I Heart Faces ~ The “Eyes” of Haiti

This week’s I Heart Faces photo challenge is Beautiful Eyes. My recent mission trip to Haiti provided many opportunities to capture beautiful shots of a beautiful country with beautiful people. Besides a Haitian’s smile, their eyes are striking features.

I know it’s against the rules to post more than one photo ~ and I know I’m out of the running to be selected as a weekly winner ~ but that’s something I can easily live without.

Besides, I can’t choose just one.

 

I can’t choose one set of eyes.

 

I can’t choose one child over another.

 

If it were up to me, I would have put all these precious children in my pocket to keep forever!

 

To see more “beautiful eyes,” visit I Heart Faces or click the icon below.

 

 

If you have not done so already, visit my Celebration Giveaway for a chance to win a myriad of great prizes including Haitian artwork, Target giftcard, books, mongrammed textiles, and Scentsy products. You must include your name and email address in the comment line. Contest ends Sunday, August 21. Good luck!

 

 

It was my honor and privilege

I am definitely a little sad that I’m leaving PAP, Haiti tomorrow morning. While I’m looking forward to an air-conditioned environment and sleeping in my own bed, I am certainly going to miss my Haitian brothers and sisters. It was an honor, and a privilege, to work beside and among them the past eight days.

My team and I have worked many hours in exhausting heat and humidity, but the progress is visible and there is a sense of accomplishment among us. The trench we began digging last week is now a cinder-block foundation perimeter ready for the next team (who arrives tomorrow!) to continue back-filling the low spots.

Our interpreters, Rodney and Joseph, will forever hold a spot in my heart. They both cared for all of us throughout the week and provided excellent service. Rodney was my personal bodyguard this week, he never let me stray out of his sight and I am eternally grateful for his hospitality, sacrificial love, and graciousness. I will miss him dearly, but I know we will see each other again.

The Haitian men we worked beside hold a very special place in all of our hearts. In fact, Michael planted the seed of gift-giving when he presented his shoes to Mucho, one of the Haitian workers. It didn’t take long for this act to become contagious.

Several of us departed the work site wearing sandals or no shoes at all. Again, it was an honor and a privilege to give my shoes to this man. With Rodney’s translation, he graciously thanked me for my gift and even made a funny comment,

I’ll wear your pink shoes because you strong woman who use pick axe!!!!

Right on, my friend, right on!

He’s right, though, wearing pink DOES make you stronger. Earlier this week, I carried a 90-lb bag of cement mix on my shoulders. (tsk tsk) That sucker was HEAVY!!!!!

After lunch today, the team and I served one another the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Even stinky work clothes and tiny styrofoam cups can be transformed into a holy, sacred moment. Afterwards, we joined our hands and offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the Haitian workers we’ve met and the students who will learn at this school once construction is complete.

I’ve said it before about the Haitians, but the same is true about my fellow teammates: it was an honor to work beside each of you.

I’m going to miss this place. I already miss my Haitian friends. But I have promised them, and myself, that I will return. There are many opportunities available in Haiti, and some of them I want to share with friends and family about the possibility of them coming to Haiti with metoo. It is an experience that words cannot describe.

Rev. Lara said it best when she returned from her first trip to Haiti last October,

…..it was the most exhausting trip physically, emotionally, and spiritually ~ but I’m going back!

To my Haitian brothers and sisters, I will return to your beautiful country. I will be back. We will see each other again.

 For additional posts and pictures from my mission trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti this week, please visit the team’s blog by clicking HERE.

God bless you!

Related articles

• I held Haiti today (mrshutchison.wordpress.com)

I held Haiti today

The motto for our mission team this week as been this:

Hold Haiti In Our Hearts

Today, I held Haiti in my arms.

Her name is Floriol. She is six months old.

She stole my heart from the moment I stepped into the cinder-block structure that houses the intensive care unit and nursery. There were about 15 toddler beds and 10 metal cribs lined along the walls and in the center of the room. Floriol was in the second row of cribs sitting up and sucking her two fingers. As I scanned the room, I saw the pain in each child’s eyes and then I saw the tubes in their arms and knew the prognosis is not good.

Floriol’s eyes met mine and I will never be the same.

I asked one of the volunteers (also a missionary) if I could approach her crib and she said that I could hold her as well. Sweeter words have never been said.

I couldn’t get to her fast enough. I had to wiggle my way through a maze of toddler beds and around a Haitian mother breastfeeding her newborn before I finally reached this precious Child of God. The most amazing thing happened when I stood at the side of her crib: she looked up at me and immediately lifted her arms as if to say,

Please, please hold me. Please love me. Please comfort me. Please tell me you love me and care for me. Even if you cannot take away my pain or improve my condition, comfort me in this moment.

Tomorrow is our last day at the project site and our last full day in Haiti. I’m ready to go home and see my Husband and talk with my family and friends about this experience, but it is already breaking my heart thinking about saying goodbye to my Haitian friends.

It was difficult leaving Grace Hospital, but I know this is not the last time my passport will be stamped in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In fact, there is an agriculture program that UMCOR is starting with rural farmers and it includes crop production, livestock, and land and forest preservation. It is a program that I’m very interested in serving. After today’s visit to Grace Hospital, don’t be surprised if I am a nursery volunteer in the future for the sole purpose of rocking and nurturing these tiny children of God.

There are so many opportunities for mission work in Port-au-Prince, find your place and you will be blessed.

Love,

Nicole

 

Stark Contrasts

Yesterday was emotional.

Today was heartbreaking, embarrassing, and soul-crushing. However, I realize more and more just how blessed beyond measure I really am.  

This morning we went to a beautiful and passionate worship service at the Methodist Church of Thor. Pastor Jacob and his congregation greeted us like royalty and treated us like honored guests. When it came time to serve Communion, we were the first to receive the Sacrament. I saw faces of children, youth, and adults filled with love, hope, and gratitude.

They didn’t just shake my hand, they kissed my cheeks. They welcomed me not only into their church, but into their hearts as well.

The road to the church was fierce with the realization that as bad as the conditions ARE, they were much worse when other teammates were here last October. The reality of the situation is this….Haiti is dirty, unsanitary, and smells really bad.

Take a look for yourself, these pictures were taken on our way to church:

 

 

 

 

The part, I think, that upsets me so about these pictures is that no one can fully understand or comprehend the VASTNESS of this reality unless you see it for yourself. The tent cities go on forever, it’s like they never end. The streets are overcrowded and filled with garbage and raw sewage. The waterways are filled with trash, yet you see children and adults bathing in them. Street vendors are selling produce and goods for their survival, these people live one day at a time. Today is all they have.

All of these thoughts were running through my mind when we arrived at our destination for lunch this afternoon. Located high atop a mountain above Port-au-Prince is Hotel Ibolele, pronounced E-boo-ley-ley. It’s a resort-style hotel and restaurant that caters specifically to Western and European clients. It’s obvious the stark contrasts between the locations I visited today.

 

My soul was crushed when I walked through the veranda and onto the courtyard and saw the view.

But then a teammate reminded me that I needed today for a physical and psychological break from the reality we have been living for nine days. Today’s lunch served as a powerful reminder of just how good my life really is….not that I ever doubted this before, but this trip has sure put everything into a new perspective.

After lunch we drove higher up on the mountain, about 3,500 feet above sea level, to an overlook point. Yes, it was beautiful. Yes, it was painful.

I’m really looking forward to returning to the worksite tomorrow. To be honest, I’m tired of sight-seeing and personifying the obvious role of American Tourist. Yes, I’m the photographer for the team and I’m the crazy lady hanging out of the tap-tap’s window in order to snap these photos you’ve been seeing here and on the team blog. But, as difficult as digging a trench and hauling five-gallon buckets of dirt, gravel, sand, and cement mix to a second-story is…..I’d rather be doing WORK than eating a salad and shrimp cocktail at a neatly dressed table with linen napkins and fine china at a resort high atop the pain and devastation of Port-au-Prince. C’mon, let’s be honest with each other: there are 1.7 million people living in PAP right now and approximately 800,000 are still displaced and living in tents.

I need to be on the project site.

I want to be on the project site.

 

Day 3 of Haiti

This photo doesn’t mean anything to you. Afterall, it’s only a fence.

Actually, it’s a green metal fence shielding the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

But this photo represents my precious ~ intense ~ moment of indescribable emotion in the three short days I’ve been in Haiti. 

I rested the lens of my camera on the iron fence to get a better shot of the palace. As I did this, a hand gently rested on my shoulder and a voice quietly whispered in my ear.

“I’m here with you.”

You see, the hand that rested on my shoulder and the voice that whispered in my ear belonged to Rodney, one of our interpreters and employee of the Methodist Guest House. While I was never afraid or fearful while standing in the square next to the Palace, it was the most sincere, comforting, and genuine moment of human connection with a divine touch.

I will NEVER be the same.

Today was indescribable.

 There are no words to describe the emotion, the devastation, and the HOPE that’s in Haiti.

I am blessed beyond measure.

Obviously, the Presidential Palace was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake.

Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace

Sore does not even describe what I’m feeling right now

I am utterly exhausted. I never thought (in a middle years!) I would be rolling ~ literally ~ out of bed onto the floor and attempt the Downward Dog yoga position. My back was stiff as a board and I was willing do anything ~ anything! ~ to loosen myself up. It wasn’t pretty, and no I don’t have a picture!

Moving on…….

We spent all day yesterday digging a trench, Transcontinental Railroad-style, and finally “met in the middle” late in the afternoon. After a few minutes struggling with a shovel, I quickly learned that being IN the trench on my hands and knees and scooping up rocks and debris into a five-gallon bucket was much easier. I would pay for this later. As soon as we returned to the guest house last night, I realized that I’m NOT Limber Lucy. My back is sooooooo sore from crawling around and lifting heavy buckets above my head.

I will survive, I will work again today.  

Yesterday morning we began digging and chipping and scooping and shoveling and moving dirt, gravel, and debris.

Eight hours later ~ success! ~ the trench was clear.

This morning we will travel to the work site to finish cleaning the trench and then return to the guest house for lunch, showers, and in the afternoon we are visiting the Haitian National Historical Museum.

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• Good Morning (from Haiti) (mrshutchison.wordpress.com)

Good Morning (from Haiti)

Good morning, Friends ~

I’m glad to announce that I am writing this from the United Methodist Church of Haiti’s guest house in Port-au-Prince. We arrived yesterday evening to smiling faces and warm embraces from the guest house managers and Haitians employees. There is another mission team staying here from Missouri also.

The weather is (wait for it) pleasant. Tropical Storm Emily is still headed in this direction and models expect her to hit Hispaniola tomorrow morning. There is an extremely nice breeze and right now it’s cloudy and overcast. The storm is not expected to hit our area directly, but we are anticipate heavy rains and strong winds. Fortunately, we are located on the other side of the mountains, so the storm will lose most of its strength when it passes that region before hitting us. No worries, I am actually looking forward to seeing the rain ~ just wish I could send some home to Texas!

In the next half-hour, my team and I will enjoy a lovely breakfast prepared by the Haitian staff and then load into the tap-tap (cargo van) and head to our project site. My camera is fully charged, with a new (and empty) memory card, and ready to go. I took some photos yesterday on the plane as we were flying over The Caribbean, as well as our “adventure” in the airport and on the road to the guest house. You can read all about that, and see the photos, by visiting our team’s blog HERE. Please be sure to “subscribe” to the team’s blog and comment, each night we will meet together for devotion time and I’ll be sharing email messages and blog comments. If you have anything you’d like to share, please send me a message directly or leave a comment on our blog.

Let the fun begin,

Nicole

 

 

Related articles

• Mother Nature adds excitement (mrshutchison.wordpress.com)
• Tropical Storm Emily Nears Dominican Coast, Haiti (time.com)
• Tropical Storm Emily on path toward Haiti (abclocal.go.com)

Mother Nature adds excitement

As if the anticipation and excitement for my first international mission trip wasn’t enough, Mother Nature is adding her own element of excitement to the mix with this little jewel.

Say hello to Tropical Storm Emily.

Hello!

The image above illustrates the many projected paths of this storm, but it’s pretty much guaranteed that the Island of Hispaniola (otherwise known as Haiti and the Dominican Republic) is going to get a direct hit.

At this point, my Mother is freaking out. Bless her lil’ heart.

According to HaitiLibre.com, if the storm maintains its current speed and trajectory, it could hit the island of Haiti this Thursday. If that’s the case, I’m glad I have an 88-cent poncho in my bag. That poncho could be the difference between life and death…….ahem, wet and dry.

C’mon Mom, that was funny!

Here’s the official statement from HaitiLibre’s weather report,

To 7am, this Tuesday, the center of the Tropical Storm Emily was located to 15.3 degrees north and 63.7 degrees West. At 985 km northwest of Port au Prince (612 miles) with sustained winds (maximum) of 65 km/h (40 mph). Emily is currently moving at 22 km/h (14 mph) along a trajectory West and could hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the next 24 to 48 hours [Thursday for Haiti if the speed is maintained]. 10 of the 12 forecast models plan the passage of Emily on Haiti.

I love the last sentence the best.

 

10 of the 12 forecast models plan the passage of Emily on Haiti.

 

Oh yippee!!!!!!!

For those who don’t know me very well, I have an extra personality known as Polly Freakin’ Anna, or PFA. She appears quite often when life sucks or the world is slamming stressful situations upon me. When PFA appears, I am uber-cheerful, very positive, and have this GIGANTIC smile on my face.

Kinda like this:

It’s ridiculous, but effective. In most situations. Annoying in others.

I’ve promised the team that I will TRY to contain myself, and PFA, as best I can……especially tomorrow morning when we’re meeting at 4:45 am at the church and going to the airport. I’m not sure PFA is awake during pre-dawn hours.

In all seriousness, please keep our Haiti Mission Team ~ and ALL mission teams ~ in your thoughts and prayers. I communicated with several people via Facebook this morning who are either in Haiti waiting for a flight back to the U.S. or they’re waiting for a flight to Haiti. We are not the only team in Haiti. We all need your prayers for the work we’re going to do and the safety of everyone during hurricane season.

Click HERE to follow my mission team’s blog.

Peace, love, and rain ponchos,

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• Tropical Storm Emily barrels towards Haiti – AFP (news.google.com)
• Tropical Storm Emily to Strengthen, Could Threaten Florida (PROJECTED PATH) (blippitt.com)
• Packed & Ready……NOT! (mrshutchison.wordpress.com)
• Tropical Storm Emily eyes Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (ctv.ca)

Packed & Ready……NOT!

Approximately 50 hours from now, I’ll be checking-in at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport for a 7:30 am flight with a final destination to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

This Wednesday marks the beginning of my first international mission trip.

Haiti Mission Team blog, click HERE

For eight days, I will live, work, play, and fellowship alongside the Haitian people as we repair a damaged school. The mission team and I are expecting to clear debris, construct new classroom walls, and install a playground. On the project site, there is no water, electricity, or air-conditioning.

At the guest house where we’ll be staying and eating two meals a day, there will be no air-conditioning, no running water, and limited electricity. Team members and I will be drinking only bottled water. We will, however, have Internet access.

There’s a silver lining in all things. (be sure to follow our team blog!)

Let’s discuss for a quick minute the current weather conditions in Texas. 

Hot. Dry. Windy.

I describe it as living in a hair dryer turned on HIGH speed.

It’s miserable.

The thermometer and meteorologists at WFAA Channel 8 in Dallas agree with me.

Unfortunately, the humidity level in Haiti is going to be worse and heat indices (that’s plural for index, if you were wondering) are expected to be in excess of 110-degree each day.

There’s an old saying that women in the South don’t sweat, we glow. Well, dawlins’, I’m sorry to ruin my precious reputation, but I guarantee I’ll be past the glowing stage and fully past the sweaty stage too. I’ll be gross. Deal with it.

No matter the heat, no matter the temperature, and no matter how much sweat is pouring out of my pores, I will be Polly Freakin’ Anna and have a smile on my face and say, “hi y’all” to anybody I meet while visiting Port-au-Prince. That’s how I roll.

Am I packed and ready to go?

Of course not.

Toodles and Happy Monday, Y’all!!!!

 

Just a little thingamabobber for you to think about……..I’m approaching a BIG blogging milestone and I’ve got a BIG giveaway annoucement to make as soon as I return from Haiti. Please encourage your spouse, mother, Cousin Eddie, and the neighbors to read and subscribe to my blog. You do NOT want to miss this, it’s going to be fun!

My Current Reading List

My initial plans of reading more books this summer has proven to be a more difficult task that I originally thought. One reason: I’ve been really busy. Secondly, I’ve been working my cutie-patootie off in the garden and corn patch in Kentucky, and now I’m packing again for a mission trip to Haiti.

Looking back to the month of June, I was a lazy bum holding the couch down. The month of July has disappeared into thin air and August is literally around the corner. Where did the summer go? What happened to the lazy days of summer reading a book?

Did you have any spectacular plans or intentions for the summer that you didn’t accomplish?

While I was visiting my family in Kentucky, I had the pleasure of attending my Aunt Georgia’s book club meeting. She’s one of the original, founding members of this book club. They have been meeting for 15 years and it’s something I admire, respect, and honestly, envy just a wee bit.

OK, I envy it a lot.

I would love to have a book club like this! This group has structured its monthly gatherings so one person hosts the get-together at their home once a year and provides dinner and drinks. Following dinner, the group discusses the monthly title. Members read 11 books a year and the 12th month (December) is used as a planning session for the next year ~ everybody brings 2-3 titles they “pitch” to the group and after everybody has suggested their recommendations, the group votes on 11. There might be a substitution made in the middle of the year, but for the most part, club members know well in advance the reading schedule and can purchase the titles they’ll be reading. It’s an ingenious concept that’s obviously stood the test of time. Sure, they’ve had people participate and leave to pursue other interests, but there are a dozen steadfast members that meet monthly. It’s not just for women either, there are two men in this book club as well. All in all, this group has built lasting friendships by reading and discussing a book. 

I’m glad to announce that Aunt Georgia’s book club has given me the distinction of Honorary E-Member……..which means if I read the book they are discussing, I can send my notes/thoughts to Aunt Georgia and she’ll share at their discussion! I’m really excited about this invitation. Plus, I’m grateful for their generosity and hospitality. 

I’ve participated in e-book clubs before and I’m doing another in the month of August. I know, like I have nothing going on, right?! Real Simple magazine hosts an online book club, No-Obligation Book Club. In April, I read Room by Emma Donaghue and loved the experience. You can see my discussion posts here, here, and here.

This month (August), I’ll read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain with Real Simple’s No-Obligation Book Club and South of Broad by Pat Conroy. with Aunt Georgia’s club. I have heard lots of good things about both titles, so I’m excited to read them. Plus, I’ll catch up on some of my summertime reading.

So, here’s the million dollar question: (there’s no money involved here, I don’t even have a million Monopoly dollars to give you)

Is it possible for me to create a book club where people read a book and meet to discuss? Would you be interested in joining me?

I can’t do this alone though. I need other book-lovers to commit to meeting once a month AND actually read the selected book title. If it sweetens the deal any, I’m willing to host the first meeting at my house! Are you interested?!

 

Related articles

• Book clubs in America: Why do we love them so much? (slate.com)