We left the campus about 7:30 and headed for a Nazarene church close by in Port au Prince. It was a typical Haitian building, all concrete walls, open windows, wooden roof supports holding up a metal roof. We got there a little after 8 as Sunday school was wrapping up.
By the time service started around 8:30, the place was packed with probably 150 in attendance. Jason, LeeAllie, Jennifer, and Matt all took seats near the back while I headed up front on one side with a camera and Jonathan headed up front on the other side. They sang for a while, then read scripture, then sang some more. Then they had some announcements, then testimonies, then a couple special choirs sing, then more congregational singing, then an offertory, then the guest speaker got up and went for an hour straight. We wrapped up with some final singing about 11:30.
It really was a great experience. Sure it was hot, crowded, and everything was in a foreign language, but the people worshiped with passion and you knew God was there, and that we were still one family. (In fact, the pastor came up to us following the service and actually apologized for the message not being in our language. But then he laughed and said one day when we get to heaven we'll all be able to finally understand one another.)
Since we knew Applebees would be packed, we headed back to the campus. We used some leftover taco meat and cheese to make quesadillas. Then we took it easy for a bit until our next interview was ready, Frantz. (pronounced "Frawnz") Frantz is the Work and Witness coordinator in Haiti, and we'd tried to interview him on our first day, but it was too noisy. We found a good spot near the workshop on campus and were able to do it there, despite some technical difficulties.
One issue we had during taping was this club-like music and announcing coming from outside the campus. It sounded like a street party, but it wasn't constant. Jason was curious, so he convinced Frantz to drive us around to see what it was. Jennifer, Matt, and I went along for the ride. We discovered it was a football (i.e. soccer) match at a neighborhood field. They had a full sound system and were announcing the game. We watched for a bit, then headed off to the Beverly Hills of Haiti. I think Frantz told us this was the nicest neighborhood in the whole country. The streets were in better condition. The homes, while still very Haitian and concrete, were very nice and large. They had yards and some had landscaping. They'd probably be multi-million dollar homes in the US. An interesting contrast to everything else we'd seen.
When we got back to campus our American bellies and American habit of eating out got the better of us so we walked about a mile down some Haitian streets to this place called Hot and Fresh. It was an outdoor cafe of sorts sharing the parking lot with a gas station. You could tell it catered to an upper-scale audience, though the prices were reasonable. There were even guards with shotguns.
We got cheeseburgers and fries, which were all pretty good actually. Our meal, with a citron juice, was each about $8. Money here is interesting. The official currency, for which there are bills, is the goud. About 40 gouds equals one American dollar. However, there's also the Haitian dollar, which is this made up, in-between currency. Five Haitian gouds is always 1 Haitian dollar, so that makes 1 Haitian dollar worth about $0.20. So to get from gouds to US dollars, you divide by 40. To get from Haitian dollars to US, you divide by 5. To get from gouds to Haitian dollars, you divide by 8. Confusing, no?
The walk back was a little interesting, as they don't have street lights on anything but the main roads. So we're just strolling along these Haitian back streets towards the campus. It wasn't unsafe, and we had 3 people who'd done it before (including Frantz, a native), but it still made you think twice: Dark. Back alley. Haiti. Probably not what mom meant when she said "be careful." Sorry mom.
Everyone was back up here doing internet while Jonathan, LeeAllie, and Matt worked with Frantz to translate some of the garden interview we shot on Day 2. Hopefully we'll have a rough outline of the video before we get back.
Until tomorrow, here's the view from the balcony where we are staying. Haiti = beautiful.
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