Haiti Day 6

Bonswa, koman ou ye? 

We started this wonderful day with another amazing breakfast from Francois. We are so unbelievably thankful for the effort she has put into making our stay in Haiti so hospitable even though we have once again returned to the Devil’s Armpit. 

As today is Sunday, we went to a church service that was almost entirely in Creole which was a very interesting experience. Even though we didn’t know what he was saying it was astounding to see the passion in his voice (it was very loud). We went on stage and sang with the youth group “Our God” by Chris Tomlin. We practiced it a butt ton yesterday night and it was cool to see how it all came together after so much effort. We also met the Haitian version of Ms. Sharon Green, which was pretty rad. She was the worship leader and had all of the same mannerisms.

After church we went to the National Haitian Museum and learned about the history of Haiti and how the past has contributed to both the culture’s strength and brokenness. A nation of slaves rose up with incredible strength to overcome their oppressors. I can’t imagine coming from a culture of entirely oppressed people that have been held down over and over again. When we were at Reach Global, Dave talked about the lack of entrepreneurship in Haiti that causes 10 women to sell the exact same mangos all lined up in a row. This drives down prices and reinforces the material poverty that already exists in the country. This is all routed in the turmoil in Haiti. But even with one dictator after another, Haiti has hope. The museum also had an art gallery with some incredible pieces. It wasn’t the typical art that we have all seen 1,000 time: Renoir, Pacaso, Monet. Instead, they were all Haitian artist who had a completely different take on the way the world looks than our own Eurocentric beliefs. I was looking at a painting with James that I saw a horrible message in: the poor work hard yet only the rich florist from it. But sweet James told me it meant that the harder you work the more money you make and the better person you can become. I want to be like James.

-Mackenzie