Haiti Journal -- Day Five

Sunday, January 23, 2011 -- Got up at 6 am, had breakfast, and went to church at Bon Sauveur. Fortunately, Fr. Lafontant had a box of collars since I had forgotten mine. We began in his office/vesting room where he and Fr. Michelin were preparing for the mass. He had hymns playing on a tape player as they sang along. He showed me pictures on his wall of the church when he began here in 1970. It looked very much like some of the places we have visited -- a very rudimentary building of brick with a thatched roof (I think). To see that picture, and then to look around and see what is here now is quite impressive. Pere (as everyone here knows him) is a builder. And he has done it with the help of a lot of people.

There is a portrait in his office of Tom White, the Boston businessman and philanthropist who helped Dr. Paul Farmer start his work here. Tom died about ten days ago and Pere Lafontant went to his funeral in Boston. He told me he was invited to participate in the mass in a Roman Catholic church, which he seemed very pleased about.

Pere invited me out onto the steps where the children (about 20-30 of them) were lined up in their red cassocks with cotta to start the procession. He asked me to pray before we began. The procession was slow -- solemn, and to some almost mournful music from an electronic organ. The service was primarily in French from the BCP, with hymns mostly in Creole. All the lessons were in both French and English. I read the Gospel in English and preached in English as Marie Flore translated. David Waters told me afterward what a great job she did fitting English's complex vocabulary and idioms into the narrower vocabulary of Creole.

After lunch we went on a visit to Zanmi Agrikol with Ferris, an agronomist who helps run the farm. ZA rents about 60 acres from a wealthy Haitian who live in the US and works as a doctor in Boston. There is an irrigation system pumping water from the Artibonite River. They grow beans, have papaya and mango trees, and grow a variety of other crops. There are some animals, but it is not a large-scale animal farm. there are chickens that produce all the eggs for ZL -- free range. They try not to use pesticides or fungicides, but do use them when they have to. The farm was impressive and Ferris was quite knowledgable. David Waters was our trusted translator and knows quite a bit himself.

Following our return to ZL we had a couple of hours to relax, visit with people, and begin packing for our return. At around 6:30 we all made our way up to Jackie's house for drinks and a bite of supper -- the customary white bread with cheese we've become accustomed to on our outings here. Jackie presented each of us with a bag of Haitian coffee. Doug raised a toast in her honor and in thanks for her gracious hospitality. We moved to her outdoor garden patio and had an hour or more of conversation amongst ourselves. The group included both Davids -- Waters and also the Harvard Medical student doing an internship in surgery here. Nice guy, African American from San Francisco. Both parents are docs. He was a Harvard undergraduate before medical school. His father was an immigrant from Guyana, and he (David) is thinking he might cme back to this part of the world after he finishes school -- most likely to Haiti.

Jackie told stories (like getting her Steinway to Haiti) -- as did Clarkson (about growing up as Jackie's son!). We closed the evening by picking up a bit, and gathering in her living room for a closing prayer and blessing.

It has been good to be here.