"The Great Days"

Hello to you all,

I am having a fantastic time here in Haiti right now. I am really, really enjoying staying with Kathy and Alice. They have done so much for me and I greatly appreciate the ability to stay with them. They are fantastic and caring Christians who love the Lord and love the people of Haiti. I have had a great deal of time to sit down and talk with them, and really, I commend them for all that they have done in service to the Lord here. They have some fantastic stories too.

I am not alone here at EBAC. I am staying in the upstairs apartment. There are two separate dorm rooms. One side I have entirely to myself, and the other, three relatives of Kathy and Alice are staying in. There is a Pastor by the name of Paul, and his wife that are there. Paul is a retired Physical Therapist who is now an Associate Pastor. He is a great man of God whom I love to talk to. His wife is a retired nurse, and loves to serve the Lord in Haiti. They have both stayed a great deal in Haiti in the last year, spending several months staying at EBAC while teaching at a local university. The other man who is here with them is named Kyle. He is 26 years old and is from Dallas, Texas. He is a paramedic and is another great Christian man to talk to and hear his story. This is his first trip into Haiti. I am so thankful that they are here and I am able to join them in the ministry work they are doing the week or so that they are here. I really praise the Lord for having the opportunity to get to know them.

The last few days have been wonderful. On this last saturday, myself, Pastor Paul, Kyle and Pastor Cebien hiked up into a village in the mountains. We drove about 30 minutes from EBAC up into the mountains until the road ended. We unloaded from the vehicle and began to hike for an hour and a half up the mountain in the blistering heat. This village which is up there, has absolutely no road access, and the only way in or out is by hiking. We hiked up and over the mountain, then just down a short distance on the other side towards a church that was being constructed there. Pastor Cebien has been leading the construction effort for a new church in the village. All of the materials... sand, cement, rebar... everything... it was all carried in up the mountain by hand... carried the long hour and a half journey through the heat up the mountain.

Just the sight of us three white people in this small village led about 70 children to come from all around and gather by us. Wherever we went, all 70 children would follow. We walked down to a stream close by, having all of the children follow us, watching our every step. We brought in enough candy to go around so all of the children there could have a piece. The people in this village live secluded from everything. They live simple lives, growing crops and feeding their families. Bringing a new church into this community is a huge thing for this village, and I appreciated the ability to pray alongside the pastor of the small church that is currently there.

Each of the mornings here during the school week, I am here helping to teach school and assist Kathy and Alice. They are so worn out to be honest of all the work that is needing to be done, combined with the constant stream of people that are asking them for a handout.

I am also inserting a section here that is from the journal that I am keeping. I have kept a very in depth journal that now totals over 35 pages, single spaced in a word document. Here is what I wanted to share:

"About these street kids… there are maybe ten or fifteen kids that we constantly see here that are not orphans. Kids come right off of the street and stay at EBAC all day and sometimes all night begging and just hanging around. Everywhere we go, these street kids will follow just looking for some kind of handout. There are even adults that hang around each day and make there presence known by asking for money and food about every hour at the door to our apartment. About every three to five minutes during the day, either Kathy and Alice or us will have some kid or adult ask us for food by knocking at our door. No joke, it is a nonstop stream of people… and it starts as early as 6:00 AM.

There is one kid in particular that now it is likely will be adopted by the orphanage. He is a kid off of the street that is about ten years old. From what we have seen, he has no home at all and shows up all day, every day here as a beggar. He does not have any real parents from our knowledge, and he often has been noticed to spend the night on the street. Kathy and Alice have been talking with Pastor Cebien about adding him as an orphan.

Today, I took out the trash that I had about mid morning. I was met at the door to the apartment immediately by three or four street kids who were so happy to grab my bag of trash, run off and dig right through it. Anything at all that was left, the took and were eating. There really was nothing in there, but I did notice that somehow from the other team that was here, a loaf of moldy bread had made it in that trash bag and the kids sat there eating it… and fighting over it. Most of the kids here have no home to go to and no food to eat. They are just kids off of the street.

This brings me to my next point. It is a very fine line between giving somebody a handout when they really need it and not giving somebody a handout or even work. I am very hesitant, despite the need that I know exists, to give out food or money to any of these kids that are beggars here. First of all, they are welcome to be on the site as of now during the day, but they are always a constant harassment while they are here. By giving them exactly what they are asking for, the number of kids who come off of the street multiplies to many, many more. They are constantly asking for things everywhere that you go… and I mean everywhere. I feel much more comfortable having Kathy and Alice make decisions on food to give out, though I know they are overwhelmed with people every few minutes already. I realize that here, it is not always my place to give food or things because it causes a problem by having those kids here.

Secondly, I am hesitant sometimes to help the kids because they are becoming solely dependant on us giving them food. The spend all day asking us for food and money, to the point where that is all they do during the day… that and play here at EBAC. They will become dependant on teams giving them things rather than trying to do something productive.

Thirdly, the kids off of the street here are intrusive by nature and steal. If you walk up to the apartment, unlock the gates and doors and walk right in, several street kids will automatically follow you in uninvited unless you stop them and lock the gate behind you. They come in and they will steal things when you are not looking. There are many examples so far, even a few from when I am here where especially the other apartment next to mine has been stolen from. I am very cautious to not let any kids in and lock all doors every time I leave. To my knowledge so far, nothing has been taken.

I am not in any way against giving to the poor where there is a need. I really want to find the people who have a great need and support them… give them the means to buy food. I want to share the love of Christ and the hope found in Him through my actions. The best solution is to offer work to a Haitian. Rather than give them a handout, offer them work for the money or food. Even better yet, give them a means to start making money themselves. That is what I want to do. It is just hard here because I know there is a need with these kids, but it is not my place right here to support them heavily at all. They are leading to more problems by them being here and I don’t want to encourage them to keep coming."

Yesterday, we all went with Pastor Cebien to his church that we attended on sunday. We went there to teach a class on basic first aid. I had the opportunity to be the victim while they were training the 40 or so Haitians who were there to learn. It was a great experience. 

Everything is going well so far. Many of you have asked if I am healthy, and my answer is yes. I have not been sick yet and am eating well with Kathy and Alice. I praise the Lord for all of your prayers and support. It is a challenge at times to get internet consistently in Haiti, which is what makes posting often hard. We do however, have internet at EBAC right now. 

On thursday I will leave EBAC for Pastor Peyot's house, and a lot of the details on what the next month will look like are still up in the air. I will update you on plans as soon as I know. Thank you all for your prayers and support. 

In Christ's service,

-Garrett Luck