Elvis Was Right

VIVA LAS VEGAS! VIVA LAS VEGAS! VIVAAAA, VIVAAH LAS VEGAAAAAS!!!!

I can't tell you how good free money feels in your pocket. The most fun in Vegas for me isn't the shows, the buffets or even winning at the tables. It's the first twenty feet outside of a casino when I've won money. Because to me, you really haven't won until you've left. Inside the casino you're still fair game to the bright lights and big bets. But outside you're free, the only things beckoning you here are hawkers for hookers and strip clubs, which are easily avoided.

Initially I went to Las Vegas for my friend Aida's, 21st birthday. Interestingly enough, I never did catch up with her, but I did get a chance to hang out with an old friend of mine from high school. He makes a living playing poker, and since poker players pretty much choose their own schedule, he was able to hang out with me the entire weekend. He taught me the error of my roulette ways and showed me the wonderful world of craps. It wasn't long before I was betting the inside, six the "hard way" and backing up my pass line bet. I was hooked instantly, and the extra $300 in my pocket after that first night didn't hurt either!

Each day throughout the weekend played out the same: breakfast at 8:00 with mom and dad, free buffet at noon, craps with Sean till the next morning and back in bed around 3:00 AM. All in all, I think I ended $400 up while also earning my dad another $100 and a funny story that ends with me buying a Band-Aid from O'Shea's Casino for $100. It was a great start for stop #1 on my world tour.

All Skiied Out

My former roommates would scoff at the title of this one! But it's true. The next time I knock the snow of my boots and 'click in' may be three seasons from now. Funny thing, the opening day of Deer Valley is my last day of the season. It was a good farewell though. I went to Brighton after they received 11 inches and Deer Valley got at least that much the next day. My quads are tight and my knees are talking to me, it was a good season.

My time here is short. I leave the mainland in 10 days, 15 hours, 47 minutes and 33 seconds... 32 seconds... 31 se- okay but who's really counting right? My parents and I are going to Vegas next week. I'm going to try to fund a month on the French Riviera at the roulette table, my dad will be feeding slot machines while my mom stands off to the side saying, "Okay that's enough, wasn't that fun. You don't need to spend anymore." We will though. We'll play until we win, and if we don't win we'll think of how to get it back. That's Vegas though right?

My backpack came last week. I sold my Lowe Alpine I'd taken to Central America, Barbados and camping in Wyoming. I wanted something smaller, something that was carry-on legal. What I got was just that... SMALL! I'm not disappointed at all though. I knew that I'd pack a large backpack until it was full, whether I needed all the stuff or not. So this will be a new challenge. I anticipate being really good at hand washing clothes by the end of the trip! I'm also planning on buying and giving away clothes as I go. It'll be nice to support the local economy and maybe I'll blend in more if I'm wearing local garb. Blending in is fun. I like to blend.

So that's that. Just a few days left before go-time. Good things.

Plantains and Prayers (Haiti part II)

Big fish, little fish, plantains, avocado, bananas, brooms and toothpaste... huh? That's what strolls past the balcony in the mornings on the road below. Women balance boxes and bowls full of anything you might need. Donkeys stroll by two by two, laden with burlap bags full of charcoal on their backs. Sailboats glide by at the end of the road where it opens into the deep blue Caribbean.

For the most part, days have been very easy-going. I wake up early when it's too hot to sleep and we all wait for breakfast to come up from the kitchen below. Usually bread, rice and eggs. I follow Daniel's lead and mix in avocado with mine. After breakfast it's a slow transition into devotions and the rest of the day. We spent some time picking up trash on the street around the orphanage. Once it's piled up ready to be burned, neighbors brought their trash there as well instead of discarding it on the street. Daniel and Nick went out early to work and within a couple of hours three local boys were helping them as well. That was really encouraging to watch, every time I looked up from my journal another boy was dumping the wheelbarrow or donning gloves and picking up trash.

The afternoons have been spent praying with members of the community. I found it encouraging that everyone we prayed for said something about their spiritual condition-either help in resisting temptation or growing closer to God. It wasn't only prayers to heal the sick, feed the children and do well in school. I found that very encouraging.

The kids are great. Rocheny walks around with a quiet happiness and Andrew shuffles with his shoulders back and his tummy sticking out, sucking on his bottom lip. Sabrina entertains herself pretty well, she gets into everything and goes from person to person at dinner time trying to mooch a little off of everyone. She's hilarious when she gets in trouble. She pokes her lip out and huffs and puffs. Wally is always loud and smiling. He's the one dancing in front of everyone while they're watching a movie competing for their attention. Anabelle is always on someone's lap and when she's not, she's whimpering or standing there with an expression like she's scared to death. The other baby is Rose. She came to the orphanage near death and a month later looked like a happy, healthy baby. Her mom had died and her father would leave her alone on the bed at home with a few crackers... and she was under a year old! There's no doubt that coming to the orphanage has saved her life.

Soulange is the matriarch of the orphanage. She's fifty years old but could pass for much younger although she has earned some gray hairs. She lives a couple blocks away and wants to move the orphanage to her home so they wouldn't have to pay rent. It would also be nice since many times Soulange leaves the orphanage at 12:30am and is back at 3:00am to work all day. Her heart stays with those kids-she gives her entire paycheck back to the orphanage. She's a strong woman, she stands out when she walks down the street. I bet she was a knockout when she was younger.

Mellowsine is another girl who works at the orphanage. She's pretty and has perfect teeth, making for a very pretty smile. I liked her because she helped me with learning Creole. I would ask how she was in Creole and she would continue the dialogue when most people would laugh at my silly attempts to speak their language. Gepson (Soulange's son) has been coming over every evening to play the guitar and lead songs before our devotions at night. When he doesn't have a guitar or basketball in his hand he's usually holding Annabelle. He was very fun to hang out with.

Under Lashbrook Ministries there is the orphanage, boys home and school. I believe it's the only free school in Haiti and at recent competency tests, its students scored the highest out of every school in the country. We visited the school to pray over the students, the teachers and the building itself. Girls with red ribbons and bows in their hair sit next to boys wearing red and white checkered shirts. They watched us with curious eyes as we walked by their classrooms.

There are 24 boys at the boys home. Once they outgrow the orphanage they move down the street near the church. On Friday we cooked a big spaghetti dinner for them and bought them each a soda. After dinner we talked them about what was going on in their lives and at school. Then we had prayer for them as well.

There is a strong U.N. presence in the cities and along the coastline. I kept wondering why they were there and what they did. I got my answer as soon as I arrived home. Tropical storm Noel had flooded Port-a-Prince and other parts of Haiti under eight feet of water. According to news reports, U.N. troops rescued 8,000 from the floods. At first I felt bad for leaving, I wanted to stay for the storm so I could help out. Then I questioned myself. What made me think I could help and not be just another person trapped in the floodwater that needed saving? Fortunately, Port-a-Paix is protected from tropical storms and hurricanes by the mountains to the south and the island of Tortuga to the north.

Haiti is a beautiful country with wonderful people. But it could be so much more. Government oppression, greed and corruption keep the vast majority of foreign aid that comes into the country. Women are treated poorly and usually kept from obtaining an education to stay at home and do chores. Christian churches are only recently standing up and opposing voodoo practices in the country. It's people like Pastor Andy, Soulange and others who work at the orphanage who give me hope for current and future generations. Thank God for them.

Thanks to Nick Edens for taking pictures: http://nickedens.aminus3.com/

Getting There (Haiti Part I)

The drive to Salt Lake City brought back a lot of memories. I thought of high school snowboarding trips and the time my two best friends and I slept in a truck in a Park City church parking lot waiting for the shopping outlet to open. I arrived at the airport and paid the fee for two overweight bags. In Dallas, I met a couple from Virginia. The husband's name was Bruce, he noticed me praying before I ate and came to ask me about it. We exchanged a few sentences of small talk before he left the food court area and came back with a book about prayer. It's a small book, one you would probably overlook if you were looking for one on the subject. I took it appreciatively but thought it was probably going to read like some of E. M. Bounds' books. C'mon, how relative could a book, which was written in the thirties by a Norwegian prisoner be? What I found in just the first chapter changed my mind. I have yet to discover a more transparent and honest author:

"Now and then you must ask yourself the question, 'Do I really desire to be set free from the lukewarmness of my heart and my worldly life? Is not my Christian life always lukewarm and half-hearted for the simple reason that deep down in my heart I desire it that way?'"
Prayer O. Hallesby

I thought, 'Wow, thanks Bruce.' I found myself underlining nearly every-other paragraph as I read further.

I met up with the rest of the crew there in Dallas. Nick, Ashley and our leader Nicole. I had told Nicole before how nice it was going to be as a member of the group as opposed to the leader. I was still recovering from Africa. We continued on to Ft. Lauderdale and stayed the night in the terminal. I think I'm the only one who got any sleep that night. Which was surprising considering the oddly shaped, vinyl couches we slept on, the air conditioning on full blast, my backpack being tied to my belt loop with my shoelace (in case someone decided to walk off with it) and the service announcements which blared through the terminal every eleven minutes.

As we flew into Port-a-Prince the next day I think I was less interested in my own impression of Haiti and more interested in Ashley's reaction as it was her first time out of the country. It's funny how quickly you forget things that are altogether foreign to the American yet universally similar in third world countries. The same short-haired dogs roam around quietly, their ears open and bloody, their ribs and hip bones clearly visible. Trash covers the ground, bars are on the windows and it's just as commonplace to see a man carrying an AK-47 as it is a briefcase.

Transportation had been arranged to take us to another airport where we would catch a flight to Port-a-Paix on the north coast. We waited for several hours before we were issued our boarding passes, laminated cards with the numbers 1-15 written on them. One number for each passenger. I was surprised to see the number of missionary groups that came through the airport. One group was on their way to the island of Gonave to host a medical clinic. Other's were visiting orphanages in the north or working with schools. I met a writer for Lonely Planet who said the majority of travelers to Haiti come on business or missions trips. Considering Haiti's reputation I'm sure it will stay that way for years to come.

When it was our time to board, we gave our boarding passes to the agent at the door and walked out on the runway to our plane. Haiti is home to the highest mountains in the Caribbean, and we had a wonderful view as we flew directly over them. The country is green and small houses congregate in river valleys next to fields of manioc and sugarcane. Nearly all of Haiti's tropical rainforest has been cut down. Now green fields of grass and shrubs remain where tall teak and mahogany trees must have stood several years ago. Rivers carry silt into the ocean where a dull brown cuts through the brilliant blue sea.

I don't remember falling asleep on that flight, just the bumps as we landed. It wasn't a rough landing, just bumpy like we were on a dirt runway. In fact we were on a dirt runway. We taxied to a gate which led to a small building with people waiting for us. We had arrived.

Going to Haiti

Happy Halloween! I'm excited to be going to Haiti this week. I think not only will it be a great trip for everyone involved, but also a good test to see how well I do in a non Spanish-speaking country. I was given a list of supplies to bring so I made a time-lapse video of me packing everything. Basically it was just an excuse to use my new camera. Hope you like it.

I'll give you an update on the trip when I get back at the end of the month.