Apostolique Art

Sunday—church day! I have never been in a more Spirit filled place in my life! Early morning saw us all up, freshened up, breakfasted, and ready for church (I was even up before people were hollering that breakfast was on the table). My sleep was not restful in that I have been having weird dreams about kids that need help and a world that is ending, but this makes sense given the piles of rubble and starving children that we have been around lately. For every children's home that exists where the children have nothing, there are 30 we have never heard of. Don’t get discouraged, right? God sees all of these children who are in need, even if we do not. (Picture on the right = people going to church...I think)

We got going for church pretty early in the morning because if you don’t get to church early, you do not have a seat. It seems that all of Port au Prince had turned out for church as there were hundreds of impeccably dressed individuals making their way down the street headed to one church or another. This meant traffic was slightly more snarled and impatient, but traffic is always that way in this country—at least in Port au Prince. Note: Chops was actually wearing a shirt with sleeves!! Keeping in mind that this man (whose real name, by the way, is Ryan—he goes by Chops because of impressive mutton chops growing out of his face) is usually in shorts and a tank top, this was a unique thing. “This is church” he said in justification for the anomaly. J

Luckily we got to Port au Prince Fellowship in enough time to claim the seats necessary for our group. We filed in and sat down, and then a bunch of us girls needed to find a restroom. Pat got up to show us where it was, and we four gals formed a little chain to get to the bathroom—Pat making sure that all her “little chicks” were following along right behind her. The bathroom was a ways away and consisted of one toilet in a stall…one toilet that didn’t flush. Oh well, we are tough chicas, right? A cockroach displayed the holes in that argument (a rather big one actually) as there was some jumping to get away from the critter. Oh bugs…who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

Upon rejoining the congregation, I saw some familiar faces. Nurses and administrators from Real Hope For Haiti were there, as well as the Livesays. There were also a couple familiar faces that I was not expecting—Andy from Luther Seminary admissions, and Peter, a guy who I go to discipleship group with, were also in attendance! Of all the places—I don’t even see these two men around town in St. Paul! Small world indeed!

Service was in English, hence why our team goes there, and consisted of worship, then the message, then a song again—much like the church I currently attend, Mercy Vineyard in Minneapolis. Familiar songs in an unfamiliar place. Same God in a different place—this was probably what struck me the most. Yes, I know that God is the same God no matter where someone is located. Yes, I know that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever…but it wasn’t until today that I really truly lived the “God is the same everywhere” reality. God met me in that church in Haiti in the same kinds of ways he meets me in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Alaska. In a time in my personal life filled with uncertainty and unfamiliarity, the one and only thing that has remained constant throughout my entire life met me in a familiar way in an unfamiliar place. PRAISE THE LORD!!

I was moved to tears by a song titled “Stronger”, a song proclaiming the victory of God over the sins and evils of the world. All I could see were the faces of those kids in the second children's home who are living with practically nothing in an unsafe structure that could collapse on them at any moment. God is stronger than that situation. He is stronger than the social mores that justify these conditions. He is stronger than the injustices in this country that make parents have to choose between placing their beloved child in an children's home where at least they will have food (hopefully) and keeping their starved child home. I see him shining in the face of almost every person I pass—though destruction surrounds the Haitian people, hope and strength shines from their face. These are an amazing people that I have absolutely fallen in love with. Right now I’m trying to find the delicate balance between brokenness that prompts action and brokenness that is debilitating. I do not want to become hard to suffering, but I need to toughen up a little bit so that children's home like the one the other day do not paralyze me in sorrow. Prayers would be appreciated. To use an analogy from the message this morning (which was all about the Potter and the clay, how we are all molded through difficulty into the pot that God has in mind), I need to figure out how God wants my pot to pour out his love to those He brings me near.

Anyhoo, after church we went to the Kinam Hotel in Petionville, which is right next to Port au Prince. The Kinam was filled with media who are in the country to document upcoming memorials and commemorations surrounding the one-year anniversary of the earthquake last year. I wish I were in the country for just a few days longer so that I might see these as well, but I return to the States on the 11^th. Petionville is a slightly higher economic status than Port au Prince and the difference was evident pretty quick. The roads are a bit better and fewer people are sitting on the side of the road looking listless. At the same time, however, there are still tents with people living in them everywhere. Randy and Pat talked about how the park across the street from the Kinam was a really nice park before the earthquake—now it is a tent city. Apparently, right after the earthquake there were so many displaced persons scrabbling for a place to stay that tents were appearing on medians of the highways. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now most of those tents have moved to the tent cities outside Port au Prince, though in some places you can still see tents plunked on the roofs of structures and in a few medians.

The Kinam is a ritzier hotel in the area…they even have a pool! Not sure I would go swimming in that pool, but still. We had lunch in their restaurant—there was some surprise that lettuce was back in sandwiches as many restaurants are avoiding serving lettuce due to cholera concerns. Food was good. We piled into transportation and trucked on over to the Palace…or what used to be the Palace. The Palace suffered a lot of destruction in the earthquake. Most of it is collapsed. They have been clearing out the center of the structure and apparently one side settled more recently (i.e. collapsed further). Almost as soon as we piled out of the cars, street side vendors came up and were peddling their wares. Some of them sit by the Palace knowing that sightseers like us will buy their goods.

Pat, Randy, and I headed over to visit the card ladies. World Wide Village helps finance a microenterprise venture where six ladies currently work making absolutely gorgeous handcrafted greeting cards. They make birthday cards, Christmas cards, butterflies, flowers, Valentine’s day cards, sailboats, lighthouses, angels, crosses, dancers, etc. WWV provides the supplies and pay for the women. They are paid $150 USD every six weeks. (I know, I know—this seems like a small amount, but pause for a moment and consider that the average Haitian makes ~$300 USD per year and most Haitians do not even have a job.) The cards are brought back to America, where I am in charge of their sale (shameless plug—if you want cards, let me know!! The more cards we sell, the more women we can support). I have been working with these cards since October or November of last year, and today the ladies and I finally got to meet! Note: the name of their venture is Apostolique Art and if you would like cards, email me at nromness@worldwidevillage.org.

We arrived on time, but our interpreter was late. The ladies and I were introduced and we got to talk for a little while. When asked what they needed from me, Franciana responded that I need to sell more cards so she can work more. My promise—I will do my best! I love these cards, and now I have faces to put with the needlework. They also now know me, and can now put the pressure on if I am not living up to my end of the deal. J

The rest of the team headed over to deliver materials to the second children's home from two days ago. Considering my role in the office with the cards, it was more crucial that I go to meet the card ladies…and in complete and total honesty, I’m not sure my heart would have survived another trip to that children's home until I toughen up just a little bit. From what I have been told, however, the other organization that has come in was building triple-decker bunk beds for the kids. The team brought clothes and teeth care materials to the kids and truly lived out the “I was naked and you clothed me” verse.

AMONG THE THINGS I SAW TODAY:

· Hungry street children washing cars in the road in the hopes that they will receive money for their efforts.

· A downtown that looked like a warzone because of collapsed buildings.

· A man carrying a chicken that had a sock over its head (I’m assuming to keep it calm).

· A tent city across the street from one of the fanciest hotels in Haiti.

· A tent city across the street from the collapsed Palace.

· UN troops.

· Women chatting and laughing just like Paula and I do—not a novel thing, I know, but it is nice to see that girl friends like Paula and I exist elsewhere too. We are not the only ones attached at the metaphorical hip with someone else.