Imperial Valley's HOPE for Haiti

There is a team of 14 in Haiti and this time, I’m reporting live instead of via Ryan on his satellite phone!  The 7 with Pastor Moore arrived yesterday and went to Haitian church this morning next to Lifeline and then worked all afternoon getting our building supplies out of storage and sorting them – that was a big job.  They believe there are enough parts for 10 or 12 more small houses (I think that’s what he said).  Today Ryan, Ernie, Kerstin, Aly and I arrived.  Tomorrow Sally and Joe Colace arrive.

We got a tour of Port-au-Prince by Candice and Michelle (and Jack, the driver) and even got to go to a small market where they had beautiful hand-carve souvenirs.  This is Ryan’s 7^th trip and he didn’t even think they had souvenirs to buy here, so we were thankful for the girls to give us the tour, they knew the shopping spots, ha ha.  In front of the Presidential palace we stopped to buy some paintings by Haitians for $5 and I almost caused a big fight because the artists were all coming around me shoving paintings in my hand to buy and I gave the wrong ones back to the wrong guys.  Ryan banished me back to the bus at both stops, lol.  Ryan noticed that they have come a long way in cleaning up the rubble in the city, so that’s a good thing.

On the way from the city out through the countryside we stopped at the place where the largest mass gravesite is.  200,000 bodies were buried with backhoes and dump trucks here after the earthquake.  It was a sad place to be.  Among all the small rocks covering the site, we found a human femur bone. 

Next we went to the orphanage site in the village of Barbancourt.  This is where the cholera outbreak originated and 2000 people died.  Because it’s more rural and has trees, it’s a much lovelier area than in the crazy, polluted, congested city of PAP.  The orphanage site looks great and we are going to be able to purchase some more property right next door that wasn’t for sale last year.  It will double the size of our property and give us much more opportunity for expansion later on if necessary and for self-sufficient type projects such as raising rabbits, tilapia, a garden, etc – so that is exciting.  I got to meet the pastor from the church right across the street from the orphanage as well as the principal of the Lifeline school right next door – good contacts!

  

It was warm and muggy here today, but tonight, especially with the ceiling fan on in our room, it’s quite nice.  It’s 3 hours ahead.  The sounds here are quite vibrant.  All afternoon, everywhere we went around here we heard beautiful Haitian worship music - the guys even had it to listen to as they worked at the building site.  Tonight, as I sit on my bed in my room I hear a symphony of loud bugs, chickens and roosters, goats and sheep, a cow and Ryan snoring.  Ryan and I are blessed to have our own room with our own bathroom!  It's far from fancy, but it is really nice for Haiti and we are grateful.  Candice and Michelle are doing well and are wonderful hostesses.  They and the 18 year old girl from Ohio, Adrienne, who has been here since June, are taking care of a 2 year old boy named Jean Fritz whose parents died of cholera.  He is absolutely adorable.