Fighting Off Sleep

It has been a very long day. Our day began after breakfast with a city tour of Port au Prince. We drove back down the road toward the airport and up into Petion Ville, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake of January, 2010. We all piled in the back of the truck for the ride, so the smells of traffic, dust and open sewers came at us all with unrelenting frequency. While we drove through the city towards the main section of the capital, we watched as many were leaving home to go to church in their finest clothes and looking resplendent. Walking past piles of garbage or riding on the back of a hired motorcycle, nothing was unpressed or unpolished, many in spotless white. There are signs of improvement. Some of the pancaked houses and buildings have been cleared away, one of the presidential palace's domes has been removed, there are less tents in the parks around the palace. Much of this is mere window dressing. Many of the people who left the tent cities in that area were paid to leave. It is believed that many were given the equivalent of $300 to leave. Where they went was of no concern and nothing else was provided. The larger tent cities are showing more signs of emerging entrepreneurship and permanency as more people are opening small roadfront stands and selling items from the road and tarps are replaced with more corragated panels and cinder blocks. We got back for lunch and then headed over to GOG to work on installing the waterlines for the kitchen sinks. We started to install some urinals in the boys bathroom, but as is usually the case in Haiti, nothing quite goes as planned. The parts on hand may not always work, or need to be reworked to fit. Progress was made and plans put in place to continue where we left off. The afternoon was spent playing with kids and then church. The service was led by the kids, as usual. Jonas played guitar and led worship with many songs in Haitian and English. Kemsleye gave the sermon on Jonah 1. It was illustrated as God's provision in a time of need. Our God is faithful when we are in need and is able to protect His children under His wings. Nicky, I was blessed to hold Franz throughout the service. We gave the kids some candy and some sunglasses after the service. The boys had made some origami flowers and some cards and a present for Mama Katia as today was Mother's Day in Haiti. They truly are sweet kids. We said our goodbyes and went back for dinner. Paul and I asked if dinner would be Haitian or American. Smith said he would check and we were all pleased to learn that it would be Haitian. White rice with chicken and peas. Hot sauce for those who needed it. We debriefed as a group, got prepared with info for the morning (light breakfast at 5:30 and out the gate at 6 am), sang a couple worhsip songs and left to pack and go to bed. As for me...shower, pack, and sleep...in whatever order it comes. We look forward to seeing our families late tomorrow and kissing our sleeping children when we get home. Goodnight. Todd.