A Day Like No Other

We were asked to take a photo of Antoine in his casket in the morning.  Even though it seemed to be an odd request for us, we headed down.  His body was prepared but was not yet in the coffin, so they asked us to come back later and told us that the funeral would be at 2pm.  The men in front of Antoine's home were playing dominoes, a common past time in Haiti.  Jessica joined in for a round and they thought it was so funny that she actually might win.  She didn't, but they said because they play nice, they wouldn't make her wear clothespins on her chin or a concrete block on her back like some games require the loser to do.

We then delivered eggs and milk to 2 of the elders to resell in the market place that day.  Because it was market day, we were unable to find the 3^rd elder.  One of the elders worried about being able to get the eggs to the market and told us she would prefer to sell candy.  Somehow it feels wrong to promote sugar in a town that just needs nourishment.

Some of the workers had to go to the market to get food for Grace Village, so we tagged along and purchased a few things for ourselves.  The feeling in the market was completely different from Malpasse, it was so enjoyable.  We got 4 mangos, 6 sweet potatoes, 2 onions, 1 coconut and 5 chadek (grapefruit type of fruit) for $3.20. 

We stopped at Antoine’s house on the way back and took the photos of the body in the casket.  The casket we purchased was beautiful, not quite what I expected in Haiti.  But a lot of things aren’t!  Antoine looked so nice; he was clean and dressed in a white shirt and a suitcoat and was laying among the ruffles of the casket lining.

When we got back, we undertook the huge task of cleaning out the ElderCare supply closet which shares space with the childrens toys, shoes, hygiene items and much more.  It was crazy full and looked like an overwhelming task.  But once we dug in, we found that it went pretty quickly.  We found many items we didn’t know we had and got everything organized into bins and neatly on the shelf.

After 2 hours of organizing, we came back to the missionary house where Jessica and Kathy were having a special meal prepared for us!!!  They are such sweet hostesses and we were so touched by the amazing gesture….and the food was so good.  We had couscous, a chicken and vegetable stew to go over the rice and my favorite, fried plantains!  And to top it off, we had chadek juice!  Yum!

Although the funeral was supposed to be at 2, we didn’t get called to come until 4.  The Kubota had a flat tire, so we had to walk and ended up missing the actual service.  We were, however, just in time for the procession to the burial site, which is something I will never forget.  Two people at a time carry the casket the entire way…..on their heads!  And it is not just a quiet solemn walk….it is full of energy, dancing, drinking alcohol from a clear gallon jug and chanting to the beat of a tin pan.  They stopped every 50 feet or so to switch out who was carrying the casket….all the men wanted to do it multiple times out of respect for their friend.  One man even carried it on his bare feet over the rocky road.  The women followed behind, many of them dressed very nice in black and white and wearing heels (at least part of the way, then they switched out to flats). 

We probably walked about ¾ of a mile up the mountain on steep rocky terrain.  At the top of the mountain, with the ocean, low afternoon sun and Grace Village as a backdrop, they did a little dance moving the casket around in a circle before proceeding to the burial plot.  There, men were still working on digging the hole which was a tedious task, as most of it was rocks.  They set the casket on the ground and poured alcohol on the ground in a circle around it, which our translator said was to cast out the evil spirits, a voodoo ritual.  Once the hole was dug, they pushed the casket in head first while a man guided it in.  When the feet reached the edge of the hole, it landed with a thud in the hole.  They poured a bit more alcohol into the corner of the hole and then immediately started throwing dirt and rocks in.

 We left shortly after, saying a few words to the son as we left.  We took a different route home, weaving through little trails among the homes in the foothills that all of the local people use to go back and forth to Titanyen.  I could only imagine all the work it was for the children to get water in multiple trips.  I stopped one girl, I would guess she was 9 or 10 years old, who had a five gallon bucket of water on her head, to see if I could take her photo.  She was very happy to oblige as was her little sister.  I showed them the photo on my camera afterwards and that little girl squealed and jumped for joy.  As we walked along, Jessica saw one of the workers for Grace Village and we were able to go and see her house.  Like most of the homes in Haiti, it was a concrete block house with small windows.  There was a dirt floor, but the home was immaculate!  It had a table with 6 chairs and a metal bakers rack filled with all of their dishware.  The little girl had a Dora doll.  There was another room, too, that I didn’t see.

What a beautiful night in Haiti, we arrived at Grace Village as the sun was setting.  I was able to take some gorgeous photos of this amazing place in the warm light.  Then I sat on the wall, watched the boys play basketball and talked with the girls.  I can’t even put words to how this place warms my heart.  The setting on the mountain, the view of the ocean, the warm breeze, the kids laughing and playing, the beat of the makeshift drums coming from the playground and this overwhelming sense of God’s presence.  What amazing things He has been able to do….all because people like Alyn and Jeff listened.  All we have to do is listen.  Listen for the quiet stirring in our hearts and head the call.  God can do amazing things through you!