2017 Knights for Haiti : Eleven Days Left!

HOLY COW! How time flies!!! We have to be ready to leave in eleven days!!!

Orientation sessions are starting, so we know what to expect in Haiti. A better understanding of the history will set some context to help us understand what we are seeing. And, of course, understanding the culture is important to be good guests. I hope the classes will be interesting (in a nerdy/teacher sort of way). Haiti has a pretty interesting story! There is so much to talk about!

I am also really excited to get down to Haiti so that the kids can see the things we are talking about!! We will actually get to walk through the village to deliver the goats that the students are raising money for; they will meet the families whose lives will change through the goats project; we will get to sit in their homes and see their blankets-for-roofs, and know that we did something so that next time we come down, maybe the blanket will be gone, replaced with sheet-metal for a roof; we will play with and hold all of the orphans, who will crowd around just wanting to be loved and held, and we can know that the clothes we gathered will clothe them and the money we raised will help feed them; we will meet the kids, skinny and shoe-less, in the villages, who will group around and hope that they are close enough to hold our hands when we start walking, and we will know that money we raised will help provide those children with clean drinking water, or allow them the chance to go to school...

That feeling is, honestly, something that can’t be described, and can’t be imagined. You have to experience it to know it. And it is the reason that I make student trips… because I want them to be able to have that experience and to understand how wonderful it is just to be in true solidarity with others through their service to them. I really look forward to seeing our Luers students have these experiences. They are life-changing!

And … that will be soon! We will be heading down there before you know it! Your first trip to Haiti is a life-changing experience, and each return leaves a deeper and deeper impression. As I prepare for each return trip, the memories of Haiti grow stronger as each departure date nears.

Today, my memories are almost visceral; I can smell the heat already, and feel a warm dusty little arm laying damply along the back of my neck. There is imagery that Haiti imprints on you forever – and those are two of them for me.

I have an overwhelming visual image from the last time I was there were down there with students. The memory is crystal-clear, like looking at a snapshot, except, I can look-around in my mind's eye. I can see it so clearly, that it is like I am standing right there:

It was late morning, and we were helping with a day-camp for homeless kids from the village. In Haiti, I am perpetually making sure I can see all of the students that I am responsible for. I perpetually count, and re-count, kids. So...my moment it was during one of those scans to locate the Luers kids. -- I had stepped into the shade so I could see better. There was a concrete floor, and I remember that, because shaded concrete creates a “cool” feel in Haiti. Just standing on it alters the “feel” of the ambient air. -- As I looked around, I saw there was a crew of my kids out in the hot son, playing soccer with a huge group of Haitian boys. It must have been about 20-a-side! Then, there were two of my boys sitting in the shade, playing a make-shift card game with a few little boys using some picture flashcards we had brought down. -- They must have been doing card-tricks or something, because every so often a boy would put his finger on a card, and the whole group would just break into laughter. -- There were some girls sitting on benches in the open-walled church taking advantage of the shade and, each girl had two or three little-little girls on her lap, and more draped over her shoulders, and leaning on her knees. There were big girls behind each of my seated girls, braiding their hair in a very authoritative way. Everyone was smiling or laughing... and just very “in the moment.” Each person was fully committed and giving their complete attention to the relationships of that moment.

You know, those are the moments that lead me to be a high-school teacher, and they are the reason I do these trips. That moment is as clear in my mind’s eye, as if I were still standing right there. Memory is interesting, though, because it is just crystal clear, but I have no soundtrack that plays with it. I can’t hear the sounds of what was going on. But I can “feel” the shaded concrete, and see all of those kids, giving their entire selves to Haiti at that moment. I am looking forward to more of these moments with this year's group of students over the next few weeks, too.

We have a lot still to do to get ready; we are still fundraising and looking for sponsors to help with some of the projects we hope to do; we are gathering up items that are needed on the ground in Haiti, that we will pack to take down with us. (Please contact us, if you are interested in helping with any of those things... you can find sponsorship information here and a list of items that we are collecting here. If you want more information about our trip, please visit our our webpage: http://bubbblhs.weebly.com/knights-for-haiti1.html or contact me at Luers: cbubb@bishopluers.org We would love to share what we are doing in Haiti with you! And we welcome anyone who wants to partner with us to Help in Haiti!).

The last eleven days are going to fly by, so we are doing working hard to do as much as we can, and... then, off we will go… We will be landing in Haiti before you know it! You can follow our trip at this blog!

I am attaching a few pictures from Haiti that I was sent today! The students participating in this Service-Learning trip will be seeing some of these things themselves, in no time at all!

See you soon!