Today we were working on the Haiti Water Project video specifically. The idea is to educate / emotionally resonate with audiences about the need for clean water in Haiti. Thus, we needed to visit several water resources around the area. Our first stop was a church near downtown Port au Prince, which we later found out is either the oldest church in Haiti or the oldest in Port au Prince - nearly 60 years. We'd call it "First church."
This church was in a rough neighborhood that had been hit hard by the earthquake. There were lots of tent dwellings and demolished structures.
The old church had been heavily damaged, but Work and Witness had already been in and built an entirely new church.
The premise behind the video is to have a child holding a cardboard sign that says something about how water used to be (in a negative location), and then move the child in front of the water resources where they hold another sign saying something about how water is now. (WARNING: The photos from here on will be a spoiler for the video as well as slightly disillusioning to the reality of the situation. But trust us, they are real Haitian kids who have honestly been impacted by the HWP. We're just making them look pretty on video.)
Church 1 had a cistern, so we got a kid out on the street, then several in front of their water resource.
We loaded up, cozy as usual, and headed off to church 2. It seemed forever away, but likely wasn't that far. We drove mostly on pavement, then suddenly turned off to this dirt path. Shortly we found a Nazarene church. The old church had been badly damaged in the earthquake, and the building next to it (a school I believe) was destroyed. Work and Witness had rebuilt a brand new church on the site of the destroyed school, and it looked amazing.
It was LeeAllie's turn at this church. At least they had a restroom.
This location had a well, so we found a little girl to help us. It started raining at the end, hence Jonathan using the reflector as an umbrella.
One thing Matt commented on was how far the Nazarene church actually reaches. Sometimes, driving to our local church while passing that Baptist or Methodist church along the way, we tend to think locally. Maybe at a district event we see the church in a larger form, but we still don't see that as expansive. Yet going to some of the places we've been, way way off the beaten path, we were soberly reminded of how far our denomination reaches, and how large it really is.
We stopped right down the road and Frantz bought us some fried plantains I believe. They were real good.
We drove for a while and finally got to church number 3. It was in a much more urban area, and a rather large church building. They had a well, but also seemed to have some kind of professional or nursing school meeting there as well.
We were supposed to get to a fourth church, but by the time we ended at church #3, it was too late to head out there. We loaded up in the SUV (I drew the short straw and was allllll the way in the back. That pretty much means no leg room.) and drove off up some mountains, got stuck in traffic, and went through a pretty nasty rain storm. Flooding seems to be a problem here as well, as the drainage was pretty bad during the storm. (Interestingly, due to flooding, most Haitian graveyards are all above ground in sepulchers. They also apparently rent them, so your body only stays in there as long as the family makes the payments....)
We got back to the campus, cooked some dinner (chicken wings, mac and cheese, and french fries. Yep, we're health nuts.), traded tips about digital SLR cameras, transferred files around, pushed Google maps to its Haitian limits, and packed up our bags for our flight home tomorrow. The plan is to get up early and hit that last church, and possibly another school. We may also squeeze in one last interview, but that remains to be seen. Our flight is at 6:30, so we'll be at the airport by 4.
The next and final blog entry will be from the States. Looking forward to being home, but sad to leave this beautiful country. Until tomorrow...
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