Expectations can be deceiving and when Bridgeport High School senior, Emily Griffith, decided to accompany her youth group on a mission trip to Haiti, she was delighted that her experience was nothing like she expected it would be.  Haiti is a third-world country with an unstable government, plagued by natural disaster and the effects of war.  With that description, Griffith fully expected to be surrounded by mud huts and starving children. 

 

After weaving through the streets in what she calls “a continuous game of chicken,” the group of 22 students, accompanied by their leader Don Skidmore, arrived to a welcoming town, complete with street vendors, shops and restaurants. 

 

The youth group, LIFT Student Ministries, is housed in Horizons Church in Lost Creek and included three Bridgeport students among its members on this trip.  In addition to Griffith, Fallon Snodgrass and Zoey Blair, both from Bridgeport High School, were among the group that spent eight days learning and serving in Haiti.

 

Fort Liberte’, the town in which the group stayed, did in fact have great poverty, but the raw beauty of the town and the uniqueness of the culture in it is what drew Griffith in from the start.  She was surprised to find indoor plumbing in the compound in which they stayed and found the food to be delicious.  Mostly, though, it was the people that made the adventure so memorable.

 

“I was immediately comfortable there and started playing with the children right away,” said Griffith.  “What is so neat about the communities there is that they truly value spending time together.  There is an open-door atmosphere that encourages visits and there is no discernable clique system, they just seem to love and accept each other as they are.”

 

For Griffith, the most difficult aspect of the trip was adjusting to the pace at which the Haitians live.  “I had no agenda or to do list to rush through and neither did they.  They seemed to just enjoy the moment and the people around them,” she said. 

 

After five years of classroom French, Griffith was also thrilled to be able to finally put it to use in Haiti.  The country speaks several languages, including Haitian Creole, Spanish, French and English.  Griffith met two friends who were equally interested in practicing language and, together, they were able to help each other improve both French and English languages.

 

“The Haitian people really value their education, making sacrifices to make sure their children go to school, “ Griffith said.  “It is so different that American teens, who dread school and don’t realize what a privilege it is to be educated.  Their work ethic is so strong too.”

 

While in Haiti, Griffith had the opportunity to visit a pond where her new friend’s family gathers sea salt to make a living.  She rode on a speedboat and regularly did motorcycle excursions to further immerse her in the culture. 

The group did several mission projects while in Haiti.  They funded the drilling of three wells, fed 800 families, delivered gifts, manned the clothing and gift outpost, updated sponsorship program information, painted a new library and built bookshelves and provided medical attention to over 1000 people.  Additionally, the bonded both as a group and among the locals, singing songs, passing out Bibles and truly enjoying the slow, comfortable pace in which the friendships were being forged.

 

“I absolutely plan to go back,” said Griffith.  Those who would like to help with missions in Haiti can visit www. haitifriends.com or go to the home page for Friends of Fort Liberte’ for more information.