Family and Friends,
Day 65 of our Adventure in Haiti!
This year I (Cory) have already had the chance to attend both a wedding and a funeral in Haiti. Both were very interesting to observe, though not terribly different than a typical wedding or funeral in the US.
The groom who was getting married is a guy I just met, but he invited me to attend, and since the church wasn't too far away I accepted. Like everything in Haiti the start time came and went and very few people were in the church. Some musicians were warming up, a cameraman was feverishly setting up his equipment, and the Pastor was pacing around the place, checking on some last minute details. Then the people started showing up and you could tell it was very important to make a big entrance. Of course it is a big deal to have a car in Haiti, so many people came packed into cars of all sorts, and those who couldn't fit in cars arrived crammed into tap-taps.
The clothes were truly beautiful. Many of the women wore dresses that were as formal as the dresses worn by brides or bridesmaids in the US. Virtually all of the men wore suits. After everyone finally sat down the festivities began. Entering the building was a big deal. It began with a little flower girl doing a well-choreographed march down the aisle complete with the scattering of flower petals. Then each of the bridesmaids entering to her own song. As each processed down the aisle she would do a little dance, continuing to look back to the bride. Then the bride did the biggest entrance of all. She was escorted to the front in the middle of a children's choir who sang together as they walked. I knew some of the kids in the choir, so that made it fun to be there.
After that there was a ton of music, with several different singing groups, sevaral hymns sung to the sound of organ played on a keyboard, and other solos. I didn't understand all of the other elements of the service, though I remember one part where the Pastor was grilling the groom and bride about whether or not they would be faithful to each other. Instead of the formal vows we do, it was more like a question and answer session, so they had to be on their toes. There was one moment where everyone laughed. Afterwards, someone explained to me that the Pastor asked the groom if he was going to see other women after this. He quickly respond, “Oh yes, of course.” I think he didn't hear the question correctly...at least let's hope he didn't.
Obviously the funeral was quite different. The boy who died was only eighteen years old, and it was a very tragic death. He just got a stomach ache one day and dropped dead. He wasn't sick before that at all. Sue, the nurse here, thought it sounded like regular case of ruptured apendix. Who knows. Either way it was really sad. The boy's brother Willie is a good friend of ours, so my friends Zachary and Patchouko and I travelled to a neighboring town to attend. We were all on one motorcycle, a very Haitian thing to do.
One part of the event that was memorable was the location of the church. It was a rural area located in the flatlands near Les Cayes. This is where people grow a lot of rice and sugarcane. So we were driving a motorcycle on little footpaths that run alongside the fields. As I look back now, I'm not sure how in the world they got the casket out to this little country church. It is amazing what you can accomplish with human labor.
We didn't stay for the whole funeral, but people were openly weeping and moaning for the loss of the young man, Gerald. It was sad. Hymns were sung, eulogies were given, and we left with our heads hung down. Death is always present here. Around the same time as this young man died, another young man in our community killed himself trying to tap into the electrical wire to pirate some power. He had already paid the electric company to give him electricity, but since they didn't do it he decided to try it on his own. Not a good idea. Then just yesterday a boy fell off of a motorcycle and died.
Oh yeah...there was a bad tap-tap accident the other day as well. We saw the wreck afterwards, and the word on the street is that the driver had been using the truck with little to no brakes for the previous few days before the accident. Nice. People were thrown out of the truck when it collided with another vehicle. No one died this time, but many people had head wounds. Sue helped a couple of them.
On a happier note we are having a great time with the small team that is down here right now. Richard is working hard cranking out the cabinets and shelves and really anything made out of wood, and the others have been helping out in the clinic, with youth group, and with our new english classes. We started the “advanced” english class Sunday and it went really well. This is a good opportunity for us to meet more people in the community, for Lynn to be involved with the ministry, and for me to practice teaching Haitians in a low-pressure environment.
Oh yeah...the chicken coop.
We used to have chickens in the orphanage compound, but the roosters would always drive everyone crazy. Haitian roosters don't wait until sunrise to start crowing. They sometimes do it at all hours of the night. Anyway, part of the old chicken coop is still standing. After a thorough cleaning and some repair, it has now become the most popular hangout around...a clubhouse of sorts. We don't see our kids all afternoon and finally someone says, “Where are the kids?” Well, they are playing in the clubhouse with the kids from the orphanage. Fun.
Today is the 1 year anniversary of the huge earthquake that changed Haiti forever. After I observe the prayer services and whatever else happens today I will be sure to blog about the experience sometime soon. Please remember Haiti in your prayers!
God Bless,
The Grimm Family Adventurers
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