healthy to take care of everyone else, right? I guess that makes me the designated driver of the mango eating.
I also couldn't imagine getting back home to my kids only to be too sick to care for them. I suppose I have grown more fearful since my girls have come into the picture of my life. Even before leaving for Haiti, I had my worries- Haiti is not a particularly volatile place, but the possibilities for mishaps when traveling struck fear in my heart. Watching a news story prior to going about a pilot who crashed a plane in Melbourne, Florida because he was drunk did not help. I guess I was just a little fearful of something unforseen and feeling aware of the fragility of my life. What if I contract malaria, get into a car accident or the plane crashes?
When my mom and dad were saying their goodbyes as they left me in my freshman college dorm, my dad told me to read Psalm 121. I'd like to read it to you, ok?
I lift my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm---
he will watch over you life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
I got a chance to revisit that passage in our morning time with the Lord. And I had a thought: We are all so fragile--it is a wonder any of us survive. But God is our keeper and I praise him for his mercy to allow any of us to live. Then my thoughts turned outward, asking God to have mercy on that little baby girl I held in the village, that she would grow healthy and strong and that her life would glorify God. I desire to live with abandon, knowing God is the keeper of my life.
And up, up, up, we rode in the big school bus, weaving around the mountain, honking our horn at oncoming traffic as we rounded the bends. I looked at the panoramic view of Haiti out the windows on the right side. I could see the mountains and the town and the ocean. Beautiful.
"Our driver has our life in his hands," I heard someone say and I took notice of the elevation we were at. It was a long drop. I shuddered at the thought and then pushed it away. Around another bend, BEEEEEEP! A semi passed us going the other direction on the turn and I held my breath.
We were on our way to St. Entienne, the church and school campus in the mountains. The bus pulled into a tight parking spot and Alexis showed us around. Again, so much growth since we were last here. Besides a school and a church, another beautiful building was erected and plans for a restaurant that would overlook the picturesque mountains were in place. For now, it was being used by the mobile clinic that came each wednesday to care for the sick.
Below it was a school where we took our musical prowess to have fun with the little kids. Jan brought colorful bells for the children to play. She would hold up cards with color circles that coordinated with music on a cd. When the kids would see the color on the card that matched their colored bell, that meant they were to ring it. It was so fun! To add to the excitement Jan had also brought all kinds of colorful flags to use. Galynn and I grabbed a billow (large piece of colorful fabric) and headed into the crowd of students, running up and down the aisles, sweeping the billow just over their heads and twirling around like goof balls. I was not illiciting much laughter, or smiles. So I asked if one of the students wanted to try. A boy, who was obviously the class clown took the billow and mimicked me. The class ERUPTED with laughter and yelling!! He was hysterical and all eyes turned on him and he ate it up! Definitely an amazing moment!
We concluded our musical fun, and put thing 1 and thing 2 back in their boxes. Some of us went upstairs and began organizing more bags of clothing to hand out, while others stayed below to play with kids. I snuggled a baby in the clinic, who fell sweetly asleep and it felt good to have my arms full again. As lunch arrived, we began handing out the clothing packages to those who were coming through the clinic. This time, we sized them up and tried to match them as best as possible with clothing that would fit. As God's grace would have it, we had the perfect amount for the people in the clinic and for the most part, we were able to give clothing that fit, with the exception of one young lady who was not happy I gave her the only woman's package left- a size XL. She was not convinced by my effort in suggesting a belt or scarf around the waist.
You cannot go to St. Entienne without taking the 3 mile hike to see the waterfall in the mountains. It's sort of becoming a tradition. Actually, the waterfall is not all that incredible but everything else as you are getting there and back is. With Jan and Dave headed back to the base, the rest of us descended the steep mountain towards the falls. Vistas of lush green hills jutting up toward the sky, covered with small fields planted with corn or beans surrounded us. Often we walked along narrow paths with a plummet off to the side of us, clung to the hillside as we carefully stepped over a break in the path, or paused to allow each individual to dare a dry but slippery slope of loose dirt and rocks. We encountered a donkey on our route who refused to move until its owner smacked him in the bum to get him off the trail. We also braved a few bulls grazing in our way. Approaching the falls, I had to hold on to a root to cross a break in the path and found myself picking what reminded me of Devil's Club out of my fingers. Tiny barbed hairs stuck in my skin, stinging my fingers and making them itch. Luckily, my cute husband rescued me with his first aid kit. He had been taking care of blisters and cut feet and any other ailment on our team all week. I love my Eagle Scout and his dedication to 'Always be prepared.'
On our way out, we climbed (some of us ran) up a steep hillside to the top where a kind, elderly man appeared from his home with chairs for us to rest on. He spoke in Creole to Alexis and Gadith about his prescriptions. I gathered he was having headaches (I heard doule-pain, and he pointed to his head). The girls kindly explained what he should be taking and when (I think, it was all in Creole ya know.) I was impressed by this ministry 'on the move.' Even on an excursion, you can be a blessing to others and I was thankful for this little act of 'village ministry' (even if Alexis and Gadith did all the work.) We had more climbing to do, so up we want. As we climbed a steep hill, I learned that one of my teammates had a fear of heights. That person very much conquered that fear today.
Speaking of fears, I must have overcome some of mine because I had no problem falling asleep on the bus ride home. Although, I am told we had a seriously close encounter with a tap-tap that we almost hit head on. Like I said, I was asleep, so I don't have the details. Kind of glad for that. But it did occur to me later as I looked back on our hike that much of the trail we were on was pretty precarious and a small accident could have become a big incident "He will not let your foot slip..." Thank you Jesus. Maybe I conquered some fear too. Now maybe I'll try some mango.
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