New Year's Eve-Haiti Style

Apparently the pinnacle of the holiday season in Haiti, or at least at Haiti Arise, is not Christmas, but New Year's Eve.  This is a time of celebration of the coming year and a time of giving thanks for God's blessings in the year past.  Though still exhausted from the flights down from Canada, we started Saturday evening with a community feast put on by the ministry for every one of the few hundreds who made it by.   Spicey cabbage slaw and a beet, potato and carrot salad highlighted an expansive fare also including fried chicken, other salads, the inevitable brown rice and roasted goat.  Food was great, served up by the friendly kitchen staff and a load of helpers.  It truly was a remarkable feast, with 3' mounds of food piled high in huge basins and everything, as always, prepared over charcoal fires outside. 

At 8:00 pm after dinner we slowly wandered down to the new "temporary" church structure located on-site for the start of what would turn out to be a 6 hour praise, worship, singing and celebration fest for the 500 or so present. 

One thing I've learned over three trips here, and that's that the Haitians sure know how to worship, dance and generally have a good time.   Led by a mixed band of drums, guitars, piano, flute, choirs and voices, we danced and shouted and waved and sang our way well into the night, culminating temporarily just at midnight to welcome the New Year.  


 

It is both inspiring, and tiring to join in the celebrations of dance and song, a continuous movement in the dimly light room of joyful song and a happy community.  The reveries were punctuated with two choirs, one from the neighbouring Petit Goave down the road, the other a children's girl's choir matching song, steps and prayerful hands.  Hard to imagine but just next to the dance, young children lay sleeping next to mom's to be awakened for the midnight hour but otherwise resting even in the noise.  

A special friend from Canada, Pastor Ed Allen of Leduc, AB also shared, encouraging the Haitians with a message of faith, that God could seed and would use them in a bountiful harvest here, and that the time is ripe.

One of the highlights for me took place after midnight, when over $4000 in Christmas catalogue donations, plus additional staff gifts from HAM were brought to the front then distributed throughout the community.  This was the culmination of a program instituted several months ago by Lisa Honorat to add a Christmas Gift Catalogue onto the Haiti Arise website (www.haitiarise.org). 


It was quite the sight as 2 tables were brought forward and gradually piled high.  Purchased catalogue gifts focused on both emergent needs, like food packs, school supplies and infant packs, as well as longer-term developmental gifts like tools, trees, sports equipment, bikes and a complement of young goats, chickens and even a pig!  You can probably imagine the excitement and delight when  Christoph (the gardener) and helpers emerged from the dark of night carrying a handful of live chickens or several goats.  I think the goats were surprised too, because they kept up a chorus of child-like kid-cries for the rest of the evening!


 I had helped work on getting the catalogue up and running in the Fall, so it was especially gratifying to see what a team of dedicated people, plus generous donors could accomplish in such a short time.  In addition, the wonderful smiles on the recipients' faces.  Many thank you's to all who participated, not only in this endeavor, but in anyone, anywhere.... I'm sure you've touched many hearts and have the satisfaction of knowing someone, someplace is just a bit happier and better off than they were a few days ago.  You can make a difference!  


 Well I must admit, neither Cathy or I made it to the end.  Facing exhaustion and issues of acclimatization to the heat and humidity, not mentioning several hours of dancing ourselves, Cathy called it quits just after midnight, and I at 1:30am when they brought out tea and buns as a refreshment and burst of energy to push through to the end.


This certainly was an exciting New Years Eve celebration and one we can truly give thanks in as well.  We have been richly blessed over the past year by numerous friends and family, you guys and we appreciate your love and support.


In the coming year we look forward to an expanding family and more exciting and interesting times.  Both Cathy and I wish you and yours a Happy and prosperous New Year and upcoming 2012!


Chris & Cathy
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