A Day in the Mountains

God Shows Up

Today reminded me to keep my eyes open to everything that God had set forth for me. It was really great just observing and listening to the conversations and friendships that have formed throughout the team.

We all packed up the tap-tap and left for Reiser Heights school around 9 am. The ride up there was breath-taking and we got to see a lot of Haiti. As we got farther up into the mountain the cement roads became nonexistent and everything was turning to green. About halfway up we stopped at the Baptist Mission rest stop. It was a market and food place all in one, plus the restrooms. We then continued up the mountain and that’s when the roads became bumpy. Our driver did an amazing job and we got to the Reiser Heights school just fine.

We spent most of our day there passing out candy and bags filled with gifts and little things for the kids to play with. Seeing the smiles and faces of the kids made me so happy and I enjoyed every minute! We also got to experience all the little ones sing a song to us and in return we sang “I’m A Little Tea Pot.” We got a little concert going after school where our interpreters, Patrick and Maxim (also our driver), played the piano and guitar and led songs in the native language. The Kids LOVED it! We also got a game of duck, duck, goose going and that was a big hit. The view of the landscape from high in the mountains was amazing, and it definitely was different then Port-au-Prince, but in a beautiful way.

We started down the mountain again and it was bumpy of course. We made another stop at the Baptist Mission and then stopped on the road to do a little shopping on the side of the road. It was a neat experience and the sellers are so artistic. It was also a little nerve racking because the traffic is nothing but chaos. I have to say the drivers are really good though. I also got to experience bartering today, which was really cool. Once everyone was done shopping, everyone loaded up into the tap-tap again and we headed home.

We hit Haiti rush hour traffic and sitting in the front with the driver is another experience. You get to see cars not even inches from each other, people walking across the street, wondering if they will get hit, and vendors walking directly up to vehicles selling drinks to the drivers. I had a good laugh and it was a great experience. The key to driving in Haiti, I think, is aggressiveness and assertiveness.

We got home and had a traditional Haitian meal, which was stew, rice, veggies, and plantain. It was by far my favorite meal so far. We ended the night with a team meeting and enjoyable conversations and togetherness. It was an early night for a lot of people on the team. Even though we were all exhausted, it still reminded me to be present and take in every little thing. Cannot wait for what tomorrow has to bring!

Samantha

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