Ministry in Haiti: The great adventure - Part 2

On Friday we had a tiny foretaste of what it feels like to suddenly find yourself with no place to sleep, with only the clothes on your back and the food in your bag to take you through the night.

It all started when our driver declined our invitation for him to spend the night at our guest house. He lives half an hour away, but we had plans of leaving home at 4am, and it would have been difficult for him to get public transportation at that early hour. However, he was not prepared to overnight, so after dropping us home after 9pm, he went to his home and promised to be back the next morning.

Our security guards at our guest house who
 ensured that we were well take care of

The next morning we awoke bright (well...not really) and early at 3:30am to make sure we were ready for when our driver arrived at 4am. At 4:10 there was no sign of the driver, and calls to his phone went unanswered. By 4:30, we realised that we had a problem, and we needed to activate Plan M. I really didn't want our very faithful ministry partner Mackendy to drive, because he has not been well and his doctor ordered him to take one month's bed rest. However, he is not the kind of person to leave us stranded, so by 5am he was ready to take us to Caisril. As the sun rose, we realised that the delay was crucial, as the sunlight allowed us to see a stone which was lodged in the van's back tires, and could have caused a problem. Our security guards helped Mackendy dislodge the stone, and we were on our way.

Getting the stone out

We found out later that our driver's transportation had shut down 3km away from home the night before so they had to push it all the way to St. Marc and he got home after 11pm. He was really exhausted from all the driving the previous 2 days so he sent a message saying he would be unable to come for us but we didn't receive the message until after 5am. I refused to fret because I know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Our team of Haitian doctors and nurses

We stopped to pick up one of our partners and medication for the clinic, and then we continued on our way, confident that we would still be able to get a lot done that day even though we were close to two hours behind schedule. In giving an orientation to Khamal on what to expect on his first trip to Haiti, I had said that no Haiti mission trip was complete without a flat tire. We had no car issues thus far, but on this last day of ministry, just one hour away from our destination, we heard a loud noise and when we pulled to the side, discovered that our back tire had been damaged beyond repair...

Busted tire

In God's grace He ensured that this did not happen when we were in the middle of the wilderness, or driving down one of the many mountains on the way. We were able to go to a nearby restaurant and buy cold drinks while Mackendy and the doctors changed the tire. While they were still changing the tire, we heard a loud explosion on the other side of the bus. Upon investigating, we discovered that a second tire had blown out. Thankfully, there are double tires in the back of the bus, and Mackendy said that the second one was solid enough to take us to our destination, we would just have to drive slower.

This is why we need manpower on our Haiti trips

After a while we were able to reboard the bus and continue our journey but as soon as we pulled off we heard a funny noise so we had to stop again. This time, the tire that we had just put on had fallen off! Mackendy said it was because the spare was a front tire, so they now had to remove the front tire and put it in the back, and put the spare tire in the front.

One tire missing!

When we resumed our journey, we could not drive as fast as before, so it took us over an hour to get to the turn off from the main road which would take us to our destination. The road we were now driving on was not paved - it was just made of stones, so I kept praying that our tires would hold up. Along the way, we started to get a glimpse of the destruction this village endured at the hands of Hurricane Matthew.

Houses damaged

Plantations destroyed

We drove for about half and hour and then came to a stop. We were told that the road to the house where we would be having the clinic was blocked with a big tree, so the bus would not be able to pass. However, we would walk to the venue, while the bus drove further down the road to meet a boat, which would take the supplies over to the house over the sea. So we disembarked and I thanked God that I brought my rubber boots when I realised that our journey would entail crossing rivers and trekking through mud.

Crossing the first river

Things were going fine until about the 3rd or 4th river crossing, when the water became muddy and got up to the top of my boots. By the time the doctor offered to take me across on his back, it was too late - my socks and feet were soaking wet. I emptied the water when we got to shore and we continued our trek. A little further along while walking in the mud I felt my foot sinking. My boot went all the way down and got stuck in the mud. Thank God Doctor Joseph came to my rescue and helped me out of that hole. He made sure that I made it safely across our final river crossing, where we were able to wash off the excess mud from our feet.

Follow the leader through the mud

Just when we thought our journey was almost to the end, we realised that the house we were headed to was at the top of a small mountain. Some members of our team were ready to give up at this point, but we continued to press on, because no one who puts his hand to the plough and turns back is fit for the kingdom of God. The view from the top was so worth it!

Beautiful view of the sea on the southern side of Haiti

Villagers who had been waiting for us since 11am

By this time it was close to 4pm so we knew that we did not have many hours of daylight left. I shared a word of encouragement with the people from Habakkuk 3:17 & 18 and then we started setting up for the clinic. When the medication and water arrived, we had to get help to bring it up the mountain, so that was a good workout for all involved.

Water, beans and rice which finally made it up the mountain

Doctors busy at work

Receiving a hamper in front of her house which was damaged

Food being served

Dispensing medication by solar light

By the time we finished seeing 200 + patients and feeding that many people, we realised it was too difficult to attempt to get back to the bus, either by making the 45 minute trek through the mud and water, or rowing across in the middle of night; and too dangerous to make the 7 hour drive to Port au Prince on 2 tires which were not sound. It was probably at this point that I recognised why God made sure that Mackendy was the one who drove us that day, and not the other driver: we were going to have to spend the night in Caisril.

In my travels to Haiti, I have spent the night in some strange places before - at the side of the road, sleeping on the top of the bus - but never before without my suitcase. I was already feeling cold and I couldn't help thinking about my sweater which was in my suitcase in the bus on the other side of the sea. Thank God I had my repellant in my bag, so they offered some relief from the mosquitoes which were eating us alive.  We were not sure where we would be sleeping exactly, but we knew that we would be safe. Thankfully I had listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit that morning and packed all my extra food stuff in my bag, so we were able to split a cup of soup for dinner, and I had enough granola bars and crix and tuna for the rest of the team to eat.

Sleep over!!!

The people of Caisril were so generous. They gave up their mattresses and slept outside on the porch so we didn't have the face the cold breeze outside. This is how they have been living since Hurricane Matthew hit, having all things in common, and sharing with others as they have need. What a wonderful lesson for the Church to learn.

The next morning we arose bright and early at 3:15am and after spending time in prayer, we began our trek down the mountain. We got to the sea where we met our boat, and we began our journey by moonlight, while the sun was still asleep. I felt like I was with Jesus and the disciples on a lake - it was so peaceful and soothing, with only the sounds of the oars hitting the water and our voices being heard. Soon some of us started to sing songs of worship as we could not help but acknowledge God's presence with us that early morning.

First time on a Haitian boat!

When we were almost to the shore, we heard a cracking sound and sat helpless in the boat while looking at the oarlock float away. Without the oarlock to keep the oars in place, the boatmen had difficulty steering and we ended up drifting into the mangrove at the side of the shore. Thankfully, the oars were long, and by now it was shallow enough for one of the boatmen to stand in the back of the boat and paddle it like it we were in a gondola. It took a bit longer, but eventually, we were able to make it safely back to shore.

Spectacular sunrise

We battled with sandflies while waiting for Mackendy to bring the bus to where we had landed, but by 5:30 we were finally on board and on our way. When there were about 10 minutes left on the stone road before we got on the the main road, we had to go down in a ditch. We did not realise how much mud there was, and before we knew it, we were stuck. I was praying because I really felt we could not have afforded any more delays since we were aiming to get to the airport by 3pm that afternoon.

Nurse Isla came to the resuce. She jumped out of the bus and started pulling coconut branches from the ground and putting them in front of the tire that was sunk in the mud. When she was satisfied that there was sufficient to give traction, she instructed everyone to go to the back and PUSH!

Guess which one is Nurse Isla?

This was the last chapter in our most exciting 24 hours in Haiti ever. After getting out of the mud, we were able to make it safely back to Port au Prince, have a long overdue shower, and get to the airport in time for our 6pm flight. 

We were reminded that God is the one who orders our steps. We may have our plans, but He always knows what is best. We were also able to share a tiny bit in the suffering of our Haitian brothers and sisters; we were able to go home at the end of the day, but they will be living like that, depending on the generosity of others, for a long time to come. We also saw the power of God to take what the enemy meant for evil, and turn it around for good. It was truly an experience I will never forget.