Pastor Bob and
Jeremiah led a team that finished putting up all the framing for the 2 houses
for Pastor Louisainte’s orphanage. This is where they laid one foundation
several days before and the other foundation was already there from a previous
trip – that one was the last foundation Filiberto did in Haiti.
The rest of the men
finished pouring an 1800 sq. ft. foundation for our guest house behind the
orphanage on our new property.
The farmer who we are
paying to take care of our plantain trees came to Ryan and brought him our
first profit of $300. Ryan instructed him on where to plant more trees on
our new property so that will be a growing source of income for the orphanage –
Ryan thinks it will bring in several hundred dollars per month until we need
that property for orphanage expansion if necessary. Later, he will have
him plant other kinds of trees too.
There was a man in the
village who came up to Ryan and thanked him for the blessing we are to their
community. He asked if we have any children and when Ryan told him, yes,
one little daughter, the man took a bracelet off his wrist that he had just
made and told him to take it as a gift for her. Ryan was very touched by
this sweet gesture of gratitude.
In the afternoon,
Candice took Sally, Kerstin, Aly and I to a beach resort about 10 miles down
the road. It was very nice, but not Haiti’s nicest resort, there are
others, but they are more expensive to get into. It was SO
beautiful. The water was warm, the sand was lovely, the views were like
any other gorgeous Caribbean Island would be. We felt very spoiled having
a snack to share of lobster, shrimp and drank straight out of a coconut that a
man opened skillfully with a machete. Candice said that they bring every
team here for an afternoon during their trip to enjoy a relaxing/refreshing
break from the work, but also so that we can have the opportunity to see
another side of Haiti. She said that so many people see the poverty and
ugliness and see it as a barren land without God. But God has always been
in Haiti. He made it an absolutely beautiful land that has much
potential. This place that has been ravaged over the centuries due to the
consequences of making pacts with the devil and dedicating the country to
Voodoo twice over the years and then continually making poor decisions, has the
potential to be a beautiful place if they will turn from their ways back to the
God who loves them and created them and this lovely land. Ryan has never
been to the beach and we found out that his teams are the ONLY ones that don’t
get to experience this because he just wants to get as much work done as
possible! Oh my goodness…that’s Ryan! He gets tunnel vision when he
arrives in Haiti and never stops till the last possible minute. I realize
that when we go to Haiti, it is to serve God and the people and we aren’t there
to be pampered or to be on vacation, but now that I have seen it, I will make
sure that all of our teams in the future get to experience it too, if only for
a couple of hours, even Ryan’s teams, ha ha.
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