Thursday

The dog pack must have been busy down the road last night and the voodoo drums stopped around 8pm. Gooood night sleep.
Finished mounting the cabinet doors to the hutch and brought into house.
Replaced two more large screens on the guest house and tried a quick patch on a small leak in our plumbing. Just before lunch the young dentist stopped by and requested a cabinet so that he could lock-up his tools in the clinic. We walked to the clinic and looked over his treatment room. I sketched up a cabinet and we worked out the dimensions.....our project for tomorrow.
After lunch I played VB for awhile with the gang that shows up everyday around 12:30. We got into a few more plumbing projects that finished off our day.

Wednesday

Finished our two plumbing projects before noon so we took a tour of Cory's gardens. The vegetation grows at an amazing rate. His workers were harvesting some bamboo that he planted chutes only a
1 1/2 yrs. ago. They were 20' to 30' long. He will give these away to pastors and neighbors.
He has over 2 dozen variety of banana trees growing. The tree fruits once in a lifetime but usually has 3 or 4 plants that seed and grow around it, taking 1 1/2 year to bear a bunch. Other fruit that he is growing; breadfruit, coconuts, grapefruit, avocado, oranges, mango....that I know.
Worked on a shoe rack and played volleyball in the afternoon with the kids.
Wow did I need a shower and the sisters was full.....all the water for everything is gravity feed.

Tuesday

Didn't get much sleep due to the dog barking outside our guest house. Found out he was probably barking at someone that was stealing bananas from the tree near the house. Bananas are a valuable fruit.
We planned on working on the water lines but the PVC glue we bought yesterday was hardened. Sent Jenner to Port Margot to get a new one.
We changed direction and built the dividers for the school.
After dinner i noticed some drums in the distance with singing or chanting...
Chris commented that it is the voodoo drums. Carnival (Mardi Gra) is this weekend, most large cities are gearing up for it.

Monday

Visited the school this morning and they requested some room dividers and a cabinet hutch for school supplies. We also ordered some PVC for some changes to the guest houses water supply. Once we determined the materials we needed for the projects Cory called the hardware and put our order in. We were hoping for a 1pm delivery because the supplies were coming from Cape Haitian, only 25 miles but the condition of the roads limit a vehicle to 5-10 mph at best. The supplies arrived at 5:30pm. We dug all the trenches for the PCV, built a stand for the up official on the volleyball court. We layed out the beach volleyball court for the sand but was shot down by the regional director because it took land away from the soccer field :( . We thoughts the kids would really love it. We have a depot full of lumber and PVC for tomorrow!

Sunday

Cloudy day, mild temps and a nice cool breeze thru the campus.
We drove into Port Margo for church this morning. Beautiful service with two groups of special music. Chris translated thru the preaching in Ephesians; challenging us to put on the full armor of God so that we are equipped to share Christ and battle evil.
I think because of the voodoo here, evil is much more of a reality both spiritually & physically.
Most homes still do not have running water or electricity. The electricity that is provide comes on at various times of the day and not a consistent voltage. Not good for an iPod or cell phone charger.
The Wesleyan Church is building a new church here on the campus. It is going to be very big.

Saturday Visit to Port Margot

Anytime word is out that vehicle is going into town a few hopeful riders wait at the gate of campus. We left with 14 in the back and 5 in the cab. Only a 15 min ride.
My first Haitian market ..... luckily I didn't have money with me. I wanted the fresh cut beef.
Stopped at bakery for some fresh rolls...not how Ida's bake them :)
Another stop at local hardware .... If they don't have it you don't need it!
Finished with watching a VB tournament in town square. Wow, very educational and nice afternoon.

Saturday

Watched the younger kids practice volleyball this morning. Anna had on her HHS VB shirt. We walked around the campus and looked at various spots for a beach volleyball court and found a nice spot. Our plans are in motion!!
Replacing screens in the guest house. We always seem to draw a crowd.
One of the little boys name in the picture is 'coffee bean'.
Later today we are going to Port Margot. Larry & I were invited to watch the young men's volleyball match. Serious stuff!

Friday

Rained again most of the night and cloudy today, but low 80's.
Moved some furniture around yesterday in main house and guest houses. Today we are building a TV/shelf unit. Talked with folks at clinic and will be building office dividers so they can setup work cubes. It's nice, our list is starting to grow.
Kids from high school stopping now to talk English with me. Word is out and two young men from near bye came to talk.
Played alittle volleyball during afternoon break. Busier day.

1st day

Taking inventory of supplies in various sheds. Talked about a few projects from; shelves to build, some plumbing, screen repair on some buildings, ect. Group from Compassion Int coming this afternoon for visit. We will tag along for a bit.
Played volleyball with Anna for a bit and within 5 min. we had a group of 8 bumping the ball around. Great fun.

Good night sleep

Wow, 5 inches of rain last night. A small cat fight outside out little house sometime in the night and woke up to roosters at 4? Don't they know its not light yet? Very good night sleep with the rain. Compassion Int group will be here later in day for visit.

Early Start

Flying IBC. Have met numerous groups of young and old going in to serve. Amazing to hear how many have been coming here and the various churches established. Time to fly!

Travel day

Feeling guilty, thought i better get my last shovel of snow in. In a couple of days might be shoveling sand.
O'hare is a carousel of humanity; each one with their story. We fly to Lauderdale and catch the 6am to Cape Haitian tomorrow.

Monday morning

I'm feelin a little guilty as I watch the snow accumulate.
Morning devotion from John Piper was how our inheritance is eternal and secure. "Our joy is safe. Neither suffering nor success can destroy its anchor." Christ secured it!

Packing for Haiti

Keeping all the things I want to take under 50lbs is difficult. Dental supplies, volleyballs, hardware & tools .... all necessary. Underwear & socks are overrated!