No Longer Future Tense
I'm here. Right now. Typing these words. I
am no longer going to Haiti to meet with the leaders to talk about what band in
Haiti looks like... I'm here, and I've done just that!
This is the view from where I am sitting while I am writing this.
Yesterday (Monday, October 27th) I had the opportunity to
meet with the Haitian leaders and supervisors. I came with a list of
questions and the determination to just listen. I tend to be an idea
person, I like to brainstorm, I like to think fast and I have high energy.
Yesterday though, with God's help, I tried to only ask my questions and
then listen.
I started by asking them what their vision for band in Haiti
looks like. They responded with ideas about having the ability to do
music together; to take everyone’s individual thoughts and expressions and
unify them in a way that they sound good together. The summary that came
to my mind was 'excellence through unity'.
This is a prime example of the individual thoughts and expressions that Adelcon would like to unify.
I think he will be the first child I sign up for the band!
I then asked them about what resources they have and can
bring to the table. They have people, people who are willing and able but
will need some training. What they don't have are all the instruments,
supplies and accessories and a music room. Adelcon, the Haitian leader of
GlobalFingerprints, described his desire for a music room. A place that was
set apart and could not only house all of the music equipment, but a place that
when the children enter, they know it’s the place where we make music together.
I asked them about the structure of the ensemble. I
started by talking about when you say band in the US, it invokes the idea of a
full band, with all the instruments, sitting in rows, and playing a Sousa march
from their sheet music. I told them when I think about band within the
cultural context of Haiti, I see something more like a jazz band. I see an
ensemble that will be inclusive of the musicians that already play piano,
drums, guitar and bass but could include the addition of trombones, trumpets,
saxophones and maybe even clarinets. The other reason I thought this
would be a good cultural place to start is because it allows for
improvisations, or the musical expression of the passion they already possess,
in a way that would allow for excellence through unity. They were excited
about the idea of a jazz band, especially Ronald (one of the students that goes out to visit the students at their homes), who currently plays all the
instruments of the rhythm section and has an obvious passion for music.
At the conclusion of our time together I asked them what our
action steps should be. At this point, they kind of backed away.
They said they need some time to think about all of this and figure out
how and where they would fit all of this in. (I learned later that
Adelcon does not have the authority to make those kinds of decisions and that
cultural it could cause big problems if he did). He said he would contact
our missionaries on the ground in Haiti when they come to some conclusions.
Adelcon and I after our meeting. We have a friendly disagreement over who has more energy when it comes to building a band program at GF - Haiti.
As we were leaving Port-au-Prince and heading back the
Haitian Queen (the Haitian Queen is the guest house in the city of Gressier
where we stay when we are in Haiti), I was processing this conversation
with Steve, my GlobalFingerprints boss. We determined some next steps.
1. We need to find some recorders or simple
glockenspiels so that the children that are currently learning music theory
from the piano books we sent down in July have a place to put that knowledge
into practice. Right now they are just learning to read music without the
ability to make music on any instruments at all.
2. We need to find method books for those recorders or
glockenspiels.
3. I need to put together a team to come down in the
spring (April/May) that would consist of a jazz combo. I would like to
have some musicians come with me to introduce the recorders or glockenspiels.
Once the children have had a chance to play some music on those instruments,
we could have a sort of "jam session" where the children could
improvise with a jazz combo back up. There could even be an opportunity
for the jazz combo to perform for/with the children at the church during the service
on Sunday at Source-de-la-Grace (our partner church in Port-au-Prince where
GlobalFingerprints Haiti is based).
The goal with these steps is to help gently nudge the
Haitians to make some decisions about the implementation of the program they
have asked for.
In addition to these action steps, I would also love to find
someone who works for a music supply company, like Wenger, that makes or installs
furniture and fixtures for music rooms. I would love to find a contact
that could help me ask about the potential donation of a music space (and all
the fixtures - chairs, stands, lockers) here in Haiti at Source-de-la-Grace.
I'm also going to be starting to look for trumpets,
trombones, and saxophones. I don't know where I'm going to put them or
how I'm going to get them there, but if you've got one, hang onto it for me.
An Amazing and Unexpected Blessing
GlobalFingerprints (GF) is a child-sponsorship program.
For $35.00 a month, you can sponsor a child in one of several countries
around the world. GF is different from most other child sponsorship
programs in that we partner with a local church, and work with families rather
than orphans/orphanages. 96% of the orphans in Haiti are not true
orphans, they have a least one parent still living, but their parents can not
afford to raise them and so have had to give them up to an orphanage. GF
helps to keep children with their parents by providing food and education. This helps to provide relief to the parents of
these children.
After my trip last year, I was heavily convicted and traded
in my YMCA membership in order to sponsor two children in Haiti. We chose
a boy the same age as Michael and a girl the same age as Abby.
Last weekend, GF hosted a Sponsor Weekend here in Haiti.
It was an opportunity for the 260+ child sponsors to come and visit Haiti
and meet the children they sponsor. We hosted a large VBS style event
where children learned about the life of Paul, played games and were fed lunch.
The other event of the weekend was medical checks and updated photos and
messages. Of all the people invited, there were only three sponsors here
this weekend. Steve (my boss for GF) and Liz (his lovely wife), Jason and
Katie (eye doctors helping with the medical screening), and myself. Each
of us got the opportunity to meet at least one of the children we sponsor.
Jason and the child he and his wife sponsor.
The Spellman's and their sponsored child.
Chabe, her mother and me with the duster bunny doll I gave her.
On Friday (October 24th), I got to meet Chabe. Chabe
is a seven-year-old little girl. I met her, her mother and her little
brother. It was such a shock to see her... in person... a shy, sweet
little girl looking up at me with her big brown eyes. Through a
translator, her mother told me that my sponsorship has made a huge difference
in their lives, a life-saving difference. It was overwhelming emotional.
It took everything I had not to break down into a sobbing mess.
I sat with her while she colored her message (that will be
sent to me), and then I took her picture (which will also be sent to me).
After she finished at our station I sent her off to have her medical
exam. She had her eyes checked, was screened by a doctor and then
received a de-worming pill. It's likely that this was the first time she
has ever seen a doctor in her life.
On Saturday, she came back for the VBS program. It was
fun to watch her with all the other kids. Near the end of the day, while
she was waiting for her brother to see the doctors, she came to sit with me.
We just sat together on a bench and colored. Each of us drew a
picture and colored on half of the paper. When we finished, I ripped the
paper in half. I gave her the half I colored and kept the half that she
colored.... and again tried not to cry. For $35.00 a month, we are saving
this little girls life...
Chabe and I just hanging out and coloring together.
It’s Just Stuff… but God!
I know that the closer I get to doing God’s will, the bigger
the target on my back becomes. Satan comes to steal and destroy, but I
will not let him steal my joy! We had a fantastic week. There were
a lot of great things accomplished, and most everything went off without a
hitch. As we were headed home, the team of people I was traveling with
and I were reflecting on how well everything had gone. It seemed that
Satan had been held at bay, when it came to the successful completion of all of
our tasks.
No sooner were we commenting on this when Satan came in for
a strike. It started with a delayed flight out of Port-au-Prince.
We were delayed by 2 and a half hours. This delay caused us to miss our
connecting flight in Miami to Minneapolis. We rolled with that one and figured we
would just go with whatever the plan would be when we touched down in the
US.
Upon our arrival in Miami, we were told we would have to
spend the night there. They gave us hotel and food vouchers and a free
shuttle. We were working so well as a team, that we wanted to lighten the
load for one of the older team members by taking her heavy suitcase for
her. Another member offered to take mine, so I could take hers.
Perfect, go team!
We left the airport and waited for the shuttle. We
soon realized we needed to move from where we were standing, everyone grabbed
his or her bag and we were off. The only problem was that we were all
used to pulling along only one suitcase. Because of that, my suitcase got
left behind at the curb. We didn’t realize it until we arrived at
the hotel 15 minutes later. We rushed back to the airport but my bag was
already gone. God provided an encouraging and thorough police officer to
help me search for my missing bag (he also happened to be a
believer). We looked every possible place, and he even wrote
up a police report for me.
At this point I lost it. I was tired, I just wanted to
go home but couldn’t, my bag was gone and so was everything in it. I just
kept reminding myself it’s just stuff, but with every new item I remembered was
in there, I would cry a little more.
It’s all replaceable. The one thing that I was most
sad about was loosing my Bible, the Bible my parents gave me when I was 16 as a
confirmation of my faith. The thing that is the scariest for me is that
there is a full color copy of my passport in that suitcase.
So here it is, Thursday (October 30th) noon, I was supposed
to be home last night, but I’m still not home. I’m in the air, somewhere
over Kansas or Iowa, and I’m processing.
We had a fantastic week. We did a lot of great things
for kids in Haiti this week. But sadly, I’m realizing that this spiritual
attack at the end of my trip is going to cloud what I talk about. People
will ask about the flight drama on the way home and by the time I’m done telling
them, they may no longer be interested in the amazing things God did while I
was in Haiti.
So please, ask me about the trip home, and the stuff I lost
(you can expect me to tear up a little), but more importantly, leave margin to
ask me about the cool stuff God did this week.
But God. We arrived at the airport in MN and while we
waited at the baggage claim for everyone else’s bags, I got an automated call
from American Airlines that they needed to talk to me about my checked bag.
I went to talk to the baggage claim assistant. She looked it up and
told me that my bag had been found and would be arriving tonight on the flight
in from Miami. I will be going to pick up my “stolen” suitcase tonight
when it arrives here at 11pm.
Our team cheered and cried and then prayed. We were
all so overjoyed that God chose to end our time together in this way rather
than the way it seemed. I was convicted again that God is big, and I am
small, and the issue with my suitcase was minute in the grand scheme of things BUT
GOD loves me so much, that he did this little thing for me. I am so
humbled. I am so loved.
_________________________________________________________________
I'm still looking for additional monthly support. If you're willing to partner financially with me in this mission, please follow the link below to make a donation right now. You need to designate Richter-2047 in the "other" section of the online form.
I'm thankful for any donation you are willing to make, but would appreciate it if you would consider making it a monthly donation. Thank you!!
Praises
- That I made it safely home from Haiti.
- That my suitcase not only was found, and made it home with me, but that it has become a great testimony of God's great love and his attention to details.
- That about 400 children received de-worming medication. Parasitic worms in the children of Haiti aid in the malnourishment and interfere with brain development.
- For a successful first meeting about Band in Haiti.
- For the medical teams that donated their time last week.
- For the ReachGlobal and GlobalFingerprints staff here and in Haiti that are working so hard to help the children of Haiti.
- That Andy and the kids had an enjoyable week.
- For the confirmation I feel about what I'm doing in Haiti.
Requests
- God's protection while I am serving him. The closer I get to him and doing his will, the larger the target on my back becomes. For safety and protection for the rest of the team serving in Haiti.
- That God would put the desire into the hearts of those he wants me to take on the trip in April (the jazz musicians).
- That God would provide for the facility needs to create a music room at Source-de-la-Grace.
