Tap-Tap Schemers

When: ​Sunday July 2, 2016
Where:Somewhere in the middle of the mountains between Cap-Haitian and Gonaives, Haiti
Kreyol Word of the Day: Frape- "to hit"
Bible Verses: Exodus 14:14-The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”  
Matthew 9:13- Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

​Pierre is maneuvering bumps, potholes, and hairpin curves all the way down this mountain. As we are driving, a tap-tap (taxi motorcycle) with three passengers on it, pass us yelling something in Creole. Pierre translates and says that they are yelling that we hit them. We are bouncing around in the big F350. When people saw us bouncing a vehicle the size of a bus down the mountain they moved out of our way, and none of us could recall hitting a motorcycle.

The motorcycle passes us and we continue bouncing down the road to the bottom of the mountain. As soon as we reach smooth pavement, a Haitian police car stops us and asks us if we hit a motorcycle. In the background, I see the tap-tap passengers pointing angrily at us. Pierre begins to explain it was a bumpy ride. This is where I learned the Kreyol Word of the Day because all I heard from Pierre, the police officer, and the driver of the tap-tap was ​frape...frape...frape.

I immediately began taking some offense. I knew the trio of tap-tap passengers where lying. Now, this is where I would roll my window down, furrow my brow, cross my arms, and call them all liars. But, I was in Haiti, can say a handful of words in Kreyol (Liars happens to not be one of the words I know in Kreyol), and I don’t want to disrespect my husband or the policeman with the military assault rifle on his left hip and a machete on his right hip. (He didn’t really have a machete on his hip, but I know one had to be close by.)

​At this point, wouldn’t you panic? I’m powerless, vulnerable, and have our two youngest kids with us asking if daddy is about to go to jail. Usually, when I have no control I can always trust that Pierre has the control. This time He didn’t even have control! Just as Pierre finished saying, “Frape”. The police officer cut him off and told him to follow him to the police station. 

Driving down the mountain

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