You've Got to be Kidding!

You would think that after sixteen years in Haiti...MdmeKiki would know better. Grant it I did turn the big 40 this summer and I think my "friends" were telling me to beware that this would alter my state of mind. I didn't quite catch it though.

So when Pastor Jilmis kept begging us to make a trip to visit his church up in the mountains we finally said yes. Denne Duncan was coming from HLG to do some filming for a class project and new promotional material for Blessing Hearts International and Dorce Ministries. We thought this would be great to be able to capture how our ministry not only involves the community here at Carries but also how it reaches some untouched and forgotten areas of Haiti.

We were up and raring to go at 4:00 am on Monday morning after our amazing Sunday sharing with many who had come to visit from several of those mountain churches similar to the one we were to visit. We pushed it to leave the compound before 5:00 am. We drove on toward PAP stopping for a little typical Haitian breakfreast. We bought 5 pates which is a flour dough with cooked chicken and haitain pickles made with cabbage, onions, lime juice, maggi (chicken boullion), and hot peppers, all this inside and fried in some heavy oil. A great nutritious way to start your day, especially if you are 40 so the only way to top it off of course is with a Coke and a smile and so I did. In my great 40 year old/Haitian intuition/wisdom I also insisted they buy some bread and avacados. Yoka, bless her heart, was up way early trying to cook some rice to send with us which Marc, Elves and Pasteur Jilmis gladly polished off before our arrival to prepare for our next departure.



Now grant it, in Haiti, it's always a given to pack some food and carry extra water because you never know where you may end up or what might happen! Thankfully Denne, Crash, Shaina and I had stuck in some tortilla chips, M&M's and beef jerky that Denne had brought. Little did we know that these would be our rations for the day. Thank goodness I had a whole bag full of little individual bags of water, there's probably about 65 in a bag, that I had left over from our event at church.

Let's just clarify that I was told in advance that they would be bringing mules for us to ride because of the distance. Must have been that 40 thing again causing me not to pursue the actual, how far are we going and how long is it going to take thing!!!!! It's probably just my natural Haitian response to the fact that I would be told that it's not to far and I didn't figure it was a big deal. Judging from the little pot bellied preacher whom I've never actually seen do physical labor, you would have made the same honest mistake as I, that there's no way it could be very far. I did however tell those accompanying me that we would be riding mules.

We turn off at Tityen onto this wonderful, very wide new road that President Preval has built. We enjoyed the good road and the gorgeous scenery as we quickly climbed the mountain and the beautiful ocean faded away into the hills and valleys below. Finally we arrived at a make-shift open market about 7am. This is where we saw the last of our faithful old dump truck as they put her away in a safe place until our return.



Decked out in shorts covered with a flowered skirt as dresses and skirts are Haitian custom for women, even a top the perch of a mule. I had my floppy blue hat with chin string and my sunglasses. I was also wearing a lace up brace on my foot because in March I chipped the bone although not knowing how. I thought it would be a good safety measure depending on the walking we might have to do. So it was tucked snuggly down into my tennis shoe. I was ready to roll, but hopefully not clear off my mule. Everyone being so shy and all in our group, it fell my duty to be the first one to gracefully mount my poor faithful beast. Just letting you know it was nothing like mounting a horse, especially one with a saddle and stir-ups. On the back of the mule was a wooden saddle, to my dismay!!! It was triangle in shape in the front and back with two pieces of wood connecting the two triangle pieces. somehow they had a rope they kept cinching up but I'm not sure what it was keeping on. Over the top of this they non-chalantly threw a blanket. Then they walked around finding a rock high enough for me to stand on with the skirt on and my bung foot in a brace, so that I could mount my sturdy beast. My counterparts were roaring with laughter and the Haitians were having a good time with it themselves. You know me, always good for a laugh! I finally mounted less than gracefully after calling curtly to my sweet dear husband for help!

Elisten was the name of the good man who led my mule. He led me to a spot aside the market to wait for all the others to mount which you can imagine took a few good moments. In the mean time he tried to get my mule to stand still and wait but the Haitian proverb says, "Buik chaje pa kanpe!" The donkey that is loaded will not stand still. This is so true. The donkey/mule knows his job well and when he is loaded, he's ready to "get out of Dodge"! He kept prancing around and leading him in a circle as we waited. This was about 7am. The first part was nice and smooth and some of the most beautiful scenery in Haiti.

The other Haitian proverb I need you to be familiar with is this, "Gen mon deye mon!!!" This proverb says that BEHIND EVERY MOUNTAIN, THERE ARE MOOOORE MOUNTAINS!!! This was our day to truly learn the meaning of this. Mili-seconds turned into seconds, seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours as we plodded along, hour after hour after hour. Each time we would ask how much further, the response was the same,
"Nou preske rive, nou preske rive!" or We are almost there, we are almost there! I thought they were supposed to be Christians but they were out right liars!!!!

It's amazing the haze my mind was in through all of this. First, I was angry at Pasteur Jilmis for taking us on such an excursion and not preparing us for the treachery of it. Not allowing us to plan to accomodate everything better. I think this was at least into the second hour of riding on a mule with no stopping, no getting off to walk. Then I was mad at myself for not finding out where in the world we were going in the first place. It clicked for me and I finally stopped being so selfish and thinking about myself and how thirsty I was but the mule with the water was quite a ways back and how sore I was and how terrible that at 40 I would never be able to walk again!!! At least not in a proper manner! All of a sudden my focus turned to them as I began to praise God for our ministry in Haiti. Praise God for these blessed people who endure so many hardships in their lives. Their very existence is so difficult. How and where they have to get water every day to drink, wash, cook and bathe. How far they have to go to get something from the market. I saw pregnant women climbing through rocks and mud with bare feet. I saw women in their 60's and 70's walking this treacherous terrain barefoot. I saw children running across all of it barefoot like it was nothing. I was sure most of them had for sure had less than I had to eat before starting this trail. A cup of coffee and a hunk of bread at most! Wow! I began to once again appreciate what I have always loved about Haiti is the plain ablility of these people to endure hardship.



What do you have to do to get on the same page with these people spiritually? How can we reach them for Christ? It was interesting as we continued the climb of the mountain range called, "TERRIBLE MOUNTAIN" that these people had seen a lot of blan or white people before. The troubling thing was that many of them were headed to a place called Sodeaux. The white people go there to watch the ritual voodoo ceremonies in a mountain fed waterfall and stream. Watching attentively, taking photos and videos where allowed, of these people writhing in sin, wallowing in the mud, covering their body from head to toe until it is without recognition as they are one after the other, possessed by the evil spirits and they obey to the character of each lwa called upon. Djoumballa and others they call on searching for them to fill their lives with fame, glory and especially money and success for their business and family.



Someone asked, "Are they going to Sodeaux? I was never prouder in that moment of the God that I served as they replied, "No, they are missionaries coming to preach the gospel and to see how they can help us save our souls. The two ladies on the mules behind me struck up a conversation of how that was so important really taking me off guard. She said, "If you are a Christian you don't have to be scared of the Lougarou, or werewolf that supposibly eats little Haitian children. You don't have to even be afraid of death when someone promises to kill you because if you are a Christian you are safe in His protection. You don't have to worry about your loved ones dying without being sick and trying to find out who put the curse on them that killed them. These are profound truths that we are trying share on a daily basis as we live out our lives here among the Haitian people. It is so hard to get through that thick outer crust and get the truth to affect their heart of hearts. It's our task. God has put us here for it.



I feel embarassed to even mention the rest of the hardships of the trip. Okay riding a mule for four hours before you are finally let off to walk is a little much but we all lived through it. Starting the last trek of the journey just to get there and thinking there is no way we would arrive alive. Okay, so my mule got really hot by the time we got to the top of this mountain. We stopped for a moment waiting for the others to catch up. As we did, my mule proceeded to lie down with me still sitting on top of it. I did what any agile forty year old women of my stature would do, I screeched at my guide and lunged off toward him as my mule hit the ground and started to roll. Elisten said, "I guess his back was getting to hot!!!" How sweet is that that he didn't say I was getting too heavy for the donkey to carry! He took everything off the mule, let the mule roll and scratch his back. He then saddled him up again and we searched for a nice high rock where I could gracefully mount again and we continued on. None of us thought we would have the courage to mount and return. They walked quite a bit but I couldn't with my bad foot, at least not without slowing them down a lot. We were dazed as we rode out, headed for our sacred truck. The sky darkened as night set in but it also darkened with the rain that was about to cut loose. The last 45 minutes we traveled in darkness as it began to rain, okay, pour down rain. God held our hand and he led us safely through the day and all the way back through the rain and darkness. Okay He carried us, I am sure because there was no way to stand. I wonder if we really cling to our Savior the way I clung to my precious mule. Do we hold onto Jesus for dear life constantly or only when the way gets treacherous and impossible to manage? Clinging to Jesus has a whole new meaning for me.



Was it worth it this crazy trip to the outback and beyond???? I can't speak for others but the smiles of those precious children cut through my pain/soreness/stiffness like a knife through hot butter. Everything melted away as we were given chairs to sit among them as they gathered around us, young and old alike. Men, women and children, young, old and in between. They surrounded us. More people who need my Savior! Way out here in the middle of no where! The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few! Who will go? Who will answer the call? Who will leave their comfort zone and start reaching out to the lost where ever they are! Look around you people! You don't have to climb on the back of a mule and travel 9 hours to the outback, unknown parts of Haiti to find people who are lost to minister to. They are in your work place. They are in your family. They are in the grocery store. They are at Wal-Mart. Wake up people! God has given us a job to do, to seek and to save the lost. Quit feeling sorry for yourselves in your cushy little corner and start to share God's love for you with someone else.

I felt like I was going to die that day on many different occasions and I admit at times I wanted to (riding a mule for nine hours! You've got to be Kidding!!!!) But when the people we came to see and all those children entered into that church and they began to praise the Lord for all they were worth, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! There is nothing more amazing than whole hearted, soul felt worship and that is what we witnessed that day, a glimps of heaven, pure, sweet and undefiled. Makes me long for heaven! I am weary and I want to see Jesus! Keep the faith. DEE