The Bridge Blog

Monday was our first construction day. It was a day of transition—learning the culture, reconciling with not knowing the language and the blending of two ways of doing things. We had book knowledge of this process, but today we had to put it into practice. It is not easy to view things in a non-American way. To learn how to view that our way is not always the best or right way.

We began our day with breakfast together and then began to figure out what was needed from us—what was on the agenda for the day. We ended up in two different locations. A portion of the team worked in the orphanage painting the ceilings. In America, at this point in the building process, we would not have painted the ceilings, but it is what the Haitians wanted, so we did what they asked of us.

After a brief rest in the hot afternoon, Stacie finally got to do the thing that she does so well…teach the children. Before we left America, she was able to obtain 5 children’s stories about Haitian culture. She did such a good job at putting together a story, craft, game, etc for each of those books that we have plenty to do with the children each day. On this day, chose to color with the children, who definitely did not want to give up their crayons and to read one of the books. Something so simple as coloring a page with crayons—something our children take for granted and yet it the children here were engrossed in their activity and did not want to stop.

Our evening was filled with the orphanage director and his family stopping by so that we could meet them. They are a sweet family that seems hand-picked by the Lord to minister to His children. They love children and are very excited for this opportunity. We had many a good discussion about how we can best join in the ministry to the children when we are back home in America. There is a definite love from our team for these orphans. We cannot wait until later in the week when we will be able to move beyond a list of their name and age, but to meet them in person. We also learned from Peter that the committee overseeing the orphanage has decided to name the orphanage, “The Bridge Children’s Home” because of our connection in building the facility, but also because of it being a bridge in the children’s lives to a better future. Tears fill my eyes as I meditate on that—that each one of us at The Bridge have gotten to play a part in that. Thank you, Lord for the privilege of being a part of your plan for these children’s lives.

On Tuesday, our day began early because some of the Haitian construction workers showed up to begin their work then. It was something that involved a whole lot of banging so none of us could sleep through it. Thus our day started at about 5:30am.

All hands were on deck as our whole team headed to the orphanage to paint and work on building the door frames. Pink in the girls room, green in the boys and white in the storage room. The door frames were done in an interesting Haitian way, but in the end each door was completed. We also built shelves to go in the storage room. Much work was done, but more importantly a lot of fellowship happened as we worked alongside our Haitian friends. Our team agreed that one of our favorite moments was when we noticed that in the pink room, it was all of the Haitian men working in there together. It was quite a funny sight.

Our day finished out with our daily ritual of debriefing about our day. This team has bonded since its inception. We can’t imagine our team with anyone missing or another person added. It is apparent to all of us that our team was hand-picked by the Lord. We all work well together, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and not a moment passes without laughing. Laughter goes a long way in binding a group of people together in an unfamiliar environment. We couldn’t have asked for a better team.

-Brandy Freeland

On Sunday, the team dressed up and walked to the church next door. After brief introductions of our team to the church, we left in a large pickup where most of us sat on benches in the back. The road to the next church is chaotic to say the least. The closest description of the ride would be a roller coaster with no seatbelts with the addition of dust and mud. We stopped and gave introductions at a second church and then moved on to the San Rafael church. This is the church that the Bridge is funding to help build a larger church building. Construction seems to be just about half way. The fence is completely done, but the church building itself only has foundation and walls. Pastor Louie says the roof is next and the flooring after that. There is a water well right in the middle of the seating area. They plan on keeping the well working underneath the floorboards. Talk about the Living Water of Christ!

After church, we headed back home…again, on the Haitian roller coaster. Mamas and children squished into the cab of the truck and the rest of the team rode in the back. What an incredible way to see the country villages of Haiti, but it was certainly full of adventure. The best part was when we came upon a HUGE dip in the road full of mud. Our driver, Alex, contemplated whether to barrel through it with all of us on board or whether to have us pile out, walk around it and wait for him to gun it through in hopes of making it. We went with the piling out option and as soon as we even mentioned prayer—the truck stopped slipping and sliding and made it through.

Thus far, we have been fed well—even eating goat meat. The Haitians are very generous in what they prepare for us each day. A group of incredible women fix our breakfast and lunch, also doing our laundry daily. It might seem odd that we would have them do these things for us, but it gives these women a chance to earn money for their families—a rare opportunity in a culture full of unemployment.

Every afternoon has been filled with resting and then when it begins to cool down (as much as it can cool down here), we let the kids into the yard and it is soon filled with laughter and smiles as we introduce them to things like Legos, Candyland and Memory. There’s certainly plenty of ball games and jump roping going on too. Speaking of kids, little did we know that we brought our own celebrity along in Tiana who is 10-years-old. The Haitian children just stare at her white skin, blonde hair and freckles. Tiana is learning how to ignore their stares and get down to the business of playing with her new friends. She must be doing something right because when we had church last night, she had a group of children waiting for her at the door.
We wish there was some way for you see, smell, hear, taste and feel what we are here in Haiti. We have our camera, but sometimes there is just not enough time to snap a picture of what we see so we can share it with you. In our mind’s eye you have missed the joy on the children’s faces, the group of people gathered around a well, pumping water, the iron used on our clothes with the hot coals in it, and the smell of the hot, sweaty bodies that swarm us whenever we open the gates to the church courtyard to play. You’ve also missed the feel of the never-ending, muggy heat and the sound of the church bell ringing, the rooster crowing and the young women warming up for their church songs.

Monday starts our work at the orphanage. It is built way differently than we would at home and it is not nearly as completed as we thought so we are going to do the best that we can to help and keep ourselves busy. We’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.

To follow along with more updates throughout our days, you can find us at:
www.twitter.com/thebridgefresno
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www.alohagilmores.blogspot.com
http://journeyintohisheart.blogspot.com

On Sunday morning we awoke to the familiar noises of rural Haiti: roosters crowing, donkeys braying, the church bell ringing, a random saxophone whining in the distance, a Sunday School class reciting Bible verses, children giggling in the yard, the sizzle of eggs frying in the pan and even the scratching of mice. After a grueling day of travel with many hours of waiting in airports and on buses in between, we are finally here.

Our trip from Fresno to Los Angeles to Miami to Port Au Prince was thankfully uneventful. When we arrived in Port Au Prince, Pastor Peter met us and drove and our 23 bags plus carry-ons (minus one lost en route) to the smaller airport. We waited almost five hours in the small airport for our flight to our final destination – Pignon. We were blessed by fellowship with many other missionary teams also preparing to travel to remote parts of the country to serve the people. We felt a strange brotherhood with them.

Tuesday was our second day of Sports Camp for the Haitian kids in Pignon and we felt so blessed by God’s presence here.

Each day we are splitting the 120 kids into four teams and the teams rotate each hour. Each team rotates between Soccer, Baseball, Hurdles , and Relay Races Maria Lazo is in charge of the Gilmore girls and Stacey Belmont is graciously delivering drinks to all the campers and coaches (A HUGE job!)Monday was slightly chaotic when 150-some kids showed up for camp and we were only prepared with shirts for 120. We experienced many challenges because of the language barrier with the kids. We also faced extreme humidity/heat in Haiti with not enough water to serve the kids on the field. Kids were pushing and stealing water from each other and we had to split up some arguments started by bystanders. We have come to expect these kinds of challenges but they are never fun. In the afternoons, we are hosting a Story Hour for the youngest kids in the neighborhood who cannot participate in the Sports Camp. Many of them are seven and under. Mom/Maria Lazo brought a story set in Haiti from Child Evangelism Fellowship to share Christ with these kids. Debbi helped with props and pictures. Peter’s oldest daughter, Stacy, served as the translator.

Maria shared the story in the yard next to the church and the kids were absolutely quiet and enraptured by the details of the story and her expressions. It is clear that storytelling is highly valued in this culture which has not yet been polluted by television, video games and other distractions. They were so hungry for more. We look forward to sharing with them each afternoon this week as the 5-part story continues.

Please pray for good health and continued safety for the team.

-Dorina Gilmore