This morning our group split up and attended two different churches here. Two of the three pastor team members from our team were guest preachers at the two churches we attended. A small group of us attended the big Methodist Church in downtown Port au Prince. It is right beside the national prison where all the prisoners escaped the day of the earth quake. I don't think they are still hanging around. The service was in French and Creole. Our team member Genie Fairhart tried to interpret, but I still didn't get much. I knew almost all the tunes but the lyrics were different, even translated. I didn't understand very many words, but could hum along with most of the songs. The Church is a large concrete building, but the only major damage was the steeple fell over. Sunday in Haiti in some respects is a little like Sunday was at home back in the 50's; families are all dressed up, little girls in nice dresses, little boys in shirts and ties, women in high heels and men in suits.
Haiti in general seems a little like what medieval Europe must have been like. The government is for those in power and not the people. The churches provide the schools, medical clinics, vocational schools and the churches and other NGO's provide the social safety net. Buildings of any substance are surrounded by walls. The common people just do the best they can.
After Church we picked up the rest of the team back at the Guest house and went out for lunch at the same place we had lunch on the first day. The inside guard, the one with the revolver let me take his picture. The outside guard, with the shot gun didn't want me to.
After lunch we went back down town so everyone could see the collapsed presidential palace and much of the damage we all saw on TV. It was just amazing again the number of people on the streets. I don't know how many pictures one can take of collapse buildings, but they are everywhere. We also saw many tent camps. We also visited the site of the Hotel Montana where a number of the Methodist Church's mission staff were trapped during the quake, and a couple were killed. Tomorrow night we will meet with one of the survivors who was trapped for 55 hours. It will be interesting to hear from him. Also he is managing some sustainable agriculture programs here and I am anxious to hear about them.
Tomorrow will be our last full day here, for this trip. We are scheduled to go to one of the outlying project areas to get a little exposure to Haiti away from Port au Prince. From what we hear the poverty is worse, but the countryside is nicer.
Two of the many lasting impression I will have of this place are how nice the people are, in spite of all their hardships and how much rubble and trash there is eveywhere. The people are so friendly and patient it is hard to believe. Many of the people we have worked with who come to work every morning cheerful and friendly, go home to a tent slum after work. Today when we were down time, I started to realize there is no wonder there is so much of a trash problem. The tents are wall to wall. The houses are wall to wall. The businesses are wall to wall. If I lived in a 12X12 space with my entire family and my tent touched the tent on three sides of me, I don't know where my trash would go. The are private cars and trucks, but not a lot. Most of the people either walk or ride Tap Taps, the little passanger trucks. I told someone today, that if somebody could bring some front end loaders and just go down the hills scooping up trash and rubble. They could power a larger power plant and build a causeway to Florida.
By the way, If you wonder whey I haven't also been contributing to the blog, there are a lot of people sharing this computer. Everyone has to work with others hovering by asking when are you going to be done, not to mention that this PC is really difficult to use. The mouse has a mind of its own. The space bar is in a weird place and there is also the missing key.
So long for now. I'll try to write again tomorrow and send some pictures when I get home.
Steve
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