haiti

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Nathan in training

A family of Haiti

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[Promoted by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians Salesian Sisters www.cgfmanet.org]

Name: Nathan Van Coops
From: McSherrystown, PA
Year: 2006,2007

Degree: FAA certified mechanic
Interests: Teaching, youth ministry, maintenance,
mechanics, art, sports, writing
Service: Providing school and medical supplies

_____________________________________________

If someone were to come up to me tonight and ask me what they can do to help
make this world a better place, I'm sure I would have to ponder it a bit but my
answer would have to undoubtedly include at least these:
Do your studying, no matter your age or where your interests lie. Support a
teacher. Lend someone a helping hand. Search for the differences you can
make. When you are finished doing that (or maybe at the same time) pick up
the Bible, the Torah or whichever spiritual reading it takes to elevate your soul,
and take the time to do so. While you doing all of these, pray pray pray for the
plight of the lost and forgotten on this planet.

Nathan was in Haiti in 2006 and will go there again in June 2007. He has
also done mission in Oaxaca, M EXICO and the Bahamas. The following are
reflections from his 2006 Haiti mission and are taken from his webpage.

When I walked up to Rachel amid the throng of wildly gesticulating
Haitians she pointed to the other side of the street where a band
equipt with makeshift instruments was marching by us playing a
lively tune. I smiled as Rachel gestured to make sure we got a
photo. Nothing seemed to deter her enthusiasm. It had been like
this the whole trip. If I can say one thing for my trip so far, it
definitely hasn't been boring.

This island is a shock to the senses. Drenched in the warm caribbean sun
it could be a paradise, but in reality is anything but. I look for the beauty
here but it is often hard to see buried under heaps of garbage and
disquised by a constant layer of filth. The people often seem to be the
only clean objects in view as we swerve through the rutted streets or walk
around the towns.

I look at Rachel and wonder how she has managed to find the strength to
keep coming back despite the headaches. I hear her frustrations and her
doubts about the limitations of what our mission can accomplish but I see
the proof of her resolve in the fact that she has persevered to this,
her fifth trip inside of a year.

I hope and pray for more like her to come, because I can see it has made
a difference. She has been able to establish real relationships and show
these people that her aid here is more than just a fleeting whim.

The last week I've spent working with the poor here in Haiti has taught me many
things. It has also filled we with more questions than ever about the nature of
poverty and how best to resolve the problems. I have met so many people who
need a assistance here the only way to count would be to count how many I've
met who do not need assistance. That number would be nearly non-existent. The
overwhelming poverty hems you in on all sides taxing your comprehension. The
outstretched hands and faces asking for food or money are so common that it
starts to not affect you. Its a fight to keep from becoming jaded with justifications
for not helping them all. You pour yourself out until you are empty and there are
just as many as before imploring your aid. You could spend your entire existence
giving everything you have and the problem would still be staring you in the face.
Where then does the answer lie?

I visited a beautiful Haitian Beach today. It was a cove of clear blue
water that you could see straight to the bottom of. The local children
splashed me with abandon, smiling their thousand kilo-watt smiles at me
and laughing in a way to make me forget the rest of what I've seen here,
at least for a few moments.

I wish I could report a Caribbean island people that have remained joyous
despite of it all or that has somehow risen above the mess of existence here, but
I can't honestly say that I've seen that more than anywhere else. The fact that the
people can find joy here at all does make it seem to shine more than usual in
such stark contrast and it gives me hope but that hope is often seen in the same
people with whom I witness as many disheartening traits as well. We're all bound
by the same human frailties no matter our race or location and I believe our
social or economic status holds no tie on the strength of our character. I do
believe education to be a critical link because I see how the lack of it has bred a
state of ignorance that causes the same people I know to be kind and caring
toward others to also be heartlessly cruel to animals and to contribute
shamelessly to the environmental irresponsibility that has turned this island into
an ecological disaster.

Beautiful sights like this made all the traveling worthwhile.