Sad Endings and New Beginnings

At a young age, after attending the funerals of three different family members, I heard the saying that death comes in threes. Rarely do I think about that saying until I personally experience the fact, which has been a few times in my life. Such is the case now in Haiti. On the first Monday after I arrived, I was told that a young girl who lived a few houses down had passed away the day before. While walking with Lucner to OFCB, we saw Bernard standing in the road in front of his house. Lucner quickly told me that is was his sister that passed away. We stopped and spoke with him briefly. Bernard said his sister was seven years old and had been sick for many months. He added that his father was irresponsible and did not believe in doctors. He said his sister did not need to die. He was heartbroken. I gave him a hug and said I was sorry for their loss. Bernard expressed his gratitude and said he would visit with us later. Lucner and I went on our way. The ceremony was kept very quiet and low-keyed.
Last Monday, Lucner said that he and Saint Victor would not be around on Tuesday because one of the former pastors had died that day. He said he had been sick for about a year and Lucner was guessing that he was about 82 or 83 years old. I learned from Mislet that this pastor started the very first church in Bayonnais and was instrumental in bringing hundreds of Haitians to Christ. He also inspired several people to become pastors and start their own ministries. Several hundred people attended the funeral in Gonaives, including the president of Haiti.
This past Friday after I returned from OFCB, I was told that the Aunt of Julius, our Watchman, was about to pass away. Her health was failing. From around 4:00 p.m. until nightfall, we could see a crowd gathering around the house. It was about 8:00 p.m. when we heard the loudest roar of people screaming and crying. She had taken her last breath. The screaming and crying went on for hours. They chanted, they prayed, then screamed and cried some more. There were many people going to the house from both directions. Some of the visitors came over to get several of the benches from our church because the crowd was growing as the news spread. Things finally calmed down around midnight and I was relieved. We could all finally get some sleep. NOT SO! Two hours later, the chanting and praying started up again and bongo drums were accompanying them. It went on and on and I finally passed out around 4:30. I was awakened at 6:00 when I heard the kids on the porch. Lucner, St. Victor, Julius and the rest of the staff prepared for a morning service and then attended the funeral. I met the son of the woman who died, later in the afternoon. His name is Ritho Aceus. He spoke English fairly well and insisted on only speaking English. He said that his mother had been sick for about five or six months. They were not sure what was wrong with her. She was 51 years old. He is twenty-one years old and going to college in Gonaives. He also has a little sister, Marie-Ange, that is eighteen years old. Ritho said they were now both orphans.
On a different note, it was around 8:30 this morning (Saturday – May 5) when I was standing on the porch looking at the mountains. My kids were also on the porch and started to get very excited. They jumped off the porch and ran to the fence to look down the street. I turned to look and saw an entire wedding party coming up the road. The bride was in a lovely wedding gown and she was holding her bouquet, which was wrapped in plastic. The groom was wearing an oversized suit jacket with pants that did not match. Behind them were the bridesmaids dressed in several shades of orange and the groomsmen wearing different varieties of suits. There were also some friends, family, and children walking with them. They were just walking very quickly up the center of the street. Just then, Lucner came out of the church and said, “Things are very different in Haiti.” He explained that they had just gotten married in the mountains, then they went to church in the valley, and now they were heading back to the house in the mountains, to celebrate. No car, no horses, just walking along. Everyone looked very happy...except for the bride. THAT was different! She actually had a very stern scowl on her face. I could only guess that she was unhappy about having to walk in the new high-heeled shoes. I could only hope that was the reason. One of our visitors said it was nice to see a blessing on such a sad day. I half agreed.
Speaking of weddings, our church will have its first wedding ceremony next Saturday for a young couple who are members of the church. Saint-Victor made the announcement during the service last Sunday. I was a little surprised when he said, “If anyone knows of any reason why this couple should not marry, speak now, or forever hold your peace.” However, like most things that I have observed or encountered, I figured it was the “Haitian Way”. When I asked Lucner about it later, he said it was definitely a tradition to ask the question three different times before the actual ceremony takes place. They feel that if a marriage is going to be halted, it is better to know before any monies are spent and it spares the couple from public embarrassment on their special day. Makes sense to me. I have always wondered why Americans would wait until the middle of the ceremony to ask the question and often wondered how many times someone actually responded in order to stop a wedding. I met the couple at yesterday's service and was surprised to see that the groom-to-be is nearly seven feet tall. That is a rare sight in Haiti.
Have more to write and additional pictures to post. Thank you for your interest in my stories. God Bless each one of you.