Practicing Creole

I worked in the clinic here in Port-au-Prince on Saturday morning. I worked with a Haitian lady (who speaks about 20 english words ) in the Pharmacy. I had a good time. I got to practice my Creole, and learn some new medicines. For example, Cloroquine is a medicine given to treat malaria. We don’t have malaria in the US so I didn’t know the correct dosages or side effects. I found out that most of the other meds are pretty much the same except the names or pronounciations are different. So it’s just taking some adjustment to what I am used to. I worked with 2 of the same Haitian doctors that I worked with when I was here in September. They remembered me-I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing.

I’ve met some interesting people staying here at the guest house. I have become friends with am American Doctor and her husband who is a pastor. They are my age and have been here about 2 months already so it’s been nice to have people who know what the culture shock is like to talk to.

I caught some kind of "crud" here and I have been sick with a cold the past couple days. This is also day 3 of having no voice. Some Haitians have tried to makes me some "teas" so help it but it doesn't really so I broke down yesterday and started medication. Kinda hard to practice Creole with no voice :)

Well this is a short one but I am working with an American construction team this week and still don't feel good so I'll write more soon!

1st weekend in Haiti

Bonjou from Haiti! I made it here after some flight delays but arrived here safe. The first couple of days I spent getting settled in. I went to our clinic in Port au prince for a couple of hours each day and started going through all the medical supplies we had stored in boxes there. There were bandage supplies, surgical equipment and lab supplies among lots of other stuff! I am not even ¼ of the way done yet either! So I’ll be spending more time there while I am here in Port au Prince for language school.


I have a teacher who comes here in the mornings and does class with me and then he gives me homework. The language is a lot harder than I thought it would be so we’ll see how it all turns out after a couple weeks of schooling.I went to the southern part of the country this weekend. It is more country and village oriented there. It is safer and I like it a lot better b/c I can walk around on my own and see people and play with the kids.

I witnessed 5 baptisms in the ocean on Saturday. Some of the people from the church were there and sang hymns that I recognized the tunes to.I attended my 1st Haitian wedding and it was a double wedding.


It was interesting. I had no idea what was being said but it was fun to watch all the guests who came. The little girls were in awe of the dresses. I got a surprise after the wedding. We were invited back to one of the huts for the ”reception.” In their culture the best man goes into the house/hut and gives them advice on how to have a successful marriage. In Haiti is the couple has trouble in their wedding the 1st people they go and talk to is the Best Man and Maid of Honor. Then if they still can’t work things out then they go to the minister for counseling. So we walked up the mountain in the dark with a couple flashlights. I would say about 50 of us. Of course I had plenty of help from the Haitians wanting to make sure I got up there OK. I still had no idea what they were saying or singing but it was a lot of fun. The real fun began when we got there and I had to pee. This couple had an outhouse sort of thing and I had toilet paper in my bag (always!) I opened the door to the outhouse which was about 3 feet by 3 feet and there was a chicken laying on her eggs in there! Then I look up on the wall and there was a huge spider of some sort. I really had to pee though so I thought I would bite the bullet and do this. When I opened the top of the seat cockroaches started climbing out! That was my final sign from God not to use this bathroom! I came flying out of the outhouse and told the missionary I was working with that I would just hold it and wait. Lesson learned: Always use the bathroom before you leave the house in Haiti.

After the wedding celebration we went up to the mountains for a revival our church was having up there. It is about a 3 hour drive there.On Sunday morning they had their “First Fruits” ceremony. The people brought of their harvest for this year to the Lord. It was really neat to see all the vegetables, a chicken and even a sheep! The women brought the offerings down the center aisle and sang while presenting their gifts. The women who sold crackers and cookies on the street brought those and money they had made from selling them this year. The service lasted from 930am until 130pm! I took video that I am hoping to post on YouTube to give you a taste of what it was like. Haiti can not be described in a picture or video you have to see it, smell it, experience it for yourself.

Home Sweet Home

A hot shower feels sooooooo good after 3 weeks without one. I have been thanking God this weekend for all the "little" blessings I have here at home. But I have also been thinking of the people I met in Haiti and the 1st friends I have made there. When I was sitting in the airport to come home I have excited but at the same time I was a little sad to be leaving my new friends there. It was a weird feeling. I do look forward to going back and seeing them in January.

The last few days in Haiti were a blur of cleaning up flooded water, running from the tarantula in my bedroom (that is not a joke) and doing house calls to Haitians affected by the hurricane damage. In spite of the losses they experienced they are moving on and continued to go to church that Sunday and praise God. The singing in a Haitian church is much louder than here and although I can't understand the language I can tell they truly believe what they are singing. Instead of listening to words, I learned the value of watching people's body language, voice tones and really looking into someones eyes for response. I think this was a good lesson for me and I hope to keep it here where language is not difficult for me.

Thanks again for your prayers and support. I really appreciate it. I thank God for a safe and adventurous trip!

Bugspray, Beef Jerky and ponytail holder

Everyone has been asked the question "If you were on a deserted island, what 3 items would you bring with you?" Well mine are listed above. These items have become my "staples" in Haiti this week. The bugs and ants seem to love the taste of my skin. Let's just say my feet and legs are NOT a pretty site right now. Beef jerky is my source of meat after I went to market the other day and saw where the meat is sold-out in the open, hot sun with flies swarming. (If you're on a diet picture that next time you want to snack). I think the last item is pretty self explanatory.

I have been in Jacmel this week which is on the south/east portion of the island. I am staying with a missionary who has lived here 25 years and the porch overlooks the ocean. When the generator isn't running I can sit on the porch and hear the lull of the waves. If it wasn't 110 degrees outside I would sit out there more often :) All kidding/complaining aside this is a beautiful area of Haiti. It's more "country living" than in the capital. At night it is so dark the stars shine bright. It reminds me of the verse in Philippians 2:14-15, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Looking at these stars I think about the benefits of being a child of God.

We went to the market here in Jacmel the last 2 days and bought things for some hurricane victims. We bought dishes, silverware, toothbrushes, soap, towels, sheets and various cooking utensils to hand out to 24 families in the area. Some of the homes were completely destroyed while others were just washed out- meaning all their possessions are gone. We came back to the house and with the help of a couple Haitians we divided all the goodies up and are planning on delivering them after church tomorrow. I look forward to this opportunity to be a representation of the Christian church. Thank you to everyone who has "sent" me to be this representative!

It's all Gourde! (Good)

The currency in Haiti is Gourde (pronounced Good). The exchannge rate changes everyday but it is about 40 Gourdes equals $1. For example-we went to Mac Eppy yesterday to eat (the Haitian play off McDonald's) I had a combo number 3 which was a hamburger, fries and sprite and it cost $110 Gourdes-so about $2.75 US. Cheaper than in the states-the bread is much more stale too :) One of the favorite saying for the mission group this week has been "It's all Gourde!"

Some of my emails are asking about security here. At the guest house here in Port there are 2 armed guards at all times. There are gates around every house, church, building in Port with individually hired guards at most of them. Right now things are pretty safe with the government in Haiti. I don't go out walking around here alone at all. But I can within the gates of a safe property. When I am here my prayers definitely include asking for safety and safe decisions to be made by the mission leaders. We have drivers that drive us wherever we are going. The driving here is crazy! Oneof the drivers, David says he will teach me to drive when I come back in January. The other Haitians laughed b/c not many women drive here. I don't know if they are ready for Ginny in Haiti yet! :) On Monday when we were getting the clinic building set up there were Haitian men sitting around outside watching us work. I thought I would spread the love and took them trash bags as they were sitting in front of a trash pile. They blankly looked at me. Since I can't speak Creole yet, I led the 1st one by the arm over to the pile and pointed to the trash. The rest followed suit and started picking up trash. The American team cheered. I don't know if Haiti is ready for me yet. But I am here and I'm coming back! :) It's all Gourde!