Bridges and Kittens

I went on two little road trips this past week. The first was to check out my friend's bridge in LaChambre, about an hour's ride north of Hinche. A recent VaTech grad, Tyler Welsh has spent the past five months building a footbridge for a rural community. I've posted some pictures along with this post, but I was very impressed with his work and the mission of Bridges to Prosperity, the nonprofit organization that has built over 100 bridges around the world.

My next traveling adventure was to Lascahobas to visit one of MFH's translators, Emmanuel Occidor and his family. The city is about a two and a half hour drive Southwest of Hinche. On the way, I met Emmanuel in Domond to see the end of the vacation Bible school program. I chimed into the Creole version of "Deep and Wide" before the big lunch meal was prepared for all who attended. For most, that would be the one meal they had for the day.

Emmanuel helps run a nonprofit for a primary school in the same area. Over 200 children come who would otherwise not have any formal education. I am having some crayons and coloring books delivered that were left behind by the last group. I am excited for the mission that has started there.

When we finally made it to Lascahobas, I was surprised to find a fairly clean and developed town. Emmanuel was telling me that they recently had electricity put all throughout the city. He was happy to have a refrigerator in his home, in addition to lighting in the evenings. Though he lives in better housing than most Haitians, Emmanuel and his family still use a community shower/hose and toilet. I was well taken care of and did enjoy an afternoon football (soccer) game during my visit. I don't know what was more exciting for the fans - watching the teams tie or the white girl sitting on the sidelines. I have been in Haiti for five weeks now and never had I felt like such a minority until then. 

And then the biggest news of the week, at least for me, was seeing my first birth! I didn't even have to leave the house. Our house kitty, Ina May, had four kittens in my closet yesterday morning. I called down my housemates who started to cheer her on with "Pousse! Pousse!" From what I could catch from the Creole as we were waiting for the kittens, I learned far more about contractions then I think I wanted to know. Congratulations Ina! Anyone want a Haitian kitten?