I landed in Calgary a week ago at the end of my ten-day trip to Marotte, Haiti with Engineering Ministries International Canada. The trip was an incredible experience. Here I'll introduce you to some of the people I met in Haiti, and the impressions they left me with (but bear in mind that some of these are fairly naïve). First, though, let me introduce you to our team:
―Kevin Wiens, project leader, with wife Michele and children Talia and Kaisa, AB
(Having children come along for an EMI trip is very rare.)
―Brian Kozy, structural engineer, MD
―Justin Walton, civil/water engineer, TX
―Andrea Hestvik, architect, BC
―Hidenori Iwagami, architect, CA
(Unfortunately, Hidenori was unable to come due to a family illness.)
―Sean Williams and daughter Zoe, surveyors, SC
―Marcie Van Weerdhuizen, civil engineering student, ON
―Me, electrical engineering intern, ON
We spent most of our trip under the guidance of Camille Otum, the Haitian-Canadian woman who had the original vision for the Welcome Home Children's Centre, and her husband, Sam, a Nigerian-Canadian heavy construction executive. Camille's vision for the orphanage is that the children will have a permanent, stable home there until they begin their adult careers; a place where they can develop physically, spiritually, cognitively and emotionally. Sam is instrumental in making that vision a reality due to his experience in property development and his general ability to make things happen. I had a great time getting to know them both.
We stayed at the Obama Beach Hotel in Montrouis, a quick 5-minute drive from the site we worked on and about 20 minutes to the existing orphanage by tap-tap. (More about tap-taps later.) The hotel's owner, Gustave, also being in the property management business, took an interest in our work. He even gave me a comprehensive tour of the hotel's electrical systems, which are basically designed the same way as what Sam wants for the new orphanage. Gustave spent a lot of time talking with us (esp. with Kevin and Brian) about our work and other things.
The new site is currently inhabited by a family of goat farmers. The father, Tiga, helped us extensively with our work on the site. He was curious about what we were doing, but we couldn't speak enough Creole to explain our activities satisfactorily. He was very patient, cooperative and cheerful as we took up about three days of his time, used all the wrong pronouns and acted generally strange. For his trouble we gave him some food and water, a pair of work gloves and a frizbee.
Near the end of our stay at Obama Beach, a souvenir salesman came along with a display of earrings, pendents and necklaces made from polished stones and coral. He spoke excellent French and usable English. He was friendlier than most of the "hawkers" we met, and explained what he does for a living: He walks up and down the beaches between Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien looking for washed-up corals and colourful rocks, makes the jewelry using a rather large electric grinder-buffer that he carries around in a bag, and does his soldering with an "oxygen lamp" (some kind of torch). He also mentioned laser engraving.
We spent our last night in Haiti in Delmas, where I met Jim, the "resident English speaker" at a Catholic guesthouse. He spoke English with me like a pro (his humour) and talked about spiritual growth, accomplishment and Christian self-worth. We also met some medical missionaries there who, I gather, visited a much less developed area of the country than we did.
This whole adventure was like a vacation for the soul to me. It was food for hope and proof that God's promises are for real. Pray for Camille and Sam's vision for the new orphanage to come to fruition without obstacles, and for God's guidance for them and the board of Welcome Home. Pray for Gustave's business to continue to run well. Pray for Tiga and his family of ten, as they have it hard right now. Pray for the Iwagamis. Don't let ennui get you down, because it won't last forever and by God's plan you're probably accomplishing more than you realise. Ask God to show you more of the picture.
