Spring Break …

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Well we just finished our first week back after Spring Break, and boy was it an interesting week.  However, the truly interesting part of this week really starts during the last little bit of Spring Break, and so we have a lot of stuff to share for this post.  We were hoping to be able to write out a couple of posts during Spring Break, but it never really worked out, because we were still figuring out of all of the kinks with our new blog and its design.  We truly love the new look and the new flexibility and functionality of our our new blog, but posting part of it needed to be pressed out.  So here is our attempt to catch everyone up on the Jones’ …The first story that I (Kyle) must share is actually happened right before Spring Break in one of my Bible College Classes.  In my OT Writings class I teach the Juniors, and we were having a very engaging discussion about marriage and sexuality as mentioned in the book of Proverbs.  Well one rabbit-trail led to another, and before we knew it we were discussing the AIDS problem in Haiti, and specifically within the city of Port-de-Paix.  Some friends of ours from Port-au-Prince had told us that the rate of AIDS in Haiti is the highest in our city – some one and ten people have AIDS.  I was completely unaware of how high the percentage was, and so I shared it with my students to see if this met their experience.  One of my students, Simon Michelet, is a pharmacist who has his own pharmacy as well as works for the local hospital; in fact, he functions somewhat as the head pharmacist for our city and our region.  When I gave these statistics that I had heard he thought that they sounded a little high, but was not completely surprised, but this led him to share something with me that my mind is still having trouble comprehending.  You see in our city there are several different AIDS organizations, who offer help and assistance to AIDS victims and their families; they offer money for medical bills, food, housing, and even a job in a lot of cases.  On the surface this seems like a great thing; however with 70% unemployment, rising food prices, and more and more people becoming desperate, this has turned into a terrible problem.  Essentially what has been happening (my students tell me) is that lots of people are trying to get AIDS, so that these organizations will accept them, give them jobs, and allow them the money they need to buy food and provide for their families.  As I talked about this problem with a local doctor this week, he confirms this as being true, and said that when people come to the hospital to get tested for AIDS, if the test is negative they get very upset (some not all, of course).  This blew my mind and frankly it still does.  People here are so desperate for the basic necessities of life that they are willing to give themselves one of the most deadly diseases known to man for the temporary relief it may provide.  Suddenly, the world I live in seems even more strange to me, and the patterns of thinking here astound, and at time overwhelm me.  And yet that is why we are here – to change the patterns of thinking through education, and teach people that hope lies in the gospel and not relief organizations.

One of the most enjoyable things that we did during the first couple days of Spring Break was to go the “Hotel Rendez-vous” restaurant with one of our High School students.  Laurie, a Freshman at Sonlight, and her family own this hotel, its restaurant, and several different clothing stores around the city.  She would definitely be considered one of our more affluent students, and yet she is also one of the sweetest students with the strongest character.  A couple weeks prior, Lorraine and Laurie went downtown together to check out the open market and purchase some much needed food supplies for our family, and Lorraine and Laurie had a wonderful time together.  At this point, we decided that we should try to spend more time with her and try to meet her family.  The view at the Rendez-vous is truly amazing, because it literally sits on the beach with the water coming up to its edge.  We were fortunate enough to be able to sit in the one private table that is outside directly overlooking the beautiful Caribbean ocean.  The food at the Rendez-vous was also quite delicious.  Neither of these previous reasons were why we went, though, because our mission was to further our relationship with Laurie and her family.  During our conversation, we learned lots of interesting things: 1) most of Laurie’s family lives in the US, 2) we learned of her desire to live in the US as well, and 3) we learned lots of interesting things about the personal lives of a lot of our students.  I have to admit a lot of what she told us about our other students wasn’t exactly surprising, but it was still a little hard to accept.  Now, it wasn’t that bad, but it did give us a glimpse into why what we are doing is so important.  Giving these kids an opportunity to succeed is something extremely valuable and honorable, but shaping these kids around biblical principles is transforming; and if Haiti is going to be transformed someday, it is going to have to start with its youth.  As we finished eating and having a lovely conversation, Laurie’s family would not let us pay for anything we ate, and wouldn’t let us go home without a ride.  Their kindness and generosity were overwhelming and we left there that day with much joy and purpose.

I will post a second part to this post within the next few days that deal with the last parts of Spring Break and my crazy hospital experiences.  Cheers!