Play Ball!

One of the challenges of this trip was language. Spanish is spoken in the Dominican Republic (DR) where we slept at night, while Creole is the national language of Haiti where we worked during the day.

So every morning as we crossed the border into Haiti from the DR, our brains had to shift from one language to another. We went from wishing people "Buenos dias" in the DR to "Bonjou" after passing through an opening in the fence that separated the two countries.  

Foreign languages ​​have never been my strong suit. While I know a smattering of Spanish, my Creole vocabulary is basically zero. Rev. Kara gave us a sheet of "Helpful Creole Phrases" before the trip, which I promptly tossed into my carry-on bag and never looked at again.

After working a couple of hours under the searing Haitian sun, my language difficulties became even more pronounced. The two languages ​​became a jumble in my baked brain, so after about the third day I resorted to a friendly wave rather than risk a greeting butchered.

And that's when an impromptu game of baseball saved the day. We had brought a few tennis balls and Frisbees to throw around with the older children at the refugee camp in Haiti. One day a kid wearing a St. Louis Cardinals shirt showed up with a stick and within minutes it was "Play ball!" The Frisbees served as bases and an empty bag of fertilizer was designated home plate.

Shortly after the game started, I began hearing my DR-born teammates using a familiar language: English. I was told English is commonly used in Spanish-speaking countries to describe baseball terms, so I was delighted to hear cries of "foul," "out" and "home run." Finally, words I could understand--the international language of baseball.

Standing on that dusty field suddenly feeling confident to add my two cents to an argument about a ball hit "fair" or "foul," I was overwhelmed with the feeling of oneness with my Haitian brothers and sisters. Though I lived in a spacious home with more bathrooms than occupants and they resided in huts built with sticks and old clothes, we exchanged laughter and high-fives like old friends.  

So thank you God for the opportunity to share the love of a game with new friends and to help me see that we truly are all God's children.