Family and Friends,
Day 204 of our Haiti Adventure!
Just a quick update to let you know we have arrived safely in Florida. Yesterday we left Haiti, and later today we will arrive in Sioux Center, Iowa. Everything has gone very well for us. God is good.
The kids are excited, because today we get to ride on 2 airplanes, one bus, one train, and one car. Should be fun! Last night we ordered pizza for the first time in over half a year. Sometimes the little things are what you miss the most.
We'll write more soon. Thanks as always to everyone who reads this blog and lifts us up in prayers. We appreciate all of you.
The Adventure continues...
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Final Week
Family and Friends,
Day 196 of our Haiti Adventure!
Here we are…we’ve arrived at the final week of our first school year in Haiti. What a strange feeling. We already have so many memories to carry with us, and yet there is a feeling we have barely even begun to scratch the surface of what God wants to do here. As we finish up this first term in Haiti we look forward to a fun and relaxing summer, but we also know we will miss our new friends and eagerly anticipate coming back.
Many mission teams have come and gone over the past half year, and we get to help out with one final group before we go. They will arrive tomorrow afternoon if everything goes as planned. Most of the members come from First United Methodist Church of Sioux Falls, SD. The group includes a number of teenagers from the youth group. Our Haitian youth group always enjoys when teams like that come, so we look forward to big Bible studies each night.
The American youth group is led by Mark and Lisa Johnson, who are friends of mine. Mark was a fellow classmate at seminary, and we were two of the four members in a class called, “Walking with the Poor." That week we walked the streets of Sioux Falls and lived our lives among the poor of that city, and that class was instrumental in our call as a family to be missionaries. It will be fun to find out how God has continued to work in Mark and Lisa’s lives and ministry.
We have been cleaning and reorganizing the mission house, including packing our belongings that will stay behind when we go. The kids have grown out of or worn out many of their clothes and shoes, so we look forward to shopping for some new things when we return to the states. I myself have shrunk out of most things, so I have the opposite problem. Lynn’s ongoing issue is that her shoes never wear out, so she is stuck with the same ones. Maybe I’ll let her pick something new anyway.
We might not have a chance to post or check email this coming week, but we look forward to writing more when we are in the US. At that time we will do some reflecting on our first year here and the process of readjusting to American culture for the summer. Be sure to check the blog in early June to read about those topics and more. If you want to see our pictures and hear our stories in person at some point this summer, we will be giving our presentation at the following places and times:
June 12- 1st Presbyterian Church, Newton, IA (AM Church service)
July 24- Alcester Baptist Church, Alcester, SD (AM Church service)
July 24- 1st Reformed Church, Sioux Center, IA (PM Church service)
July 29- Festival of Tables, Herrick, SD (Evening)
Aug. 14- The Crossing, Sioux Falls, SD (PM Church service)
Aug. 29- Return to Haiti
We would be very happy to add more dates to the calendar for this summer, so please do not hesitate to contact us to visit your church, your missions committee, or any Bible study or other group that would enjoy hearing our presentation.
Please pray for Mission Haiti, the visiting group, the people of Haiti, and our family this week as we seek God’s guidance and protection for ministry and travel. As always we expect God to do big things in the lives of both the Haitians and the Americans. Undoubtedly through both blessings and trials He will be glorified this week!
Looking Forward to Seeing You All Soon!
-The Grimms
Day 196 of our Haiti Adventure!
Here we are…we’ve arrived at the final week of our first school year in Haiti. What a strange feeling. We already have so many memories to carry with us, and yet there is a feeling we have barely even begun to scratch the surface of what God wants to do here. As we finish up this first term in Haiti we look forward to a fun and relaxing summer, but we also know we will miss our new friends and eagerly anticipate coming back.
Many mission teams have come and gone over the past half year, and we get to help out with one final group before we go. They will arrive tomorrow afternoon if everything goes as planned. Most of the members come from First United Methodist Church of Sioux Falls, SD. The group includes a number of teenagers from the youth group. Our Haitian youth group always enjoys when teams like that come, so we look forward to big Bible studies each night.
The American youth group is led by Mark and Lisa Johnson, who are friends of mine. Mark was a fellow classmate at seminary, and we were two of the four members in a class called, “Walking with the Poor." That week we walked the streets of Sioux Falls and lived our lives among the poor of that city, and that class was instrumental in our call as a family to be missionaries. It will be fun to find out how God has continued to work in Mark and Lisa’s lives and ministry.
We have been cleaning and reorganizing the mission house, including packing our belongings that will stay behind when we go. The kids have grown out of or worn out many of their clothes and shoes, so we look forward to shopping for some new things when we return to the states. I myself have shrunk out of most things, so I have the opposite problem. Lynn’s ongoing issue is that her shoes never wear out, so she is stuck with the same ones. Maybe I’ll let her pick something new anyway.
We might not have a chance to post or check email this coming week, but we look forward to writing more when we are in the US. At that time we will do some reflecting on our first year here and the process of readjusting to American culture for the summer. Be sure to check the blog in early June to read about those topics and more. If you want to see our pictures and hear our stories in person at some point this summer, we will be giving our presentation at the following places and times:
June 12- 1st Presbyterian Church, Newton, IA (AM Church service)
July 24- Alcester Baptist Church, Alcester, SD (AM Church service)
July 24- 1st Reformed Church, Sioux Center, IA (PM Church service)
July 29- Festival of Tables, Herrick, SD (Evening)
Aug. 14- The Crossing, Sioux Falls, SD (PM Church service)
Aug. 29- Return to Haiti
We would be very happy to add more dates to the calendar for this summer, so please do not hesitate to contact us to visit your church, your missions committee, or any Bible study or other group that would enjoy hearing our presentation.
Please pray for Mission Haiti, the visiting group, the people of Haiti, and our family this week as we seek God’s guidance and protection for ministry and travel. As always we expect God to do big things in the lives of both the Haitians and the Americans. Undoubtedly through both blessings and trials He will be glorified this week!
Looking Forward to Seeing You All Soon!
-The Grimms
Monday, May 16, 2011
A Quick Update
Family and Friends,
Day 189 of our Haiti Adventure!
The pace of life is beginning to pick up as we prepare for a big mission team to come and then our departure to the US in two weeks. The team will be here on May 24th, and we will leave with most of them on the 30th, arriving in Sioux Center on the night of the 31st. We know that once they arrive (all 27 of them!) everything will be a blur of activity until we go, so we are trying to do a few things now ahead of time to get ready.
This morning Patchouko and I were transferring a pile of wood to a different location, and as we began to turn over the last few boards the critters went scurrying. The kids all came over and watched the action. We killed one giant full-grown tarantula, three scorpions, countless cockroaches, several frogs, several crickets, a dozen or more spiders, and we just let the numerous lizards run away. Luckily there weren’t any rats.
Unfortunately the new orphanage compound will not be ready for the kids and staff to move in before we leave for America. This means we will not be able to move into the old orphanage house before we go. This is not a huge setback, however, because teams will be here this summer who can help with that transition while we are gone and out of the way. This fall we plan to have the house more accessible, including installing a real toilet and our own stove and freezer. It will take awhile to get used to the orphanage kids being in a different compound, but it will be a little more relaxing for our family. We can go over and see them next door any time we want.
We have declared this week our final full week of home school with our kids. We will continue with some activities this summer to keep them fresh, but we will scale it down. The first year went really well for us, probably better than we could have hoped for. Lynn is anxious to order the materials for this fall and see what we get to do next.
Everyone is pretty healthy here now. The kids had been battling colds, as strange as that sounds considering the climate in which we live, but today they feel better. I (Cory) have been feeling really good lately and have been able to do a lot more hard work and hiking. Lynn has pretty much been healthy the whole time we have been here. Cholera has continued to be scarce in the village, which is a real answer to prayer.
Pam gave us a project to try to gather the last couple hundred school sponsor photos. As you probably are aware, Mission Haiti sponsors about 1,500 students for school each year. Another way to say it is individual donors pay to sponsor these children through Mission Haiti. Each year each kid needs their tuition paid, their backpack and shoes to be distributed, their medications, and their photo taken. A professional photographer was here a couple of months ago to get the bulk of the photos, but it is impossible to get every one because a large portion of students are absent on any given day, and we probably sponsor kids in about 30-40 schools now. So there are a couple of hundred kids we need to track down, wherever they are. We have done a little more than half of those at this point, and we are still working.
One adventure we had while collecting these pictures occurred just this last Friday. Patchouko was busy doing some painting, so I asked Chelo to go with me up the mountains to some schools. We were going to some schools where neither of us had ever been before, and even Pam hasn’t been to these. We hopped on the motorcylce and headed up the highway that goes over the mountains.
At the top there is a village called Mason, and we stopped at a couple of schools there where we have sponsor children. That went pretty well, although not all the kids were there that day who needed pictures taken. Pretty typical stuff. From there we were looking for a school in a village called Debuchet. From the main road they told us, “Just head down this dirt side road and you will get there pretty soon.” In Haiti “pretty soon” might mean an hour.
We did go down that road long enough to start wondering if we were approaching the ends of the Earth. Each time we stopped to ask about the school someone would tell us, “Just a little bit further.” My gas gauge was already below “E”, but we could hear a little bit more sloshing around in the tank. Finally we found the school, and of course the four students we needed were absent that day. Bummer. We headed back to the main road just in time to buy some gas and head home.
We'll keep you updated as our first term in Haiti draws to a close and as we head back to the States to visit family, friends, and supporting churches. It will be interesting to note our feelings as we return to the culture in which we grow up and see it again for the first time. Alexandra already confessed that she is nervous about using a regular toilet, because she doesn't remember how to flush it. We assured her it will all come back to her when the time comes.
May God Bless Your Adventure Today!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Day 189 of our Haiti Adventure!
The pace of life is beginning to pick up as we prepare for a big mission team to come and then our departure to the US in two weeks. The team will be here on May 24th, and we will leave with most of them on the 30th, arriving in Sioux Center on the night of the 31st. We know that once they arrive (all 27 of them!) everything will be a blur of activity until we go, so we are trying to do a few things now ahead of time to get ready.
This morning Patchouko and I were transferring a pile of wood to a different location, and as we began to turn over the last few boards the critters went scurrying. The kids all came over and watched the action. We killed one giant full-grown tarantula, three scorpions, countless cockroaches, several frogs, several crickets, a dozen or more spiders, and we just let the numerous lizards run away. Luckily there weren’t any rats.
Unfortunately the new orphanage compound will not be ready for the kids and staff to move in before we leave for America. This means we will not be able to move into the old orphanage house before we go. This is not a huge setback, however, because teams will be here this summer who can help with that transition while we are gone and out of the way. This fall we plan to have the house more accessible, including installing a real toilet and our own stove and freezer. It will take awhile to get used to the orphanage kids being in a different compound, but it will be a little more relaxing for our family. We can go over and see them next door any time we want.
We have declared this week our final full week of home school with our kids. We will continue with some activities this summer to keep them fresh, but we will scale it down. The first year went really well for us, probably better than we could have hoped for. Lynn is anxious to order the materials for this fall and see what we get to do next.
Everyone is pretty healthy here now. The kids had been battling colds, as strange as that sounds considering the climate in which we live, but today they feel better. I (Cory) have been feeling really good lately and have been able to do a lot more hard work and hiking. Lynn has pretty much been healthy the whole time we have been here. Cholera has continued to be scarce in the village, which is a real answer to prayer.
Pam gave us a project to try to gather the last couple hundred school sponsor photos. As you probably are aware, Mission Haiti sponsors about 1,500 students for school each year. Another way to say it is individual donors pay to sponsor these children through Mission Haiti. Each year each kid needs their tuition paid, their backpack and shoes to be distributed, their medications, and their photo taken. A professional photographer was here a couple of months ago to get the bulk of the photos, but it is impossible to get every one because a large portion of students are absent on any given day, and we probably sponsor kids in about 30-40 schools now. So there are a couple of hundred kids we need to track down, wherever they are. We have done a little more than half of those at this point, and we are still working.
One adventure we had while collecting these pictures occurred just this last Friday. Patchouko was busy doing some painting, so I asked Chelo to go with me up the mountains to some schools. We were going to some schools where neither of us had ever been before, and even Pam hasn’t been to these. We hopped on the motorcylce and headed up the highway that goes over the mountains.
At the top there is a village called Mason, and we stopped at a couple of schools there where we have sponsor children. That went pretty well, although not all the kids were there that day who needed pictures taken. Pretty typical stuff. From there we were looking for a school in a village called Debuchet. From the main road they told us, “Just head down this dirt side road and you will get there pretty soon.” In Haiti “pretty soon” might mean an hour.
We did go down that road long enough to start wondering if we were approaching the ends of the Earth. Each time we stopped to ask about the school someone would tell us, “Just a little bit further.” My gas gauge was already below “E”, but we could hear a little bit more sloshing around in the tank. Finally we found the school, and of course the four students we needed were absent that day. Bummer. We headed back to the main road just in time to buy some gas and head home.
We'll keep you updated as our first term in Haiti draws to a close and as we head back to the States to visit family, friends, and supporting churches. It will be interesting to note our feelings as we return to the culture in which we grow up and see it again for the first time. Alexandra already confessed that she is nervous about using a regular toilet, because she doesn't remember how to flush it. We assured her it will all come back to her when the time comes.
May God Bless Your Adventure Today!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Monday, May 9, 2011
In Search of Happy Endings
Family and Friends,
Day 182 of our Haiti Adventure!
We continue to think about and pray for Sue and her family, who are mourning the passing of Mom. We are missing Sue around here, that is for sure. I know they miss her down in the clinic as well. We will all look forward to her return with the next mission team on May 24th.
Santia, the youngest girl in the orphanage, threw a big fit yesterday and decided she wanted to go "home." She actually has family in the village, but Pam had taken her out of that negative situation over two years ago. She decided she wanted to go back there so she could have more freedom. Gertrude tried to talk her out of it, explaining how her life in the orphange is a great opportunity for her. She wouldn't give up, however, so after checking with Pam, they decided to let her go. I guess she has done this before and come back. We'll see how this situation turns out.
The lady I wrote about on April 30th (see post, "Back to Normal Life") came home yesterday. Patchouko and I and her brothers went to pick her up after the hospital called and told the family they couldn't do anything more for her. Sure enough, when we got there she looked even worse. She was down to her last few days for sure. That whole situation left me with a bad feeling for many reasons. First of all, her brothers were always doing everything they could to get out of taking care of her and paying for her medicines. It kind of irks me when someone says "I don't have any money" as they are holding a Blackberry in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Also, the wing of the hospital where she stayed was absolutely disgusting...piles of garbage, dirty beds and equipment, indifferent staff, etc...
Finally, and maybe worst of all, I just felt like I myself and the others who work with me just didn't have the emotional energy and the faith to really do anything about the whole situation. We didn't sit by her bed for hours and pray that she be healed. We didn't make sure she had everything she needed (except medicines which we paid for). We didn't help the family rally together to take care of her and grow closer to God through the whole ordeal. We just kind of stood back and watched her die.
One more situation that needs prayer is the new orphanage construction. It should have been finished and ready to move into months ago, but the project just lingers on and on. There is so much work left to do over there, and we haven't seen any workers there for probably a month or more. Pam is working on the phone to try to get the contractor to finish what he started, but everyone here has stopped being excited about the move, because it just doesn't seem like it will ever happen.
So we are in search of happy endings right now. Happy endings are hard to come by in Haiti most of the time. We are hoping the current president's tenure will come to a happy ending. In other words, we hope he hands over the control to the new guy without incident! That would be nice, but everyone is on edge as May 14th approaches. Also, we hope our first school year in Haiti will come to a positive end. We are ready for a break and a chance to visit family and friends and ministry supporters, but we also want to end our time here in a positive way and not miss out on what God has for us in these last days.
Life is always complicated, is it not! What a comfort to know that the biggest ending of all will be a happy one for those of us who are in Christ.
May Your Adventure Today Have a Happy Ending!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Day 182 of our Haiti Adventure!
We continue to think about and pray for Sue and her family, who are mourning the passing of Mom. We are missing Sue around here, that is for sure. I know they miss her down in the clinic as well. We will all look forward to her return with the next mission team on May 24th.
Santia, the youngest girl in the orphanage, threw a big fit yesterday and decided she wanted to go "home." She actually has family in the village, but Pam had taken her out of that negative situation over two years ago. She decided she wanted to go back there so she could have more freedom. Gertrude tried to talk her out of it, explaining how her life in the orphange is a great opportunity for her. She wouldn't give up, however, so after checking with Pam, they decided to let her go. I guess she has done this before and come back. We'll see how this situation turns out.
The lady I wrote about on April 30th (see post, "Back to Normal Life") came home yesterday. Patchouko and I and her brothers went to pick her up after the hospital called and told the family they couldn't do anything more for her. Sure enough, when we got there she looked even worse. She was down to her last few days for sure. That whole situation left me with a bad feeling for many reasons. First of all, her brothers were always doing everything they could to get out of taking care of her and paying for her medicines. It kind of irks me when someone says "I don't have any money" as they are holding a Blackberry in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Also, the wing of the hospital where she stayed was absolutely disgusting...piles of garbage, dirty beds and equipment, indifferent staff, etc...
Finally, and maybe worst of all, I just felt like I myself and the others who work with me just didn't have the emotional energy and the faith to really do anything about the whole situation. We didn't sit by her bed for hours and pray that she be healed. We didn't make sure she had everything she needed (except medicines which we paid for). We didn't help the family rally together to take care of her and grow closer to God through the whole ordeal. We just kind of stood back and watched her die.
One more situation that needs prayer is the new orphanage construction. It should have been finished and ready to move into months ago, but the project just lingers on and on. There is so much work left to do over there, and we haven't seen any workers there for probably a month or more. Pam is working on the phone to try to get the contractor to finish what he started, but everyone here has stopped being excited about the move, because it just doesn't seem like it will ever happen.
So we are in search of happy endings right now. Happy endings are hard to come by in Haiti most of the time. We are hoping the current president's tenure will come to a happy ending. In other words, we hope he hands over the control to the new guy without incident! That would be nice, but everyone is on edge as May 14th approaches. Also, we hope our first school year in Haiti will come to a positive end. We are ready for a break and a chance to visit family and friends and ministry supporters, but we also want to end our time here in a positive way and not miss out on what God has for us in these last days.
Life is always complicated, is it not! What a comfort to know that the biggest ending of all will be a happy one for those of us who are in Christ.
May Your Adventure Today Have a Happy Ending!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sue's Adventure
Family and Friends,
Day 181 of our Haiti Adventure!
I hesitate to refer to the following episode as an adventure, because it involves the passing of Sue’s mother back in Minnesota, and I want to be sensitive to the seriousness of that important life event. Maybe after some time has passed Sue will be able to look back on these events and see the adventure in them, but right now they might still seem like more of a trial, an ordeal, or even a nightmare. Anyway, it is a story worth telling about our beloved Sue, the wonderful nurse who lovingly cares for the people of Ti-Riviere…
When Sue received the call that her mom had passed away, on the morning of May 4, we found ourselves stranded in the compound of Mission of Hope in Port-au-Prince. Outside the gates and about half a mile down the road four oil tankers were blocking the highway with their tires shot out, numerous garbage piles were on fire all over the streets, and groups of people were threatening one another with rocks and shouts of anger. Sue came back from talking on the phone and joined Patchouko and I on some benches. Through tears she said, “Mom just passed away, poor thing.” This was not the place and time and situation where you are supposed to receive that kind of news.
Let’s back up…Sue’s mom had not been doing well for quite some time, so she was expecting to have to rush back to the US at some point after receiving this news. She had a chance to say “goodbye” on an earlier trip home, and her mom was no longer able to talk or communicate with people. Her physical condition was gradually deteriorating, so it was only a matter of time. Sue and the other siblings had everything in order for the funeral, etc… So when she received the call on the night of May 3rd that mom wasn’t expected to make it more than a day or so, it was time to put everything into action.
Pam was able to book a flight for Sue the next day at 12:15PM. We toyed with the idea of putting Sue on the first bus out of Les Cayes in the morning with Patchouko, but in the end we didn’t think that would guarantee her enough time to get to the airport. We decided to drive her there instead. We left at 4AM the next morning and made good time to the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Everything was going well.
We should have known something wasn’t right when we passed a long line of busses and trucks parked next to a police station. After that there weren’t many vehicles on the road anymore for the next few miles, but at the time we weren’t putting the clues together that something might be going on down the road. It wasn’t long before we came over a hill and saw a tanker stretched across the road. We could also see a couple of barriers made up of piles of burning garbage. The whole scene could be described as Mad-Maxish.
Some people along the road were motioning for us to turn around, so we stopped to ask some questions. They told us a political demonstration was going on, and it wasn’t safe to wait where we were. We turned around and started looking for an alternate route. Apparently we were close to the river, and there were some side roads that led to a different place to cross. However, as we were exploring those options, a man drove up to us from the other direction and stopped.
Lex turned out to be a real God-send that day. Without him things could have been a lot different. In very solid English he explained to us that the river was too high to cross on that day at any place other than where it was blocked by the demonstration. He had already driven ahead to check it out because he was also trying to get to the airport and receive a few guests. He invited us to come and wait at the compound of his ministry, Mission of Hope, to see if the road would open up soon. The UN wasn’t stationed too far away, he added, so the hope was that they would show up soon and get things moving. It was about 7AM and we decided to accept his generous invitation.
To kill some time we took the grand tour of Mission of Hope. They have an orphanage of 30 kids, a school of 700, and various other programs and clinics they do to help the people. They were in the process of building a new school on their site and relocating the orphans to another compound. It got me thinking about how all over Haiti there are literally thousands of ministries doing basically the same things we are doing back in Ti-Riviere. It was very humbling to think about.
Over the course of the next few hours many interesting things happened. At one point we saw two groups of people having some kind of stand-off and throwing rocks at each other. One girl was hurt, and Sue regretted not having the medical supplies with her to go help. I think this was after she received the phone call about her mom. That shows her commitment to helping the people here, always putting them ahead of herself. We don’t know if any of those people in that particular altercation were involved with setting up the tankers or not.
Around 8:30 the UN went rushing past in a few dozen armored vehicles. I couldn’t help thinking they were probably over-dressed for the occasion with all of their huge guns and tanks and such, but you never know, I guess. We joked that they seemed to be the last ones in Haiti to know this whole thing was going on. I guess they didn’t clock in until 8:00 or something, and after that you have to get breakfast before heading out, right?
A little while after the UN went past, the lines of busses and trucks and cars started to follow. We could tell that they weren’t getting through, though, because pretty soon they were backed up to the gate of the compound and beyond. It wasn’t long before people were getting off the busses, collecting their goods to sell in the market, and attempting to walk through the demonstration and come out on the other side. This made for quite a chaotic scene. Others just got out and made themselves comfortable along the roadside to wait. Right on cue the vendors made their entrance and started passing by with drinks, snacks, and other things to sell to the thousands of people along the road.
By my calculations we were going to need to leave by about 9:30 or 9:45 to have any chance of getting Sue to the airport on time for her flight. Unfortunately, that time soon came and went and the traffic jam still wasn’t budging an inch, and we hadn’t heard for sure what was going on with the demonstration. We were in contact with Pam back in the US, and soon we agreed that we would try to send Sue and Patchouko ahead on motorcycles to try to meet up with our friend Kiki on the other side of the trucks. She probably wouldn’t make her flight on time, but there is always a 3:00 flight as well, and we were hoping there would be room for her on that one.
Sue had to leave her suitcase with me and jam a few items into her backpack to take along. She wasn’t too worried about it and was a good sport about the whole thing. Nothing like jumping on the back of a motorcycle of a complete stranger in 90 degree heat and driving through a political demonstration in a third-world country! I didn’t have a great feeling about the whole thing, to be honest, but Patchouko was there with her, and the UN had already been working on the situation for over an hour, so we said a prayer and went for it.
I waited around at Mission of Hope to receive word that they were through and moving towards the airport. That call came before too long, and I got in the car, made my way upstream through the traffic jam, and headed back to Ti-Rivier. The plan was for Patchouko to come the next day on a bus. Later I heard that after quite some time Sue and Patchouko were able to meet up with Kiki and make it to the airport. She did miss that first flight but was able to board the later one, spend the night in Florida, and make it home to Sioux Falls late the next afternoon. Patchouko also returned safely and on schedule to Ti-Rivier
As I reflect on that whole adventure, or ordeal, or whatever you want to call it, I can see that God’s hand was there protecting us at all times. There were quite a few points where things could have gone bad for us, but they didn’t, and God gets all the credit. On the other hand, at no point did I ever see the police involved with the situation in any way. You just take for granted back in the US that if something bad happens, at least the police and the other emergency personnel will be there before too long. Not in Haiti.
The final feeling I was left with was admiration for Sue. That is why I called this “Sue’s Adventure.” She really showed her spirit and faith and perseverance in this trial. Many people might have shut down and become paralyzed by fear and grief, but in the midst of the fire she glowed pure and bright. She never complained or got angry, and she even managed to keep her sense of humor. That was inspiring to see and won’t soon be forgotten.
Persevere in Your Adventure Today!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Day 181 of our Haiti Adventure!
I hesitate to refer to the following episode as an adventure, because it involves the passing of Sue’s mother back in Minnesota, and I want to be sensitive to the seriousness of that important life event. Maybe after some time has passed Sue will be able to look back on these events and see the adventure in them, but right now they might still seem like more of a trial, an ordeal, or even a nightmare. Anyway, it is a story worth telling about our beloved Sue, the wonderful nurse who lovingly cares for the people of Ti-Riviere…
When Sue received the call that her mom had passed away, on the morning of May 4, we found ourselves stranded in the compound of Mission of Hope in Port-au-Prince. Outside the gates and about half a mile down the road four oil tankers were blocking the highway with their tires shot out, numerous garbage piles were on fire all over the streets, and groups of people were threatening one another with rocks and shouts of anger. Sue came back from talking on the phone and joined Patchouko and I on some benches. Through tears she said, “Mom just passed away, poor thing.” This was not the place and time and situation where you are supposed to receive that kind of news.
Let’s back up…Sue’s mom had not been doing well for quite some time, so she was expecting to have to rush back to the US at some point after receiving this news. She had a chance to say “goodbye” on an earlier trip home, and her mom was no longer able to talk or communicate with people. Her physical condition was gradually deteriorating, so it was only a matter of time. Sue and the other siblings had everything in order for the funeral, etc… So when she received the call on the night of May 3rd that mom wasn’t expected to make it more than a day or so, it was time to put everything into action.
Pam was able to book a flight for Sue the next day at 12:15PM. We toyed with the idea of putting Sue on the first bus out of Les Cayes in the morning with Patchouko, but in the end we didn’t think that would guarantee her enough time to get to the airport. We decided to drive her there instead. We left at 4AM the next morning and made good time to the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Everything was going well.
We should have known something wasn’t right when we passed a long line of busses and trucks parked next to a police station. After that there weren’t many vehicles on the road anymore for the next few miles, but at the time we weren’t putting the clues together that something might be going on down the road. It wasn’t long before we came over a hill and saw a tanker stretched across the road. We could also see a couple of barriers made up of piles of burning garbage. The whole scene could be described as Mad-Maxish.
Some people along the road were motioning for us to turn around, so we stopped to ask some questions. They told us a political demonstration was going on, and it wasn’t safe to wait where we were. We turned around and started looking for an alternate route. Apparently we were close to the river, and there were some side roads that led to a different place to cross. However, as we were exploring those options, a man drove up to us from the other direction and stopped.
Lex turned out to be a real God-send that day. Without him things could have been a lot different. In very solid English he explained to us that the river was too high to cross on that day at any place other than where it was blocked by the demonstration. He had already driven ahead to check it out because he was also trying to get to the airport and receive a few guests. He invited us to come and wait at the compound of his ministry, Mission of Hope, to see if the road would open up soon. The UN wasn’t stationed too far away, he added, so the hope was that they would show up soon and get things moving. It was about 7AM and we decided to accept his generous invitation.
To kill some time we took the grand tour of Mission of Hope. They have an orphanage of 30 kids, a school of 700, and various other programs and clinics they do to help the people. They were in the process of building a new school on their site and relocating the orphans to another compound. It got me thinking about how all over Haiti there are literally thousands of ministries doing basically the same things we are doing back in Ti-Riviere. It was very humbling to think about.
Over the course of the next few hours many interesting things happened. At one point we saw two groups of people having some kind of stand-off and throwing rocks at each other. One girl was hurt, and Sue regretted not having the medical supplies with her to go help. I think this was after she received the phone call about her mom. That shows her commitment to helping the people here, always putting them ahead of herself. We don’t know if any of those people in that particular altercation were involved with setting up the tankers or not.
Around 8:30 the UN went rushing past in a few dozen armored vehicles. I couldn’t help thinking they were probably over-dressed for the occasion with all of their huge guns and tanks and such, but you never know, I guess. We joked that they seemed to be the last ones in Haiti to know this whole thing was going on. I guess they didn’t clock in until 8:00 or something, and after that you have to get breakfast before heading out, right?
A little while after the UN went past, the lines of busses and trucks and cars started to follow. We could tell that they weren’t getting through, though, because pretty soon they were backed up to the gate of the compound and beyond. It wasn’t long before people were getting off the busses, collecting their goods to sell in the market, and attempting to walk through the demonstration and come out on the other side. This made for quite a chaotic scene. Others just got out and made themselves comfortable along the roadside to wait. Right on cue the vendors made their entrance and started passing by with drinks, snacks, and other things to sell to the thousands of people along the road.
By my calculations we were going to need to leave by about 9:30 or 9:45 to have any chance of getting Sue to the airport on time for her flight. Unfortunately, that time soon came and went and the traffic jam still wasn’t budging an inch, and we hadn’t heard for sure what was going on with the demonstration. We were in contact with Pam back in the US, and soon we agreed that we would try to send Sue and Patchouko ahead on motorcycles to try to meet up with our friend Kiki on the other side of the trucks. She probably wouldn’t make her flight on time, but there is always a 3:00 flight as well, and we were hoping there would be room for her on that one.
Sue had to leave her suitcase with me and jam a few items into her backpack to take along. She wasn’t too worried about it and was a good sport about the whole thing. Nothing like jumping on the back of a motorcycle of a complete stranger in 90 degree heat and driving through a political demonstration in a third-world country! I didn’t have a great feeling about the whole thing, to be honest, but Patchouko was there with her, and the UN had already been working on the situation for over an hour, so we said a prayer and went for it.
I waited around at Mission of Hope to receive word that they were through and moving towards the airport. That call came before too long, and I got in the car, made my way upstream through the traffic jam, and headed back to Ti-Rivier. The plan was for Patchouko to come the next day on a bus. Later I heard that after quite some time Sue and Patchouko were able to meet up with Kiki and make it to the airport. She did miss that first flight but was able to board the later one, spend the night in Florida, and make it home to Sioux Falls late the next afternoon. Patchouko also returned safely and on schedule to Ti-Rivier
As I reflect on that whole adventure, or ordeal, or whatever you want to call it, I can see that God’s hand was there protecting us at all times. There were quite a few points where things could have gone bad for us, but they didn’t, and God gets all the credit. On the other hand, at no point did I ever see the police involved with the situation in any way. You just take for granted back in the US that if something bad happens, at least the police and the other emergency personnel will be there before too long. Not in Haiti.
The final feeling I was left with was admiration for Sue. That is why I called this “Sue’s Adventure.” She really showed her spirit and faith and perseverance in this trial. Many people might have shut down and become paralyzed by fear and grief, but in the midst of the fire she glowed pure and bright. She never complained or got angry, and she even managed to keep her sense of humor. That was inspiring to see and won’t soon be forgotten.
Persevere in Your Adventure Today!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Heat, Rain, and Bugs
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| Kester and Cory being goofy |
Day 178 of our Haiti Adventure!
And unbelievable adventure occurred yesterday, and we are still sorting out all of the details. We'll get that one posted soon. In the meantime, please enjoy the following allegory about Heat, Rain, and Bugs...
Heat, Rain, and Bugs
There are three bullies in our neighborhood who often attempt to intimidate us. They spend their time trying to annoy us, harass us, and in general make our lives unenjoyable. The ultimate desire of this unholy trinity is to fill us with feelings of despondancy and fear. But we will not succumb to the trio of terror! We will not accommodate our destiny to these devils of discomfort. The bullies in our neighborhood will never prevail!
The other day we were sitting at breakfast early in the morning, and suddenly Heat came walking around the corner. He had a smirk on his face that said, “Ah hah…new people in the neighborhood this summer…Americans…easy victims.” Heat could be described as sort of your classic bully, always giving wedgies and such. His favorite songs are “Gonna Make You Sweat” by C and C Music Factory, and “Mercury Rising” by Sting. He billowed right in to our house and refused to leave until late at night. It was very uncool. As he departed he promised to be back early the next day.
The next morning Heat’s slimy friend Rain washed up as well. Previously, we had been hearing Rain pittering and pattering about at night for the past month or so, but only after Heat began to show up on a regular basis did Rain begin to spatter us with his puddly presence during the day. Rain is more of the cruel-type bully, always pushing you down in the mud, spitting at you, and trying to ruin your clothes, papers, and whatever else you might be carrying. His sense of humor is anything but dry. He has many beloved songs, but his absolute favorite story in the Bible is the one about Noah and the flood. His least favorite song is “Blame it on the Rain” by Milli Vanilli.
After a couple of days of getting intimately acquianted with Heat and Rain, the most bothersome bully of all showed up…Bugs. Bugs is more of the annoying-type bully, always tickling your ears and nose and other parts of your body. He has an incredible repertoire of irritating and disgusting habits, and he truly believes the maddening noises he makes at all hours of the night will attract females. Bugs’ favorite car is the Volkswagen Beetle, his favorite superhero is Spiderman, and his favorite songs are “Ants Marching” by The Dave Matthews Band and the classic, “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Dealing with Bugs really bites.
We’ve been doing our best to fight back against the three bullies in our neighborhood. Each one of them alone is not so bad, but the problem is when they start to team up to break your will. For example, when Heat and Rain work together, you can be sitting there doing nothing, and yet their presence alone can cause sweat to bead up on your forehead. And don’t even get me started on Rain and Bugs together. It’s almost like Bugs takes his cues from Rain. Whenever Rain starts pelting you, it’s never long before Bugs gets all excited and begins buzzing around as well.
Despite the oppression at our doorstep and occassionally in our home, we are determined to overcome the tyrannical triumvirate of tropical torture and live life to the best of our abilities. We’ve made friends with a team of individuals who help us out from time to time…Shower, Spray, Swatter, Fan, and Ice. When things get really bad we jump in the car, roll up the windows, and visit Mr. A.C. The bullies hate Mr. A.C. After that we usually feel refreshed and ready to face up to whatever comes. Let’s just hope the worst of bullies, Hurrricane, never shows up!
Happy Adventuring Everyone!
-The Grimms
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