The Long and Winding Road

A bit of a tight squeeze in the back of the taptap

This past Friday at 6:00 am we left our home in rural Savanette, Haiti for the long journey to Port au Prince and back again.  There had been items added to the list of  needed supplies which are not available in our area, so off we went.  We saw many sights and experienced a lot of Haitian culture throughout the course of the day.   With the confining nature of our transportation and out of respect to those around us, we have to ask you as the reader to use your imagination to visualize much of what we can describe from the day.   In other words, it wasn’t appropriate to take a bunch of pictures! 

We started out “a pye”, by feet, for 2 reasons.  First it rained 2 evenings in a row so, of course, the road was muddy.  The second reason relates to the first…Because the road is in such poor condition there have been a group of young men actively protesting on the road trying to get the attention of the government to come and FIX the road.  The way this is usually done here is….they ‘CUT’ the road.  Across the entire width of the road, somehow the group of guys had dug a trench about 3 ½ feet wide and 3 ½ feet deep so no vehicles could pass.  Pedestrians and donkeys were allowed to cross which required quite a JUMP across the new ravine which was filled with water from the rain.  On the other side of the cut we could take a taxi moto to Pignon which was also a challenge…we had to get off and walk through the worst of the mud.  This muddy sandal shot, times 5, would almost give an idea of the mud we ‘wallowed’ in. 

Once in Pignon, a 16 passenger taptap van was the next mode of transportation.  The driver kindly took our shoes and washed off what we couldn’t ‘stomp’ off.  At 7:15 am we started on the way to Port au Prince without a full load so we figured we would be stopping intermittently to pick up more passengers.  Our first stop was Hinche at 8:30.  We pulled to the side of the street in town to pick up a couple passengers.  Within view through the van window we noticed a sight!...There was a styrofoam food container laying open on the ground with something in it…and it wasn’t food…       UH, OH!  Well, we will just say that gives new meaning to the concept of a ‘port­-a-potty’.  Very portable.   

As we waited for passengers we were visited by the Police who pulled up on a motorcycle.  There was quite the ‘conversation’ taking place and as we learned, we were stopped in a ‘bad spot’ so the policeman got out his ticket book.  A friend explained to us that since the van was stopped in a bad spot the driver needed to make a ‘contribution’.  That is a new way of looking at it!

Our next stop was for gas at a gas station… with a pump.  We have grown accustomed to the method of getting gas out of a reusable plastic gallon jug poured into the tank using a plastic bottle cut in half as a funnel.  This stop also brought new meaning to the term ‘convenience store’ as the food vendors came right to the van... crowded around hoping to sell some cold bottled drinks, sandwiches, and other food items.  Pretty convenient to say the least.

The road was getting steeper as we zigzagged back and forth along the curvy, mountainous road called National Route 3.  As this is the major road that runs north and south, we like to make the comparison to US Interstate 35!  Here at least the road is paved.  However, still present are many road hazards like a small portable cement mixer positioned right in the middle of the opposite lane with piles of rock staggered along the way. 

Had to sneak this picture.  You have to look carefully to identify what is being transported on this small taptap.

The next sight was the load of a huge cargo truck spilled all across the opposite lane… PILES of avocados!  It is avocado season.  Any vehicle no matter how big or small is always loaded to it’s fullest potential.  Picture a small, beat up pickup with huge bags tied all around the outside of the pickup bed, 6 wheel barrows, 3 deep tied onto the back tailgate, boxes stacked 3 high on the roof of the cab, the pickup bed packed to overflowing and then add 25 people to that. AND some more items of cargo stuck between the grill and the brush bars on the front. 

Plastic 55 gallon barrels.  The other day outside of Pignon we saw a motorcycle with 4 of these tied on behind the driver.

Carving out the side of the mountain.  They are 'harvesting' limestone probably for road construction

There was a structure that disrupted the mountainous landscape.  Get this, an Olympic Training Center is nearly complete.  What do you think of that?

We arrived in Port au Prince just before 11:30 am.  We found a taptap to rent to get us around the city and to carry the items on the list to be purchased.  For us, this seems to be the dirtiest, noisiest place on earth.  People shouting, black exhaust coughing out of truck tailpipes, garbage in heaps here, there, and everywhere.  Traffic is the unruliest, there seem to be no boundaries, horns honking, motorcycles weaving in an out, giant trucks and gaudy taptaps filled to the brim with people.  Undefined lanes of traffic, everyone trying to get there before the guy in front.  BUT then, in contrast, we came to an area with a nice boulevard where women were sweeping the street and sidewalk with Haitian brooms… still, however, in the midst of the noisiest web of traffic on earth.  Hard to figure.  No rules of the road except the biggest and loudest has the rite of passage.

Wanna shop for some clothes?

The turquoise ocean water is within view, should be a tropical paradise.

The afternoon sped by too fast; time to load up for the van ride back ‘home’ to Savanette, or so we thought.  We left Port au Prince at 5:15 pm.  This time the van is more than at full capacity.  16 passenger vehicle now loaded with 21 people.  Like one giant sardine can with 2 odd sardines.  Our driver had some bad habits.  He would push on the gas and then press on the brake, push the gas, press the brake.  Have you ever been on an amusement park ride called the ‘Tilt-a-whirl’?  Similar sensation in the van.  On it went, we wound our way out of the mountains, sped across the last miles of smooth road, and then bumped and swerved over and around the rocks and rain washed dirt roads until…we would guess about 6 miles or so from home….the van and 21 people with luggage tied to the top…STUCK in the mud going up a steep hill.  It’s 9:15 pm in the rural central plateau of Haiti and the night is blacker than black.

This is a picture of the view where we got stuck in the mud  :)

There we sat, wondering, ‘now what?’ A couple of the Haitian men made the move to get out of the van.  We wondered if an attempt to get us unstuck was the reason.  Soon we decided, ‘not happening.’  One man with a duffle bag over his shoulder and the tiny light from his cell phone appeared to be setting out ‘a pye’, by feet.  We figured that’s how we started the day, we might as well end the day that way as well.  No moon tonight, no stars, just blackness.  The beam of our small headlamp flashlight seemed more powerful than we had remembered.  Thank you Coleman Summer Tent Sale in Okoboji, IA! 

We took careful steps to avoid the slimy, slippery parts of the road.  We caught up to the man that was ahead of us and walked together.  We learned from our new found Haitian friend that he works in Port during the week and comes home to his family in Pignon on the weekend.  We could exchange ‘piti piti’ Creole and ‘a little bit’ of English and had an enjoyable conversation, listening to several “krapo”, frogs, that must have been having a party in the puddles. We heard drums off in the distance but took comfort that the sound was behind us not ahead of us.  Finally we were able to reach a friend from Pignon by phone who graciously agreed to come pick us up.  After the moto headlight came piercing through the wall of black, we asked if our travel partner could get a ride to Pignon first.  We kept making our way north, step by step getting closer to home.  It was evident that we would not get all the way to Savanette so we called to make arrangements to stay in the Mission House in Pignon. 

We arrived at our overnight lodging in Pignon about 10:45 PM.  Now our sandals are the above picture TIMES 10!  Tired, dirty, kind a hungry…but thankful for running water, a bathroom, a pillow, even a mosquito net.  Laying in bed, we were still moving from the long day on the long and winding road to Port and back.  Earlier in the week the analogy had come up of constantly feeling sticky from the heat, like one big post-it note.  Tonight it doesn’t even matter.  Today we experienced a long and winding day on a long and winding road.

The Beatles song, The Long and Winding Road, ends with the lyrics:  Don’t leave me waiting here, lead me to your door.  That line makes us think of how our days may sometimes seem long as we wait for Jesus to return to lead us to the door of Heaven.

Those long days may test our patience, but what is our model for patience?  Look at 2 Peter 3:8-9

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:  With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 

We all experience long, trying, challenging days. Our paths may seem rocky and muddy, long and winding.  We may get stuck in a rut with our patience tested.  But look at the patience God has for us.  He is patient even with those who mock him in unbelief because he doesn’t want anyone to perish.  He desires everyone to come to repentance.

We often pray for Gods will be done and for Him to show us our role in His perfect will.  If it is God’s will that He wants no one to perish, then what are we doing to take part in that?  He provided the way, through His grace, by faith in Jesus. Consider how you may be used to help spread that Good News!

Thank you for having the patience to get through this story describing a day in Haiti.  We ask for prayers for patience and perseverance for the people who endure much more hardship than this on a daily basis.  

Love in Christ,  Craig and Christi

Here is a quick story relating to this verse...

You may have heard about the little boy who said to the Lord, "Is it true that a hundred years is just like a second to You?"  And God said, "Yes, a hundred years is just like a second."  And the boy said, "Is it also true that a hundred thousand dollars is just like a dollar to you?"  And God replied, "Yes, a hundred thousand dollars is just like a dollar."  So the boy said, " Well, can I have one of your dollars?"  The Lord replied, "Sure, just wait a second."