WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Shortly after finals, a group of four Purdue student-athletes traveled to Haiti as part of a volunteer trip for Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the Ephraim Orphanage northeast of Mirebalais, Haiti. The group, led by Purdue Athletics Chaplain Marty Dittmar, included volleyball players Annie Drews and Lydia Dimke, men's basketball player John McKeeman and cross country runner Shari Lund.
Junior outside hitter Annie Drews shared her thoughts on the trip in the journal below and a few photos in the photo gallery atop the story.
I left for Haiti about six hours after my last final. Traveling internationally, especially to a third world country, requires A LOT of pre-travel work, and I mixed in vaccination appointments, trips to the bank, packing and paperwork in between three finals. Needless to say, like the rest of campus that week, I was busy. But thankfully, staying busy didn't allow me much time to think about the trip and what I was expecting, or form predispositions about what I hoped would happen there. Instead, the week was filled with an abundance of prayer- prayer to get everything done, for the kids, for our safety, and for God to stretch my heart to be open to whatever Haiti had in store for us.
The first thing we learned about Haiti: whatever agenda you come with, you leave it at the airport. Things that take minutes in the states can take hours there- resources aren't as readily accessible, communication requires patience. (The main language spoken in Haiti is Creole, and the more educated Haitians speak French. There was little to no English spoken on the trip). Upon arriving at the airport, we had a great big "Welcome to Haiti" when the news dropped that our bags were still in Miami. Unfortunately, we had to spend a night in the city, 3 hours away from the Orphanage in Las Cahobas, to wait for our belongings. We checked into a hotel and the second welcoming came about two hours later, when I got bit by something on my lip, which continued to swell about 4x its normal size! Literally, my eye was drooping because my lip was so fat. The picture is about 3 hours, 4 ice packs, and 2 Benadryl later- Pretty, right?
Regardless, after two hours of car trouble the next day, we finally drove the Ephraim Orphanage, which was about three hours into the mountains outside of Port Au Prince. Port Au Prince is about what you would imagine a third world country to look like, and while it had some more developed areas, our arrival at Ephraim really showed us God's provision to this project and this place. The kids there live a happy, calm, fortunate life compared to a lot of areas in the country. It's so quiet - surround by farmland and mountains, set in a valley within walking distance from their school. It's a pretty big orphanage- a large main room, about 8 bunk rooms with bathrooms, and a small farm and garden. It is open air, with electricity for fans only at night. There's a big field for soccer just outside of the complex, where we spent our last night playing soccer in the rain with other kids in the village. It's HOT in the mornings (like, hot hot) but during May, it rains just about every afternoon and cools off the building. Each day after the rain, the clouds would part and you could vividly see the sun peeking through the clouds. It blew my mind how clear it was - just another reminder of the natural beauty and presence that God has provided us EVERYWHERE - even in the midst of a struggling nation.
Each day for me looked about like this: Wake up, breakfast, Bible reading time, work project, lunch, nap, and time with kids. For our projects, we worked on a small building on the side of the house that will eventually be workers' quarters. The orphanage has about 15 kids and four workers (whom the children call Aunts and Uncles), and not much room for expansion of kids right now without overwhelming the workers. The idea is that the workers' quarters could host more employees, which in return, would mean having the ability to host more kids. We dug and paved a sidewalk heading up to the building (if you've never mixed cement by shovel, I recommend avoiding it at all costs - talk about a workout!), painted the interior, and began electrical work.
I think I initially anticipated us doing project that seemed much longer, harder, and agonizing than the ones we did. In a country that has so much potential to be developed, I think part of me thought we would leave overworked and exhausted, but, in some way, I thought our little group would leave making a ground shattering difference in Haiti. At times, I felt guilty for painting or playing with kids or doing small tasks. But gradually, I think God humbled all of us and opened my eyes to what our true purpose was for being there - to love the kids and give them the one-on-one attention that they crave, to complete some maintenance tasks so more skilled Haitian workers could focus less on little things and have time to do the big things, and help advance an already good place to being great.
After work came the highlights of our days: the kids. Those kids - WOW. Never have I seen God's abounding grace and miraculous power more vivid than in those kids. They all have stories - parents who didn't want them, parents who passed away, being overtaken by disease and sickness or never learning how to walk or talk. And to see these kids - healthy, attentive, learning, growing, HAPPY kids - was incredible. We played games, painted nails, went to the pool, played soccer, and just held and hugged and loved on these kids. It's crazy how much of a bond you can have with children who don't even speak your language, and it was beautiful to see how diligent their staff had been with medicine, therapy, nutrition, and schooling to give these kids a life they never would have had elsewhere. Currently, kids at Ephraim cannot be adopted because it isn't a government-controlled orphanage, so my prayers for the future would be that God would continue to work in their lives physically, mentally, and spiritually, and that he would provide for them opportunities to join families, receive education, and obtain jobs someday.
I think the saddest thing about Haiti wasn't necessarily seeing the poverty, mainly because for the Haitians, that's what they are used to. They have adapted and become accustomed to their lifestyle and while there's so much that I hope can be done in Haiti, the hardest thing was realizing that there isn't a perfect solution. All week, my mind ran tireless about what I thought to answers to the poverty, but there just isn't one. For example, there's trash EVERYWHERE, so my simple mind naturally said, "What about implementing a public disposal system?" But in reality, even if they could provide dumpsters and trash bins, resources are often taken for other needs - sheets of metal to repair a roof or bins to hold rain water. This small example is just one of many problems in Haiti. I think that to meet the needs of its people, the infrastructure needs to be improved. However, there's no clear way to improve that infrastructure until the needs of its people are met. Ultimately, it's a cycle - a grey area with lots of potential but no definite solution. What I found is it takes a collection of small efforts and steps in the right direction, persistent effort, and most importantly, abundant prayer that God will do miraculous work in Haiti. It's a broken place with beautiful people, and I am so thankful to have been a part of it for the short time I was. I hope that someday I'll be able to return, astounded by the progress, provision, and lives of those kids.
Habakkuk 1:5-Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. (ESV)