One of the things we have been privileged to do during our time here is be introduced to many missionaries and missions. Phil Snyder of GLOW Ministries (God's Love for Widows and Orphans) is our neighbor. His mother owns the house next door to ours and he travels to Haiti quite often.
On Tuesday I got a chance to accompany a team he had down from Michigan up into the mountains. Our home is in the shadow of the mountains and I have wondered what is beyond the mountains. The Haitian proverb is true, "deye monn, gen monn" - behind the mountains, more mountains.
We piled into the back of the small truck for the 2 hour trip up to the school. The idea was to go, introduce ourselves to the kids, spend some time, distribute some shoes and then come home after a little lunch. Phil brings his teams to the schools to help people see firsthand what their money is doing. This particular school in Gadier has 160 students. They have classes from kindergarten to 4th grade. The children are fed about four times per week.
The drive beautiful, dusty, rough and long. Comparing it to Lagonav I would say most of the road was better than the island roads with some rough sections much like we experience over on Lagonav. The valley up into the mountains from San Mak (Saint Marc) is sparsely populated. Lots of farming since the river provides irrigation. On the way back we saw some folks planting peanuts (pistach).
We had a wonderful welcome. The kids sang in both English and Kreyol. Many of the kids are sponsored. Two of ladies who were along got to meet the young boy and girl they had been sponsoring for some time. Lots of photo ops.
The back of the truck was not only full of people but also boxes of shoes. We had a chance to distribute them shortly before our wonderful meal of goat, beans and rice plus fried plantain. It is always amazing to see the places they cook this delicious food - the stove is three rocks with charcoal burning in between. The kids came in by fives and we found their size by trial and error.
After our meal we went for a short walk that took us to a point that looks out to the Artibonite valley. This lush valley was green with lots of standing water. In the middle of the dry season the contrast it very stark. The majority of the rice grown in Haiti is grown here. As we often say the sights in Haiti are beautiful if you just stop to look.
And finally a reminder of the need for the gospel here in Haiti - probably the biggest tree I have seen here. This large tree or mapou is a place of vodou worship. They gather around to worship the lwa or spirits. and perform the many ceremonies. Vodou worship is still prevalent and a reminder of the bondage from which Jesus came to set us free. Keep praying as we bring the gospel to the people of Haiti.
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