The Eagle has landed

Praise God, their flight has landed. Now they just need to find Joe and drive from JFK to CT.

The Bird is in the Air

Hooray! The 3.5 delay is over and the GH2 Relief Team is on its way home!! Hugs are waiting.

Almost Heading Home

Flight Delayed:
Their first leg of the journey home is delayed. Even before the earthquake, the PaP airport had a "hurry up and wait" tendency to it, but we're not worried b/c they have a 5.5 hour layover in Santo Domingo to cut into.

Day 14 All Done & Heading Home

GH2 Riddle:
Q: What does a final rush to finish projects, a quick trip back to MDL to say bye to friends, and Jeff driving us through the dark streets of PaP in a torrential downpour with a single partially functioning wiper blade and no defrost...and Granny Bin's beef pot pie hot form the oven waiting for us at home have in common?
A: Well it must be our last day in Haiti, and we finished with a flourish.

Some hard work, a job well done, a little adventure, good times with great friends, and some really great eats, and you have the combination for a terrific close to our relief work trip and for sure some great memories.

Early morning Friday and it's off we go, and we can hardly believe our time is done! Thanks to everyone who hosted us, supported us, prayed for us, gave donations, and joined us in any way through our adventure. You are all part of it, and it is really, really good.

A final note...if you ever find yourself stuck at the PaP airport in need of help, or in need of a place to stay, please contact Granny Bin. She is a true treasure, and if you are blessed to spend some time with her, you will be positively impacted for a lifetime! Bin's guesthouse is the place to stay!

If you want a great experience with some wonderful kids at an awesome orphanage in Haiti, you need to experience the adventure of MDL with Bill and Susette and the great people who work with them. Check it out!

All of these people are true servants, true living examples of Christian love and the light of Jesus to those they serve and the world around them. They do their life's work in one of the toughest environments on the planet! Our team is indebted to them for sharing a piece of their lives with us for a couple weeks in Haiti. They are the kind of people you just love to be around. The kind you need to be around. So...what are you waiting for?

Thanks for the Prayers!

Just wanted to express our thanks for all of the prayer support coming from back home. We can feel it and it makes a difference!

Day 13 = Last Full Day

There's a guy from Fla coming today to do solar panel install, we might help a bit if he needs it, that will go a long way to fixing power supply problems here at Bin's. We're wrapping up, more will be added later if the internet is up...
* Added on 19MAR10:

Luke, Mark, Josiah, Jeff & Granny Bin

Granny Bin's orange candy stash
[inside story: GB just loves this treat but cannot get it in Haiti, so the team collected some and now she'll be set for a while. These little gestures can make a world of difference. So glad to be able to bring her special treats.]

Days 11 & 12

God has been great to us and in spite of some rough sleep (it's been hot, and no power some nights = no fans; but we're not complaining b/c the Haitians in the tent city don't have fans either).

First MacGuyver, then the Energizer Bunny
The guys are going strong. Jeff in particular is the driver, the guy never stops and I think the young guys feel guilty getting outworked by an older guy ; )

Our time has gone quick for us, we've been so busy, but in a way it seems like we've been here for quite a while and when I think of what we able to accomplish...it's a long list! Granny Bin's Guest House is looking good.

Wed (Day 12) we made a late afternoon run to Eko Depot to get ripped off for some supplies. We got the stuff we needed to wrap things up today, and contributed to the Haitian economy a bit. Jeff drove and is really quite amazing with his ability to maneuver through PaP "rush hour" traffic! I told him he's now ready to be a full time missionary in Haiti!

That night we had a great meal of pasta and meat sauce, buttered bread, salad and...cheesecake for desert!!! GB is pulling out all the stops!

Pics of Last Full Day

The GH2 Team at Granny Bin's

Painting crew

"Roll, Josiah, roll!"

Jr. Painter (So CUTE!)

Jeff stealing a rare rest with a tiny dog.
[What a size difference compared to the Bull Mastiffs at MDL & Heartline Haiti.]

Fixing a door

Earthquake Damage Pics

Street full of rubble

Guys working on the rubble

The edge of a huge tent city

Salvaging a flattened car

Day 10 Mon 15 March

Today was pretty good. We basically painted, ate the famous Granny Bin burger, and then painted again until it was too dark to see.

After we finished we were given the keys to Bin's car. So we headed out with Jeff behind the wheel to Vista Villa or something like that for some dinner. While they were preparing our food, we changed into shorts and went for a swim in their pool at the restaurant. It felt so refreshing. Not to mention it helped to wash all of the paint off my skin and hair. The only thing I forgot to bring was soap. On the way home, Jeff thought it'd be fun to drive counterclockwise (not intentionally) on a roundabout in Haiti. [Note to everyone out there....... Don't try that......... ever.] What an experience.

Tomorrow we're going to most likely finish painting the inside of the guest house and start painting the outside of it.
-josiah

Some More Pics

Church in The Bens (sports area)
Josiah leading worship with Arianna & Phara

Jonas and the concrete countertop he helped to make for the cooking area
One of the cooks using the new countertop

Day 9 Sunday 14 March

Sunday
Time Warp:

Today started off pretty strangely. I woke up and checked what time it was on my iPod. It said four minutes til 9. So I jumped out if bed and went out to see if everyone as getting ready for church which started at nine thirty. Upon entering the dining area, I was approached and asked if would be able to lead worship for church. Panicking at first, I said yes but had no idea how I'd pull it off. Long story short, the clock on my iPod had adjusted for daylight savings time because it was set up according to EST. (Haiti does not adjust the time.)

Church in the Bens Sports Area:
So I had the great opportunity to lead worship outdoor for about a half hour this morning with the help of Ariana Manassero as well as one of the girls from the girls home. It was a great experience.
We left MDL this afternoon. It was hard saying goodbye to all of those people I became so close with. They will all be missed.

@ Granny Bin's:
We are currently at our second assignment now. Tomorrow we will get started on our work here at Granny Bin's. Our big project will be painting the guest house we're staying in. We're supposed to paint the whole inside and outside. For dinner tonight we had some amazing fried chicken and some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever tasted. Now that I could get used to.
-josiah

Josiah from fb

As many of you know already, God has provided another opportunity to minister in the country of haiti. these are the events that led up to this trip. Four weeks ago, i received an email from my team leader. It said that he and his team were planning on going to Haiti the first two weeks of March. Well when I read this Ii knew it wasn't feasible. I couldn't afford to miss two weeks of classes. So I quickly emailed him back and told him I wouldn't be able to go. I suggested that if it was possible to move the trip to the second and third week of March. That way I would only miss one week of class and then spring break. He said he'd ask and get back to me. Well day went by and the organization wasn't telling him anything. So I began to lose hope. I stopped praying about it as faithfully. It wasn't until a conversation I had on facebook chat, that God opened my eyes. I was sitting on facebook and someone popped up on chat. It happened to be Susette, the missionary here at MDL in Haiti. She asked me if I was going to be able to come back. I told her the situation and she was very encouraging. She told me to keep praying. She told me that it was only a matter of time before I was going to be back in Haiti. She said when God wanted me to be back, he would provide a way. So after that conversation I started praying with a fresh understanding of God's perfect timing. Days later, I received and email in my inbox from my team leader that said that they were going to be going to Haiti for one week.....the second week in march. Well I got very excited and started praying and called my parents and told them to do the same. I talked to my professors that day and asked what they thought of the idea of me missing one week of school. All of them were very supportive and willing to help me get caught up. After classes, I talked to my parents once again. That night I bought my ticket to Haiti. The very next day I received a phone call from my team leader. He said that an opportunity had come up for us to stay for two weeks.........the exact time I said would work best for me. It was so crazy to see that despite the fact that I had kind of given up on the trip for a time, God worked it out perfectly to the time for me to go. It was incredible to see God provide financially as well. I was truly humbled as students at my school would come to my dorm room and hand me $20, $175, $300. It was so evident that God wanted and needed me to be here.
since being here I have been helping to teach the preschoolers. we have been teaching them colors, numbers, letters, and proper classroom behavior. It has been quite the experience. Who knew three 4 year olds could be so crazy? But I had a great time teaching songs and just interacting with each one of them. In the afternoons after school was done, I was able to help out my other team members with building cement countertops, doors for the new school, a roof for the cooks, generator covers, and various other building projects. Today we went and saw more of Port-au-Prince. We were in awe of the immense amounts of destruction - buildings collapsed, cars smashed under the rubble, homes flattened. There was so much destruction. The people have formed these tent villages where they keep all of their belongings inside a tent or under a makeshift tent or home made of tarps or any other materials that could be salvaged. We were able to see the palace which was severely damaged by the earthquake. We also saw the largest Catholic church in shambles. Rumor has it that many of the criminals that escaped the prison during the earthquake are living in the remains of the Catholic church.

In this time, it has been amazing to just see the way these kids have responded to the earthquake. Just the other night, I was at the boys home and had the opportunity to talk to one of the kids. He shared with me where he was when the earthquake hit and what he saw. It was mindblowing as I listened to him telling me how he saw buildings collapse all around him and buildings falling on people. It was such a blessing for me to just be there and to listen to everything he saw and felt as a result of the earthquake. I felt as though little by little his memories of that horrific day were being lifted from his shoulders.

Well I better stop writing now. This is getting pretty long. If you actually read this whole thing, kudos.
- josiah

In at Granny Bin's

Day 9 Sunday

The day started for me with a cup of coffee on the roof and some quiet time like I love to do, listening to the sounds and looking down towards the city. From the far vantage, you get no sense of the incredible destruction below. Church today was at the play area and people came from the neighborhood and ravine to worship, in Creole and in English. It was a great service, with Josiah leading worship and Ari with Phara singing along. Josiah did great in spite of the burning hot sun! (the last few days the heat and humidity have been on the rise here)

After service we packed up and then went for our farewell lunch at the Manassero's. That was excellent as usual! Then we said our goodbyes and got ourselves ready to get over to Bin's place.

By the time they found us over at MDL Granny Bin was tired of driving so Jeff drove one car and Luke drove the other back to her place! With no accidents, Amen! They had a blast driving the crazy streets of PaP and whatever shocks and struts those vehicles might have had when they picked us up are now totally shot : )

Bin is very appreciative of all the donated stuff we were able to bring down for her. She was about crying when she got the orange slices and all the other stuff! We just had a nice meal with her, fried chicken (she was born and raised in TX) and buttery mashed potatoes, green beans and a Coke with real sugar. yum! We have plenty to do here lots of painting, and general stuff that'll keep us busy getting her guesthouse ready.

Well we are getting settled here and probably will turn in early, thanks for your prayers!

Day 8 Seeing PaP

Today we were able to see some more of the country. On our way to drop off Steve and Butch at the airport, Susette drove us around different parts of Port-au-Prince. It was crazy to see the immense amounts of destruction. Buildings crumbled, cars smashed, homes flattened to the ground. People were scattered amongst the debris trying to find different things that could be salvaged. Tents were set up wherever there was enough space to pop one up. There were some places where cities were sent up of just tents. People live in these villages, with all of their belongings under the cover of tents or tarps. We were able to see the palace in Haiti, which was
significantly destroyed by the earthquake. We were also able to see the largest Catholic church in Haiti. It was in ruins. Rumor has it that many of the criminals that escaped the prison during the
earthquake were actually living inside the ruins of that very church. Overall, this morning was a big shock. It was the first time we were able to see the magnitude of the earthquake and the severe damage it had on the people and buildings here. Today is our last full day here at MDL. Tomorrow we leave for Granny Bins to help her with rebuilding efforts. Thanks for the prayers! God is working greatly.

Josiah

More Pics!

Teacher Rob
Collapsed house behind MDL Girl's Home

Ravine Tent City

Jeff & Rob walk through the Ravine Tent City

More Rebuilding

Carpenter Josiah
(Tip from Diane:
The safety glasses work better if they cover your eyes and not your head. - big smile)

Luke by a new door and partition for the school.

Jonas & Steve (mason from CA team) doing a concrete pour

Need Doctor & Teachers

Maison de Lumiere (MDL) needs

• a Doctor/Clinic Boss for extended time if possible, also
  
• Teachers who can stay for a while, particularly for science and math.
  

We are knocking out a bunch of projects but there will be more I'm sure, so MDL is hoping for many work teams to come down.

Two More Projects Done

Wow we had a big day today!!

School Retrofitting:
Finished up the doors in the school and it looks like they can get in there for next week! That will be a good thing, having school at the boys home doesn't really work out well.

Concrete Works:
Also got to do the countertop pour with Jonas today and that was great, he's a good guy and I think he might actually "get it" with what we are doing. He was sure proud that he had helped with the table on last trip, he mentioned it today and made the connection to what we are doing with the countertops. We also had great help from Steve the California mason, he's great fun to work with and got the guys doing the wall to mix up our concrete so the whole thing went quickly. We also did a small pour for a benchtop that Bill hopes can be used around the play area and other places, the fact that Jonus could crank out a bunch of pours and also work on his craft - it's a really great thing!

Concrete Countertops Potential

Potential Project: the feeble beginnings of something I've talked about for some time with Bill and some of the MDL folks = the idea of developing a concrete countertop microbusiness here with one or a few of the boys. Late today me and my "padawan" Jonas started on our first project together and that is...you guessed it perhaps, a countertop for the cooks at the boys home! I want more of that great chicken. It'll be a fun experiment and we'll have to rush it in the little time I have left, but hopefully tomorrow we can get the form framed up and poured. That would be awesome, and maybe, just maybe, the start of something that Jonus can do one day to earn a living for himself in this wickedly tough environment. You may wonder, who would pay for such countertops here? Well there is a rich minority, and they just might like nice concrete countertops...

Trip to Shantytown in the Ravine

We took a late afternoon trip to the "ravine" (= a poor community not far from MDL, that the mission tries to help with health and food/water, and to support the Haitian pastor who struggles there). One of the houses on the way down the hill is completey demolished, and debris from hill has tumbled down the hill. In the ravine, a small tent city has sprung up around the little cinder block and rusty corrugated metal shacks that we've visited before. Some are real tents, and some are nothing but sheets and scraps of building debris or cardboard. One thing I saw people doing was grabbing flat pieces of the demolished building on the hill and bringing these down to the tent village, and using these as a sort of tent platform. Obviously, they are concerned about rain, and their spot will turn into a mud pit when the rainy season happens. They are doing whatever they can to get ready, to survive. Sleeping on pieces of concrete blocks arranged together under a ragged tent of tattered sheets...this is what thousands, maybe millions of people are doing right now in Haiti tonight. Like I said in a previous post, Haiti has may ways of humbling you.
- mark 10mar10

Power sidenote

Electrical lines in Haiti - sidenote reflection:
In some of the pics we post you might see a tangled mess of wires that seem to be present everywhere there is a telephone pole in the city. This happens in part at least to the fact that people often run their own lines from these poles, and sometime just cut and splice into wires wherever they need to to get power. I've seen on previous trips this in action, a couple guys up on a wall or a rickety ladder shaving into the line while the city power is off (which is frequent) and running wires to their house, tent, shanty, etc. It's really pretty amazing to see and I don't know how more people don't get electrocuted here, it must just be the fact that power flows so little. : ) A Haitian friend was explaining today that Haitians that do this are allowed to basically slide by, or that there is nobody really checking, but that if foreigners tried to do the same thing...that would be trouble! Haitian jail for you my friend! Pretty funny stuff to me somehow, sort of a form of electricity socialism in action maybe? Just another interesting thing about the place, and maybe it'll help folks understand why power generation here is such a difficult and complex issue...I mean, who is really paying after all? hard to tell.
- mark 10mar10

Day 6 School Conversion & Power

School & Clinic Conversion Projects:
A big project in the works here is to convert a building CHI has recently rented into a school for the kids in the homes, which means over 50 kids at a variety of grade levels. There is also a health clinic that CHI is running out of the lower level of this building. Rooms have to be divided off, doors made and put in, plumbing fixed, etc. we took care of the plumbing a couple days ago (thank God we have 2 plumbers on the team!!) and everyone is thrilled that the water situation at the school is good. Today we got into the room prep, making some doors to divide of some of the rooms. I was thinking "how cool is this, we are helping provide kids in Haiti a place to get an education, helping to set up a school in a third-world country" and thinking about that got me really jazzed about it. Having immediate positive impact and doing something sustainable is what we always shoot for...it can be tough, especially in a rigorous environment, and when you are hitting what you aim for you gotta celebrate that inside at least. So I did celebrate as we were hanging some plywood doors which aren't anything too pretty, but they are solid and they will get the job done. Kids will have a better place to learn because of those doors.

Protect the Power:
Luke and Jeff completed a project they had started Tues., to frame up covers for the 3 new generators here at MDL. These are very nice machines and they need to be protected from the elements, so in anticipation of the rains coming it was a pretty high priority to get these covered. Although city power has sort of come back on here the last couple days (whoo-hoo!) most power is still coming from the generators, and they will always be needed here. The guys knocked that project out and had the 3 covers done well before lunch today. Another check on the list.
-mark 10mar10

FAQ's

Do the streets seem clear or is debris clogging them still?
I haven't been out much but the streets seem kind of clear, I mean this is Haiti but vehicles are getting around.

Can you tell if the infrastructure is being rebuilt (or built up correctly for the first time)?
Infrastructure is rebuilding but seems to be on the small local level like the wall rebuild at girls home. There is talk of bigger (international) stuff but we'll see !

How is the CHI staff holding up?
I think the staff here is doing ok, lots going on and lots planned, many more people involved than before and it has a different feel to it than it did before, more happening, more needing to happen.

Do international aid supplies seem to be getting distributed?
Supplies do seem to be getting through.

How's the security?
We've had no security issues as far as I know. People are being careful, there are more guards posted than usual it seems.
-mark 10mar10

Pics - Cooking Enclosure

Josiah & Luke working on the roof of the enclosure for the cooking area.









Yesterday we finished up the cook's shelter at the boys home and that was the fun job of the trip so far. No, it won't be in Haitian Architectural Weekly, but it'll keep the cooks dry and happy when it rains! Of course I love food, and Tues. morning we spent the time trying to work around the cooks to finish the project. Hot pots, knives slicing veggies, chicken legs cooking, stuff like that. And the wonderful smell of cooking...of course the cooks took a liking to us since we were doing something for them, and they taught us Creole lessons for all the food prep and items in the meal, which was fun and entertaining for everyone I think! Fortunate for us the job carried until just before lunch time and I got the very first chicken leg out of the fry oil, and it was so tasty! The other guys each got a leg too and we went on and on about how good it was, and so they've invited us back for more next lunch! Now the cooks have a better place to work because of this shelter. It's not pretty maybe, but it sure seems to be to them, and the folks here at MDL appreciate it and so that makes it all worthwhile.

Yeah, now they can cook in the rain!

Day 5 Rob

Wednesday morning, sunny, 80s in Port Au Prince. I'm teaching English to 17 boys and girls ages about 12-19. The room is upstairs in the boys facility. They sit in a small room on one piece benches and desks which are essentially 6 rows of 2, long, 2x12 pieces of wood connected together with metal rods. One 2x12 is for where they sit and the other serves as their desk. Nobody seems to notice all the noise and racket outside. I love the kids.　

I start the day asking each student to read a verse from the book of John. Yesterday we read John 3:1-16 and talked about what it meant. Later we discussed the differences between Fiction and Non-Fiction and fact and opinion.

The orphanage has taken an ambitious step forward with the kids. They are in the infancy stages of starting a school within the facilities for all of their kids. They are in the process of searching for an administrator and a few good teachers willing to come down for a year for the 2010-2011 school year. They need cirriculum for all subjects. A big challenge is placing the students in appropriate levels because many of the children did not start school until they were 8 or 9 years old.

Changing gears, I got an unexpected ride to the main downtown area yesterday. As you get closer to the ocean, PaP has steep rolling hills like San Francisco. Driving through downtown the devastation is overwhelming to the senses. You cannot look north, south, east or west without seeing massive piles of rubble. Our driver knew the streets well and weaved around like a Formula 1 driver. There was so much dust it felt like my lungs were filling up with dirt. One thing is for sure, I will never complain about potholes in America, because they are really just "potholes" compared to the massive undulation and craters in these streets.
-Rob 10MAR10

Day 4 Luke

Today we had oatmeal for breakfast, and then Mark, Jeff, and I (Luke) went to work at the boy's home finishing up the cook's lean to-shade-shelter-rain re-director.

Meanwhile, Josiah taught pre-schoolers how to make sense of their seemingly copious amounts of energy.

Then we had lunch, which consisted of some form of peanut butter and jelly, and salad. After lunch, Jeff, Josiah, and I started work on the generator covers-rain redirectors-corrosion by rain preventors, and then we went in to eat. What we ate...I have no idea on how to describe it, but it was really good. (It was a Haitian version of stromboli, and more salad.[O.K. maybe I CAN describe it.])

Rob was teaching an English class all day.

GOD bless

Your brother in CHRIST, Luke

Pics added

other pics added - check out older posts = ready to go & first day

Rebuilding the walls


Cooking Enclosure Construction













Jeff & Luke

Josiah holding baby

Josiah (above)

Day 3 Josiah

Today (Monday) we started off with an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. Then I headed over to help Ariana with teaching the preschoolers. We taught them a Bible song and started teaching them colors and numbers. There were only 3 of them, but it felt like 40. They were so full of energy and never failed to find something to disagree with.

The other guys worked on some smaller jobs during the morning, just trying to asses what exactly they would need to repair and build. In the afternoon we spent time building a shelter over the area where the cooks make meals at the boys home outdoors. They were used to having no shelter so whenever it rained, they were soaked as well as the food. We got a great start on that and will Lord willing put the finishing touches on it tomorrow morning.

After the batteries died for all of our power tools we just spent a little time hanging out at the boys home. Mark and Jeff were actively engaged in a game of two on two basketball, and i enjoyed playing the kids and staff in ping pong.

We finished off the day with a delicious meal of Haitian spaghetti. It was delicious. Well I better get going, it is my turn to do the dishes. We are all eager to see how God will continue to use us in this trip. Your continued prayers are greatly coveted for us as well as these people who have gone through so much. Take Care!

God Bless,

Josiah

Day 3 Projects begin

Plumbing & Partition Walls: We are having fun, got a bit of work done today, sort of a slow start but got some traction after lunch. This morning we worked on plumbing at the new school/clinic building, got some of it sorted out and will continue tomorrow. They are trying to get that building ready for all the classes for the new "MDL school" and so plumbing is a priority. Also going to build some partition walls over there for classrooms. The roof has a nice view towards the water and I already have ideas for a nice tarp awning up there...future trip maybe ; )

Protected Cooking Structure: After lunch we got into making a new covered area for the cooks behind boys' home. They always cook outside and the old covering was destroyed in the quake. Building a simple shed structure and maybe some countertop and wind break (for propane burners) so they can have some shelter from the rain. We are all over it because one thing we always want to do is have the cooks love us! even if they don't actually cook for us, still good policy to have the cooks on your side, you never know....

Hope to finish up the cooks area tomorrow then start on covers for the new generators that they have, and we have much more on our list. Still there is talk of the concrete countertop micro-business here, so I might try to find a way to squeeze in a lesson on that if I can, but that may have to wait for a future trip. I am getting a better handle on how to make it work with the supplies that are typical here.

Nehamiah project (aka Rebuild the walls): Wall rebuilding is going strong and there is a mason Steve from the states here managing that, with a Haitian workforce of about 2 doz. That is very great because these men who need work are getting some, and that is the way to operate whenever possible...it's not always possible. The walls are looking good and they hope to finish up on the girls home in a couple weeks and get them back in there. It's odd to be at the guest house and not hear them next door, and be able to go over and spend some time with them. While the masons are going strong it looks like we'll be working on more "sophisticated" stuff like broken toilets (haha!) and leave the block slinging to the experts!
-mt 8mar10

Day 2 Church

We’ve had a great day here in Haiti ! After a nice night sleep in spite of the battling roosters and the dogs, we had a relaxing morning and took some time to get to know the rest of the people in the guest house. There are several people here form California and other places, working on rebuilding projects and starting up the orphanage school. We are enjoying getting to know each other and making plans to have an effective week here!

Haiti has a way of humbling you, many ways in fact. And to start off our first full day in post-earthquake Haiti by attending the first service at Port-au-Prince Fellowship since the earthquake…that was a special treat for sure. Those of you who have visited MDL before know may there’s nothing quite like a morning ride to church jammed in the back of the black pickup truck with Susette driving! She has a reputation as a fearless driver, and didn’t disappoint the team as she helped remind us all of our mortality, the thin slice between this life and the next, and the need to get in a proper state of humility for church worship ; ) The service was outside, because the usual building is now used as a school…the school grounds partially taken over by US military after the quake. We were told it was the Navy “SeaBees”, go Navy! Their tents cover the soccer field, and it seems like a lot of the school rooms are now being used by various people and organizations doing stuff to help Haiti . Everywhere some things are different in Haiti than they were before! The church was out in force, and I got to see many people from trips past. It’s sort of a homecoming a bit for me and I always enjoy Sundays in Haiti . We sang a lot of songs, with the street noise just behind the wall behind us…the sounds of life in Port-au-Prince , trucks revving, beeping, backfiring, people shouting, selling, surviving, and the ironic blend of sounds of our voices, guitar and sweet saxophone in music of praise. I thought about how much of a mess things seem to be here especially now in the fragile life of a tenuous recovery from mega-disaster, and how God is really interested in what it looks like on our insides, and maybe not so concerned about what our eyes see and our ears hear as a mess around us. People shared their earthquake experiences, and it was a time of healing for many. Ever for those who weren’t here for the disaster you could sense healing happening, and that’s a really good, and humbling thing.

As I meet old friends on this trip the first thing I think is “man, I am so glad you are alive”. Sometimes I actually say it, but sometimes I’m not sure how it might be taken, and sometimes reminding people of personal tragedy is not the best move. So many here personally knew the recently dead. How can we even attempt to relate to that?

After service I connected with some old friends from some of my Haiti past experiences, one of them Summer from the orphanage our family adopted from. We shared our family’s experiences and struggles endured throughout our adoption journeys, and it was astounding how similar they were. Sometimes in faith you are lead to do very tough things, things that hurt and could destroy you and the ones you love, and any rational person wonders…why? I don’t have all the answers but I know it helps to know you aren’t alone on that mountain, and that others may have walked a similar trail. Healing happens when you get the blessing of time with those who know the trail…

Volunteers like us who come to MDL get the chance for a very special treat once a week, and that is lunch at the Manassero’s cooked by the most excellent cook in all of Haiti ! After church, we enjoyed Haitian fare and got to see the earthquake damage to the home, which is not overly major but is concerning due to large fractures in parts of the foundation. The home is on the side of a deep ravine, and the fear is that erosion could further weaken the base and endanger the structure. There’s talk of having to find another home, just an additional concern in the lives of these intrepid missionaries!

Life after lunch on Sundays is easy and relaxed, with lots of chatting and napping going on. Plans for the week were made, and we have a full list of projects to keep us busy! Rob will start teaching, Josiah helping Ari teach pre-school and then some sort of athletic events in the afternoon, and the rest of us working with other people here on facilities stuff.

Oh, a final news flash for today! The concrete tables our team made are intact, and get used as tables, stages, beds, cinder block holders, and 2000-lb lego platforms. Go GH2!

--Mark 7Mar10

1st Day Firsts - GH2 Haiti Relief 2010

PAP Airport fun

Safe and sound in the MDL guest house! Very tired but good safe travel and no problems and it is great to see everyone. They are thrilled to have all the donations!

"Firsts” on our trip today:

1. Luke talking about his faith with the stranger sitting next to him for about half of the flight to Miami.
   
2. Entering the Port-au-Prince airport through a gateway! (Downside, no blast of hot air and scent of the city as you deplane onto stairs down to the tarmac.)
   
3. Flying to PaP on a plane filled almost totally with “blancs”!
   
4. Diving into the piles of luggage that they dumped into piles in a makeshift baggage claim…and emerging victorious!
   
5. Hardly a glance from customs, to our very great surprise and delight.
   
6. Seeing the earthquake wreckage first-hand. It is devastating. Flattened buildings. Debris piled up everywhere. But people everywhere, busy selling sugar cane, walking places, wiping car windows, and selling charcoal.

Earthquake damage

Earthquake damage

A tent city and razor wire

Tomorrow, we get to go to church at Port-au-Prince Fellowship!

Ready to Go - Day ONE!

The clock just slipped past midnight and so we are officially into Day 1 of our Earthquake Relief trip to Haiti. The team is all here at our house in CT, the donations and supplies are all packed, and some of the team are trying to rest a bit before our 3am departure. People were bringing stuff right up until our bags were full, and we have all we can carry. That's a really good thing!

Thanks to so many for help, prayers, donations. Everyone has been so generous, and in some ways this trip planned in just 2 weeks has come together better than my past attempts starting 6-12 months in advance. That's an interesting and really great thing, and pretty much nothing to do with me. We have a good team, a nice mix, and in under 3 hours Joe will be here and we roll!

GH2 Team at 3 AM ready for departure.
(Rob, Jeff, Josiah, Mark, Luke, & Joe)

Next post from Haiti....