Pioneers

Pioneer:  

"one who opens up new areas of thought, research, or development; one who ventures into unknown territory"

I went to Catholic school.  I can remember being about 15 or 16 years old, a junior at Seton Catholic Central High School in Plattsburgh, NY.  I remember seeing the advertisements for study abroad terms, short-term trips to foreign countries, semester at sea programs, all the like.  I can remember bringing home the brochures and reading them in my room, hiding them from my parents so they wouldn't know what I was hoping to someday do.  When I finally got the courage to ask, it was too late, and so my opportunity to have this kind of experience sort of faded.  

As we welcomed the first group of Britsionarys here at Be Like Brit while we actually have children living here, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  This was a first for not just me, but for our organization.  We've hosted many groups throughout the construction phase of our project, but never have we had a group of volunteers alongside what is now a group of 15 children.  I was anxious, and quite frankly nervous about how things might play out.  The week proved to be a tremendous experience not only for the young men of St. John's Catholic High School in Shrewsbury, MA along with their team leaders, Mr. Tim Williams and Mr. Mike Nicholson, but for all of us here at Be Like Brit, too.

Day 1 - On the roof! 

We were also blessed to have Ross Pentland join the group.  Ross is a St. John's Alum and decided he wanted to come along for this trip to share his previous experiences in Haiti with the group.  Ross is a bit of a legend here in Grand Goâve.  Indeed, it seemed no matter where we went, children and adults alike called out to him "Ross! Ross!"  He served as a great mentor to the group and a liaison between the two cultures.  We want to acknowledge and thank Ross for giving up a week of his vacation from his job to join in on this trip.  Ross gave of his time and money to be a part of this experience and I know from talking with the kids from St. John's that his presence and experience were invaluable to them.

Ross and Kervins

By day, the group labored with our crew who are currently paving the road up the mountain to Be Like Brit. This is no easy task; bags of cement, 5 gallon pails of water, and everything else is hauled down the hill where it is mixed by hand and poured.  Our Britsionarys were up against some tough conditions in Haiti's unforgiving heat and brutal sun.  They worked side by side with our Haitian crew and challenged themselves to keep up with our guys who do this kind of work every day.  They kept up amazingly well and I know they were able to forge some great friendships on the road that leads to us.

After lunch, our Britsionarys got to spend some time with the kiddos! We are up to 15 children now at Be Like Brit in just one month!  As you can imagine, things can get a little wild around here, and the guys from St. John's were great with our kids!  As I sat back and watched them all playing, coloring, singing, dancing, laughing, I couldn't help but feel proud of both our kids and the St. John's group.  

It's not often you find a group of high school boys who are willing to sacrifice their February break to pour concrete on a mountain road in Haiti during the day and spend their afternoons playing with children who have been orphaned or abandoned and can be a handful at times.  While my responsibilities kept me away from the road work during the day, I was fortunate enough to spend afternoons with the group on our child-related activities.  These guys could not have been a greater group for our children's first introduction to visitors from outside our walls.  They were patient, gentle, loving, playful, generous, instructive, and all around helpful.  The kids were all smiles, too!

Mike leads a sing-a-long in our outdoor chapel area.

Our group was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural mass of the newly constructed St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Grand Goâve.  Not realizing in advance that Sunday morning mass was going to be a bit different from the normal hour-long service, the group from St. John's sat patiently for over three and a half hours while the group of clergy performed the awesome service and blessed and dedicated their new church.  It is not everyday that a group of 10 high school students sit through a nearly 4 hour long service, in a language they can't understand, and do so respectfully, participating when they can, and expressing what a wonderful experience it was after the fact.

We also brought the group to a Tuesday night service at Mission of Hope International, the church where our children go to school.  We wanted them to have the total experience here in Haiti, and Mission of Hope is an integral part of the Grand Goâve community and a great friend to us here at Be Like Brit.  I was a bit nervous, to be honest, about bringing a group of Catholic high school students to a service in a Christian church.  Catholic services are so different from what they would witness that night.  I wasn't sure how they might react or respond.  As the service ended and we started to exit, one of the St. John's students turned to me and exclaimed, "That was awesome!"  We are so thankful to Mission of Hope International for giving our group such a great experience.  They even brought Mr. Mike Nicholson up on stage to lead the worship with his guitar and lend his voice.  It was indeed an awesome night.

Sensing that the guys may have been a bit restless, one afternoon we decided to take them out on a hike behind Be Like Brit, where as the height of the mountains increase so does the level of poverty.  We wanted them to get out and see some of the contradictions which are so much a part of Haiti:  The natural beauty of the country alongside the abject poverty that is so pervasive and so much the norm.  We hiked to areas I've not yet been to, and as the children emerged from their homes along the path, the group from St. John's took these children by the hand and walked along with them.  At one point, I witnessed one of the St. John's students giving his water bottle away to a group of children who were clearly thirsty.  Such a simple act, but such overwhelming compassion and kindness.

In the evenings, I was fortunate enough to be included in the group reflection times, which were held either on the roof of Be Like Brit (a favorite spot for the adults!) or in our Britsionary common area.  Together we would sit, start with a prayer and song, and discuss the day's events.  I remember being that age (as long ago as it was!) and I certainly don't remember being so open to sharing and putting my feelings and emotions out for everyone to dissect.  The beauty of these Britsionary trips (I think) will be the relationships they build within the Britsionary group and those they build with the children and people of Haiti.  Those same types of experiences I was hoping to discover when I was a young man in high school through study abroad programs, I was able to witness them and be a small part of them through this group's experience.

Of course, no Britsionary trip would be complete without our U.S. Director Kristin leading the Team into Haiti and directing their activities for the week.  Most of you probably only know "of" Kristin.  Unless you've been on a Britsionary trip or have met her through one of Be Like Brit's fundraising events or a public speaking engagement, you don't know how awesome she is.  This was the first time I got to spend a week with Kristin as she brought in a Team.  Kristin is a machine!  She works right along side the Britsionary groups, on the road, pouring concrete, painting fences, etc., and at the same time she manages to keep up on all of her other tasks with Be Like Brit back in the States.  I can tell you I have met very few people in this world as driven and dedicated as Kristin.  I know this trip was great for her, too - she now has 8 younger brothers!  As the group solidified an identity over the week, by the end of it, they were teasing and giving each other a tough time just like family.  That's part of what these trips are about, and Kristin is invaluable in that regard.   She even got up early a few mornings and made one of our security guards run sprints with her up and down our mountain!

Kweeeeestin!

Some of you know this already, but the mascot for St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, MA is the Pioneer.  In every sense of the word, this group represented all that describes what that means.  They came to a new place, they assimilated in a short amount of time, they settled in and worked side by side with those who were here before them.  They paved the way and set the standard for what it means to be a global citizen; a concerned global citizen.  They worked tirelessly, without complaint, and they worked hard.

Through their hard work, a community now has a paved road.  While that may sound like a simple thing to most, in a place like Haiti, that means everything.  Every time a woman walks up or down our road, with children in tow, invariably carrying buckets of water on her head as she makes her way to wherever she may be going, this group of Britsionarys has a place in that.  Every time a dirt road is impassable because of heavy rains and mud, and our road is used instead, this group of Britsionarys has a place in that.  Every time this road is used by anyone in this community or in the mountain community behind us, this group of Britsionarys has a place in that.  While they may not be recognized for these efforts, and remain faceless strangers to the Haitians who will benefit from their selfless labor, we at Be Like Brit know, as do those with whom they worked along side.

So, to Mike K., Forrest O., Brendan B., Jacob D., Tim B., Quinn G., PJ B., Zach G., Mike, Tim, and Ross:  Thank you.  For changing my life, for changing the lives of our 15 children here at Be Like Brit, and for changing the lives of all of those who will benefit from your efforts.  My hope for you all is that you take what you found here, whatever you may have discovered about yourself and what you might want to do with your lives, and carry it on with you wherever you may go.

Enjoy these photos from the St. John's trip, and as always, thanks for reading.

Jonathan