Surf Haiti

When. my friend. Heather and I started talking about going back to Haiti we wanted to see different organizations that are helping Haiti. Heather lives near the ocean and beach life is normal living for her and her family so it was no surprise that she found out about a ministry that is centered on surfing.

Surf Haiti's main base is close to the missionaries in Jacmel that we were staying with. So one of our days out was to visit the beach and see how they were doing. They are teaching the Haitians to not only surf but also to maintain and repair surf boards. The goal is to have a thriving business that will encourage tourism in Haiti thus helping the economy.

They have a "club house" up the mountain where they can hang out and visiting workers / missionaries can stay. I don't have a lot of information on the founders and don't want to give inaccurate information about them so I found their facebook page and have linked it to this page so you can check it out if you're interested.

Change of Plans

During part of our time in Jacmel we were kind of "stuck" in one place. The day that we had planned on going to Mother Teresa's orphanage happened to fall on a day of political unrest :( The roads were blocked with demonstrators and it just wasn't safe to go out.

Sitting on a bench made by a local artist

Because we couldn't drive anywhere Darlys took us to see some of the sights close to her house.

Walking between property's

We went to visit one of her neighbors that is an artist and is in the process of renovating her property into a bed and breakfast. The lady wasn't home but the boy that was watching her property let us walk around and look at the art.


Sitting area, table is a large tractor tire

She used a lot of glass bottles and tires in her artwork.

Old tire made into a bird

We were disappointed that we didn't get to go out and visit the children and workers at the orphanage but we did enjoy the sights. Jacmel is a beautiful area to be "stuck" in :)

Bassin Bleu

During my last trip to Haiti one of our goals was to see some of the more visited and "touristy" areas in Haiti. My friend had heard about Bassin Bleu near Jacmel and asked the missionaries that were hosting us if they could take us there. At first it looked like the weather was against us and we wouldn't be able to go, it rained most of the morning. But by 10 it looked like the rain was going to pass by us fairly quickly so we loaded up and headed out.

Bassin Bleu is hidden in the hills and isn't a trip for someone that is in poor shape or has health issues. The road is rough and requires a vehicle that can handle off road conditions. You also have to fjord across a river so if the water is high you most likely can't get there.

Spot where you drive across the river bed

 Once you reach the end of the road then you have to hike up to the springs. While some of the path is fairly even it can be a challenging hike that is mostly up hill and very steep in some areas.

I can't imagine doing this in the heat of Summer

The climb wasn't bad but I was a little nervous

However, I must say the trip is worth it!! There are three pools connected by waterfalls and streams. We climbed up to the "top" pool and it was like we had walked into another world! What a beautiful sight!

Climbing the waterfalls

The water is usually a beautiful turquoise blue but because of the rain it was a cloudy grey. A plus to the rain coming was that other than our guides we had the entire area to ourselves.

Swimming in the "middle" pool

 We got our exercise for the day and it was well worth it :)

That's me jumping off the waterfall

Stay in Jacmel

Heather & Me with our pilot

When my friend and I arrived in Haiti our adventure started with another plane ride on a six person Cessna. Riding in one of them is almost like riding an amusement park ride for 25 minutes straight. A really cool thing was that Heather got to be co-pilot. She was really excited about getting to sit up front and talking to the pilot.

Heather getting to be co-pilot

It's me :)

The first ministry that we stayed with was in Jacmel, which is located on the southern boarder. Dave and Darlys Bird are full time missionaries down there. I met the Birds on my first trip to Haiti in 2011 and I was very excited to spend time with them again.

Heather, Darlys, Dave, and me!!

The ministry they work with is CIDM, they have a discipleship program going right now that is helping to strengthen the churches in the area and is raising up the next generation of Christian leaders. Every Friday night they hold a Bible study for new believers and an advanced class for those that have gone through the first class. The people in the area are excited to learn about Jesus and the group grows every week.

New Believers class

Dave Bird is a contractor and another leg of the ministry is teaching some of the men a trade so that they can have an income. They have had some pretty big contracts, one in particular was helping to build a new hotel in Port au Prince. This helps the men to learn problem solving, how to prioritize the work that needs to be done and responsibility.

One of the construction jobs

A couple of years ago I met a couple that had just come back to the states after being missionaries in Europe for many years. I was asking them about the work they had been doing and sharing my heart for missions. The husband gave me a book, "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. To really simplify it, the book is about giving a hand up instead of a hand out without trying to change the people into "our" culture. This is something that Heather and I have talked about on many occasions, we want to give people the tools to be able to help themselves so they aren't dependent on others.

Gate at the back of the Birds property

Working with a different culture can be a challenge for both parties involved but Dave and Darlys have done a great job of loving on the people and giving them a hand up instead of a hand out. That is one of the reasons that I admire them so much.
The vision they share on their website says:
"Our ministry vision is to empower the youth of Haiti through spiritual development, education, and practical job skills so they can make a dramatic impact in the future of their country.  We are committed to providing discipleship, educational opportunities, job skills training and new business creation.
 It is our goal to establish programs that can be self-sustaining and supporting."