useful vocabulary for evening encounters

Une crabe araignee (French) = a tarantula (creature preferring to come out at night and hang out on the lawn right by the house, preventing Sisters trying to mind their own business from taking carefree evening strolls. See photo - a poor one, but I was uninclined to return for another try.)

mechant(e) (French) = mean, nasty, disagreeable, dangerous (useful for describing the above)

une petite bete douce (French)= what Willy called that big nasty spider that wasn't quite the size of the palm of my hand and that was hanging out in my room - because, after all, it wasn't a tarantula

kapon (Haitian Creole) = scaredy-cat

chasing a hummingbird

There are hummingbirds near the place where we do our laundry. They come for the pink and red flowers there, and then they go sit on a nearby tree branch to rest for a while. From a distance they look black, but when you see them up close, they've got a beautiful, shiny green to their wings as well. I've taken to sitting outside with my books in the shade over there and to bringing my camera along. I'm still hoping for a good close-up photo, but at least now I've gotten one from slightly farther away. Still hoping!

Just like Boston, and then some...

Port-au-Prince afternoon traffic jams... a little taste of home?

(-:

Corpus Christi in Fond Parisien

Fond Parisien is a town over near the border of the Dominican Republic. It's very different terrain than the town where I'm doing my field ed: instead of a lush, near tropical, agricultural area, it's mountainous, arid, and even hotter, with cactus instead of palm trees. It's difficult to make a living there, since very little grows in that climate, so the town is not well off. A lady who had come with us for the celebration explained that there is traffic going to the Dominican Republic, which helps, as well as some sugar cane, but she also pointed out telltale signs of malnutrition and poor health in one of the beautifully dressed choir children.

We went to Fond Parisien to celebrate Corpus Christi at the Mission Saint Sacrement. Going to support parishes on their patronal festival is important here, and I get the impression that inviting a guest preacher and celebrant is the thing to do no matter the size of the parish. Sr. Marie Margaret was invited to do the second reading.

There were four choirs crowded into the tiny church, along with the praise band, and we made a joyful noise to the Lord at great length. The peace/offertory time entailed a hymn, four choral pieces, and another hymn! There were quite a number of hymns and choral pieces at communion as well, but I can't tell you how many because I was outside having one of three coughing fits (of course they had seated us up front). A visiting seminarian, Marie Carmel, chanted the Prayers of the People beautifully. I reflected during some of the singing that the combination of solemn tone chant, clouds of incense, and a praise band playing at full volume seems to be standard as well. As the combination is atypical in the US, I have rather enjoyed seeing how it can work.

Just before the final dismissal and hymn came the announcements and thanks. Many, many thanks, with the naming of each individual group and guest. Most of us ended up being recognized by the end, if not all. And then the rector's wife gave a public health announcement explaining the way to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, which has not yet arrived in Haiti, but is just over the border in the Dominican Republic, if I understood correctly. Of course, having left the church coughing three times, I wanted either to crawl under my seat (don't bring your germs out to share!) or hold up a sign that said, "It's not the flu, I promise!" or "...but at least I used my hand sanitizer before passing the peace!"

Following the service, we all went up to the little apartment above the church, where there were piles of rice and beans, goat, and a variety of salads, which we devoured. Not a bite remained. Well - I say "we," but I dare not do salad here unless I am sure it is washed in treated water. Everyone else enjoyed it, though!

It was a good service, a good sermon (I understood a good part of it, anyway, and that part was good!), and a good reminder of community in the Body of Christ despite the miles that separate many of those who came.

Pastoral Visiting

One of the goals in my learning agreement involves learning about pastoral care in a rural setting. To that end and in order to introduce myself to the parish, I have spent four mornings doing housecalls. The first time, I went with Père Samuel, the parish priest and regional archdeacon, and a group of Lecteurs Laïques (lay leaders with responsibilities not unlike those of vocational deacons) as they brought communion to a number of sick or housebound parishioners following the regular 6AM Wednesday Eucharist. There was much singing of hymns during the visits. And can those lecteurs laïques pray! Wow. And everyone seems to have Psalm 23 memorized - but not the translation in the French BCP, of course! I will have to get moving on that myself now that I have the correct translation copied down. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am to have been made to memorize the Lord’s Prayer in French by Mme Simmons, the French teacher at Bishop Dwenger High School many moons ago.

At one point, Père Samuel stayed behind with one lady who had some spiritual concerns she wanted to discuss privately, while the rest of us called on others in the neighborhood. It was deemed incorrect to visit only the two members of primary concern when there were others nearby. As the houses are quite close together and doors are left open when anyone is home, everyone could see and hear us as we moved from house to house; no secrets here! We were joined at one point by several turkeys, who seemed not at all worried about being stepped on; the goats, pigs, and cows were on long tethers from which they could graze or dig, so they didn’t follow us, nor did the few dogs we saw.

The second day of visits, I went with a young woman home from her university studies for the summer and a second older woman, both parishioners; a teenaged boy followed along, but I was never quite certain if he was coming along for fun or was somehow officially attached to the group, though I had not been introduced to him as such. Though I didn’t always understand him, he was delightful. He was thrilled to have his picture taken, as was his friend when we ran into him later on; a group of children on the following day, who ran to get their friends and encircled the porch where we were visiting, had the same reaction, along with more children last week – I may have to do a “take a picture of me!” post later on. They pointed out a few places around town as we passed them, such as the plant for processing sugar cane, which is grown locally along with corn, peas, and quite a variety of fruit.

This time I was on my own linguistically, unlike the first time when Père Samuel had done some explaining as we trekked between neighborhoods. I did a lot of smiling and nodding, although I am getting to the point where I understand much more of what is going on. We had a long visit seated on the porch of one parishioner, the wife of one of the lecteurs laïques who is on my parish lay committee (those who will be giving me feedback and evaluating me). We also visited a number of other parishioners and had some time for them to ask me questions and for some conversation. I’ve learned how to say in good Haitian Creole, “If you speak very slowly, I can understand a lot.” That’s a generous estimate of my linguistic ability, but other than the woman who took “dousman” in the sense of “softly” rather than “slowly” (I think it can mean both), it worked pretty well. I played it by ear in terms of praying or not praying at the end of the visits, which Père Samuel later said was the thing to do.

The last two days of pastoral visiting I did with a young lecteur laïque who has completed an undergraduate theology degree and may or may not look towards ordination. The visits with him had a different sensibility. He was much more directive about introducing me, about moving right along, and about my need to pray for blessing on each family and house and situation. The first day we did thirteen homes in four hours on foot, plus a lift back by jeep on the far end of the trek. I was so grateful to have a new wide-brimmed straw hat and the heavy duty hiking Mary Janes with the air holes sent by my friend Kim – the black flats I wear at home with my habit would last a week here. The second morning we agreed to do fewer visits, and we took the jeep because of the heavy rains the night before. Mud and mud puddles everywhere, given the lack of drainage and pavement, so it was a bit more of a challenge to move about. Also, we went much further afield. I was astonished that people go to church on foot from such distances. Obviously, sometimes they can’t get there, but often enough they do. I wonder how many Americans would go to such lengths to make it to church.

During this last visit, we stopped by a preschool (maybe early primary grades, too?) run by a very devoted parishioner, a choir member. The children, all in little yellow uniforms, were stepping in time to music in the yard. I’d heard there were dance classes at this school, but I was not sure if this were part of it or if they were practicing for their end-of-the-year ceremony. They were wide-eyed at seeing me, but all stayed in place. Very disciplined for such small children, I must say! I was impressed. And the lady we were visiting was very welcoming as well. I prayed for all the children and for the school as well as for her, needless to say.

What I would like to do on future visits is get back to the longer discussions from earlier visits. I did have one good, long visit with the woman who heads up the ECW equivalent here, a younger woman with much energy and enthusiasm who seems to be a great planner, but by then I was a bit wiped out, as it was the second to last visit before lunch. I need to learn when it is a good time to stay, and what the signal is that it is time to go. As social signals vary from place to place so significantly (even within the US, for that matter), I am having to rely almost entirely on my guides. I wonder if I will learn to discern the situation more clearly myself by the end of my time here.

In any case, I am learning a lot through these visits. I have not begun to process some of the poverty I have seen in the course of them, but I have also seen a spirit of resilience and a can-do attitude. I wonder how Americans would do if they needed to live without indoor plumbing or electricity, as some of the parishioners do, though certainly not all. And it is interesting what is possible and what is not: cell phones are everywhere, but not electricity or potable water. Even the rectory seems to have electricity quite irregularly, and it is one of the nicer homes around. I saw a child scooping water from a ditch into a bucket and hoped it was for the field nearby, but I have seen quite a number of people doing laundry in creeks. I also remember being particularly struck by one house, a tiny wooden structure which had the most carefully swept dirt yard I have ever seen. In some homes, on the other hand, I saw televisions and yard lights, small gated courtyards (ubiquitous here around sturdier houses for the sake of security), tiled floors, and interesting iron grillework. At some point I will have to write about the varieties of architecture. Meanwhile, I intend to spend more time praying and reflecting on what it means to live simply versus what absolutely should not be.

Honey and Lime

Homemade cough and sore throat remedy, as made at the Couvent Ste Marguerite, Port-au-Prince:

Directions

1. Reach out through the grillework of the outer hall/porch by the kitchen. Pull lime tree branch close enough to you to pull off a lime. Don't prick your fingers! (Who knew lime trees had thorns?!)

2. Wash lime. Chop into pieces.

3. Boil for a few minutes in pan of water.

4. Pour into cup with lots of honey. Add ginger tea bag if desired.

5. Burn tongue. Strange how water tends to be hot when recently boiled, isn't it.

6. Thank Sr. Marie Therese for the instructions.

7. Feel better!

The Sisters’ 2008-2009 Wish List in Haiti, As Requested

Low fat powdered milk
Cereals (hot and cold)
Canned tuna and chicken breast
Cocoa
Detergent
Matches
Batteries (all sizes)
Personal care items (antiperspirant, powder, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.)
First Aid items of all kinds (including cough drops, Theraflu, etc. - any medical supplies, really)
Aspirin (81mg, 325mg), Tylenol (500mg)
Calcium (500mg)
Toilet paper, Kleenex
Office supplies
US stamps
Twin bed blankets
School supplies, school bags
Summer weight clothing (for children and adults – no babies’ sizes for now)
Shoes (dress and athletic), socks

There are two ways to get these items to Haiti.

Send them via Agape Flights in Florida (address below). The Sisters pay $2/pound to receive packages, so please include a check (US funds are fine) to cover costs of receiving them.

St. Margaret’s Convent
c/o Agape Flights
100 Airport Ave.
Venice, FL 34285-3901
011-509-222-2011

Send them to the convent in Boston, where Sr. Claire Marie will collect them. When she has enough to fill a barrel, she will ship the barrel to Haiti by sea. Checks made out to the Society of St. Margaret to help cover shipping are gratefully accepted: each barrel costs $140 to ship.

Sr. Claire Marie, SSM
St. Margaret’s Convent (for Haiti)
17 Highland Park Street
Boston, MA 02119
617-445-8961