Haiti G.O. Team 2016 Day 3

We attended church this morning at the Baptist church at the bottom of the -very- long, steep hill, just outside the gate to the campus.  Brave souls walked, some of us rode down.  The service was at 8:30, and people were milling about, having just gotten out of Sunday School.  A familiar song was being piped out of the church into the portico.  The church building is large, with several levels.  The acoustics were very good, and the acapella singing of the congregation was A-MAZ-ING!  What a tear-inducing blessing.  They sang several hymns we knew, so we sang along in English.

After church, we changed clothes and headed up into the hills high above Port au Prince.  We had to drive through an area where the streets are lined on both sides with merchants, selling primarily food items.  This includes chopped up chicken parts, lying out in the open air.  Flies are on everyone and everything.

There is an impressive sight here - women walking very erect, in a smooth fashion, with items on their heads. We've seen large boxes, large round baskets, piles of something (rectangular), and most impressive of all, a wide squat basketful of live chickens.  It looked like she had a nest on her head!

As we climbed higher and higher, the layers of poverty fell away, though every view of the hillside revealed the slums that are now rising above Port-au-Prince.  The hospital, professionals, Non-Government Organization offices, and the American style grocery store are all located in Petion Ville.  The homes are large, even by our standards, but you can't see them, because there are walls protecting every property, and gates of steel that are locked up tight.  Atop the walls are coils of razorwire, or broken glass bottles embedded in the concrete.  Thats how the rich live here.

We ate lunch at a nice restaurant where Mason even let us order drinks with ice in them!  After lunch, we bartered with the artisan merchants camped just outside the restaurant, and acquired some Haitian treasures. :-)  Tonight, we are having a Superbowl party, so au revoir!