Our Last Full Day in Haiti...

The morning’s wake-up call (our friend the rooster) was accompanied by what sounded like a semi-truck trying to turn around in a 2 car parking lot. This woke us all up and thus begun our day… well kinda, a few of us managed to catch a few more moments of sleep before finally rising for our last full day here. Bill and Tim were already over at Marie’s orphanage before most of the team had woken up and made a cross for the church using the remaining 2x4’s.
After eating our breakfast of coffee and assorted power bars/trail mixes, we began the task of replacing the large tarp that covers the main deck between the adjoining buildings within Marie’s compound. Marie has been sleeping on this deck since the team’s arrival and it has been affected by the weather and winds for some time now. It took some interesting engineering to get the new tarp in position, but once in place the tarp was a noticeable improvement and should be able to withstand the weather that Haiti is expecting. While securing the tarp on the roof, we took a look at the compound’s 200 gallon water reservoir and decided to add the extra reservoir to provide more water. This proved successful and now there is double the water to support the compound.
We then took off down the street to visit the girls at the orphanage and had a great time playing with them and practicing their version of “patty cake.” Most of the girls were sitting in one of the classrooms with Sophia (one of the teachers) singing songs and practicing their vocabulary. Although the Ministry of Education has been adamant that school will not begin again until April 5th, the children appear eager to return to their studies. When we arrived they were very happy to have more people to play with, particularly Trevor – the girls seem to enjoy braiding his hair and ripping out the hairs of the rest of the team… not sure why, but they get a kick out of the faces we make I suppose.
After visiting the girls, the team loaded up in the truck and drove to Pastor Wislet’s orphanage which supports more than 50 children. We spent some time adjusting the military-grade UN tent to provide more air flow and also distributed some supplies which included food, clothing, toys, and necklaces. The pastor’s wife, Jaqline, had their choir assemble and sing several songs for us which sounded great! They also expressed an interest in coming to the US and singing at various churches in the near future as well.
When we left Pastor Wislet’s compound, we stopped by the “Metal Worker’s” section of town. These artists mainly use 55 gallon steel drums and pound them with various sized hammers and chisels to create some very unique ornamental pieces. Although most of the team isn’t into the artsy stuff, let alone shopping around, we managed to walk around the area for almost an hour and even made a few small purchases.
When we returned to Marie’s house, a few of the guys took a look at the generator that supports Marie’s compound and determined that due to bad air flow and ventilation, the system has been overheating. This issue will need to be addressed in the near future to ensure adequate power supply. We’re looking at ways to fix this during our next trip here in April.
Later in the evening we visited Debbie over at the Hope House, and had dinner with her. Debbie prepared a great meal for us and even served a cake in celebration of both: Marie’s and Debbie’s birthdays which they both intended to celebrate in January. Afterwards we asked Debbie of her experiences here over the last 20+ years, in particular the events immediately following the earthquake. It is amazing to hear some of the stories that Marie and Debbie share, and to feel their overwhelming faith and support for the Haitian people. We ended up staying over at the Hope House for quite some time, until Marie gave us the “Ok, let’s go” signal. At times she reminds me of some of the Drill Sergeants I once worked for, which is awesome because sometimes that's exactly what's needed.
So here we are at 10:30 p.m. packing our clothing and equipment, and preparing for our departure tomorrow. Marie is already asleep, and most of the team is shooting the breeze and reflecting on the week’s events. The Haitians we’ve met have touched us more than words can begin to describe and we’ve seen the Lord at work throughout the week. Haiti will be in need of much support into the foreseeable future and I am confident that with the many efforts of the world community, the Haitian people will overcome.