The Mission

The mission is an amazing, beautiful place.  It is a couple of miles north of the large town of Hinche in the central plateau region of Haiti.  This is the “bread basket” of the country which is a scary thought as there’s very little that grows around here without great pains.  Apparently the island of Hispaniola used to be a jungle forest. But need for farmland and wood for fires and structures exploded in the colonial times and wasn’t reversed and so deforestation caused the loss of topsoil and what’s left is rocky, rugged, mostly treeless terrain.

But the mission has gardens irrigated by the wells. Every night we have okra or eggplant, cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper, and hot “bird peppers”.  Like most places close to urban areas it has pole-provided electricity.  Like pretty much the whole island it has cell phone service.  But it has indoor plumbing in a land where the morning rituals take place on the front proch.  They have hot water in the kitchen, though unfortunately not in the bathrooms.  They have equipment like tractors and trucks and a shop to keep things repaired.

But more than the first-world “stuff” they have here, the thing that makes this place so beautiful is the people that serve it, are served by it and are in its sphere of influence.  Father Meaux was a Louisiana priest who was invited to this “darkest corner” of Haiti by the local diocese about 30 years ago.  In that time voodoo served as the religion for almost everyone, where ritual killings and an intense distrust of white people were the norm.  His love of the people here allowed him to persevere trials I’m sure I can’t imagine. But to consider what he’s built here in that time is simply astonishing.

There is a school that serves 1200 students that line up every morning singing their national anthem and then sing a praise to God and Jesus as they walk to class. There are the polite and well-respected teachers that come here to serve these children.  There are women that cook breakfast and lunch for the children every day, as well as the wonderful women that serve us guests.  There are mechanics and carpenters, masons and farmers, and many others that serve here to keep the place running. This is achieved through three major ways.  First, the mission provides free, clean wellwater for literally anyone that wants to come get it which helps build trust. Second, the school is free so people recognize the good education that the mission provides their children.  And finally the mission provides free housing for people in desperate need.

The housing is really a wonderful success story.  Basically families (who are likely living in stick huts or broken down concrete hovels) apply for a house.  They are interviewed by the mission staff to make sure they really are in desperate need.  They must also promise to serve the mission in some capacity.  Of course the best way to prove they will serve the mission is to be already serving them!  Once a family is accepted, a $6000 house is built for them at absolutely no charge.  The building takes approximately 6 days to complete and is a four-room concrete building with a tin roof.  It provides much better shelter and a more hygienic environment to the family than their old. If the family owns their own land, the completed house is simply theirs.  If they do not own land, the mission will buy some land for them, large enough for the house and garden.  To remind people that they don’t own the land, they charge a symbolic rent of around 15 cents / year.  The housing program has been going on about 13 years and to date they have built about 430 houses!  They have a goal to finish 500 houses by the end of 2016. That’s the lives of 500 families that have been radically altered thanks to the missions ability to funnel and focus the generosity of her partners in the United States.

The mission is an island of calm mercy in a dark and turbulent sea here in Haiti.  But it’s an island that is slowly and steadily growing both in its own size and considerably more in its influence in the community.  Walking outside the mission, the people are friendly and happy to see Americans.  You see a joy and a peace and a sense of purpose for those involved in the mission.  The people are hard workers because they know the importance of their job – imagine building a house in America in 6 days!  It is very beautiful here and I feel blessed to be a part of it, if only for a short time.