Here's what happened today: up at 4:45 and off to airport where the American Airlines Service person tore up our boarding passes and put us all in first class with free upgrade because of our mission!!!!!The pilot also announced godspeed to our group from Sacramento and wished us well on the work we were going to do!We checked 16 bags, including fresh produce and did not have any delay at customs at all. The airport was
not as crazy as we expected, and we were driven 20 miles west from Port au Prince, then 20 miles south east over the mountains to Jacmel. Three and a half hours later, we arrived! The city of Port au prince is very poor. there are piles of garbage along th streets, which they burn and lots of venders under sheets held up with poles selling everything. Jacmel - Cyvadier by comparison is more rural and very green. The Hands and Feet project is very welcoming and the kids are beautiful! They all want to be held and jumped right in our arms. It is hot and humid, but very nice at night - cooler. Tonight it rained. We unpacked, got settled in our rooms, ate dinner, got the rules and played with the kids. Love to all. Every one is well, but tired. We will all probably get to bed early tonight.
not as crazy as we expected, and we were driven 20 miles west from Port au Prince, then 20 miles south east over the mountains to Jacmel. Three and a half hours later, we arrived! The city of Port au prince is very poor. there are piles of garbage along th streets, which they burn and lots of venders under sheets held up with poles selling everything. Jacmel - Cyvadier by comparison is more rural and very green. The Hands and Feet project is very welcoming and the kids are beautiful! They all want to be held and jumped right in our arms. It is hot and humid, but very nice at night - cooler. Tonight it rained. We unpacked, got settled in our rooms, ate dinner, got the rules and played with the kids. Love to all. Every one is well, but tired. We will all probably get to bed early tonight.
February 3rd, 2009
We were up early, breakfast at seven. Tami, J, and Cameron made muffins and cereal for breakfast. We watched the kids go off to school, then went to work. Our job today was digging out the dirts and rocks left behind by the flooding. The girls removed about a cord-sized area of rubble with shovels, pick-axe and wheelbarrow and drank about a gallon of water between them. Madame T-Bone, the dog, has 2 puppies. They chose to hang with the girls, wrestle with each other, and try to help us dig! Lunch was a welcome break - and when Drex and Jo returned we got to hear about the trial of Christela's mother, who had abandoned her in a toilet at birth almost two years ago. Custody was awarded to Hands and Feet-
Drex and Jo. We also met a 23 yr old Canadian woman named Sarah who is a midwife here in Jacmel. She has been traveling to or living in Haiti since she was 15. The guys did a similar job, but bigger, and dug out a huge tree trunk. They were given a lot of help in the afternoon by the eager kids who live in the house where they were working. We had a visit from a local souvenir vender, and they guys played ball with the kids while Michelle (with Hands and Feet) cooked Kona Chicken from Swingles. Tami, Rebekah and Brittaney prepared the rest of the meal. Cameron and SteveO did dishes with cleanup help from the others. The cold showers to clean up felt really good today. At this moment everyone is just hanging out having conversations and trading magic trick secrets! Love to all.
Drex and Jo. We also met a 23 yr old Canadian woman named Sarah who is a midwife here in Jacmel. She has been traveling to or living in Haiti since she was 15. The guys did a similar job, but bigger, and dug out a huge tree trunk. They were given a lot of help in the afternoon by the eager kids who live in the house where they were working. We had a visit from a local souvenir vender, and they guys played ball with the kids while Michelle (with Hands and Feet) cooked Kona Chicken from Swingles. Tami, Rebekah and Brittaney prepared the rest of the meal. Cameron and SteveO did dishes with cleanup help from the others. The cold showers to clean up felt really good today. At this moment everyone is just hanging out having conversations and trading magic trick secrets! Love to all.
February 4th, 2009
Today, the weather was overcast off and on. We are hoping for rain. It is so beautiful. Rebekah and Tessa went into town with Michelle. It was very eventful. They saw a motorcycle accident victim, then their car
almost hit someone who ran out in front of them. They saw the market in Jacmel, where the raw meat is out on tables to be purchased and they swat the flies away...The market is in a French building from the 16 or
1700's. Jesse and I went to Jacmel with Drex in the afternoon, so we saw the market and Jacmel also went to a hardware store!! Everywhere in Jacmel they are building grandstands so sell seats to bystanders when the carnival parade comes. The guys spent the day finishing digging the flood rocks out. How moacho!! They got a lot done. Rebekah scrubbed the sink unit of the house we are cleaning so that kids can move back in.
Brittaney and I helped Drex remove, clean the mud out of, and reset a toilet. We also helped him plane and rehang doors. Then we washed walls in one of the bedrooms and sang silly songs. We are showered and off to our dinner out by the ocean!! Oh, I almost forgot, Edlina cooked the most awesome Creole meal for lunch. Yum. We are being spoiled by the hospitality and the affection of the kids. Love to all.
almost hit someone who ran out in front of them. They saw the market in Jacmel, where the raw meat is out on tables to be purchased and they swat the flies away...The market is in a French building from the 16 or
1700's. Jesse and I went to Jacmel with Drex in the afternoon, so we saw the market and Jacmel also went to a hardware store!! Everywhere in Jacmel they are building grandstands so sell seats to bystanders when the carnival parade comes. The guys spent the day finishing digging the flood rocks out. How moacho!! They got a lot done. Rebekah scrubbed the sink unit of the house we are cleaning so that kids can move back in.
Brittaney and I helped Drex remove, clean the mud out of, and reset a toilet. We also helped him plane and rehang doors. Then we washed walls in one of the bedrooms and sang silly songs. We are showered and off to our dinner out by the ocean!! Oh, I almost forgot, Edlina cooked the most awesome Creole meal for lunch. Yum. We are being spoiled by the hospitality and the affection of the kids. Love to all.
February 5th, 2009
We had a great dinner out last night at a beautiful hotel on the coast. We ate on the patio as the sun set. It is so beautiful here. This evening before dinner we walked to the ocean on a dirt path. We went past houses and fields where they were growing Beans and Banana trees. There were cows and goats tied up in fields to graze. This area is so green and beautiful. We finally came to the coast and the volcanic rock cliffs. They were very sharp and uneven and there were lots of holes along the way. The cliffs were very beautiful with the mountains in the background and the clouds building up behind them. We spent about a half hour there taking pictures and then walked back along a different route. Several people knew Michelle and Larry, and everyone wished up Bon Soir. Dinner was tacos - yummy. Cooked by Jay, Rebekah and Brittaney. Jo was
a sweetie and prepared no bake cheesecake and oreo cookie cake for dessert. The guys worked on the driveway today, removing rocks. They were helped by the neighborhood boys, and at one time, had eight kids hanging around. The girls scrubbed walls, and showers, and beds with bleach. We got the downstairs house clean enough to paint. All the doors are working, the kitchen counter back in and the bathrooms clean and working. Tomorrow we paint. The hope is to be able to move one of the nannies and her big boys from the upstairs, back down into the downstairs by Saturday. Other teams did a lot of work getting the mud out, and we are getting to do the finishing up, and see the homecoming!!! Where the guys dug out rock from between the buildings for the last two days, a work crew came in and demolished the fallen rock wall which the guys uncovered. Then a foundation trench was dug, in preparation to replace the missing wall. There is so much work here because of the hurricanes! After we paint tomorrow we may get to go to a beach to swim. We are getting plenty of water to drink, food to eat, clean showers and comfortable beds, and even airconditioning at night. We won't need it tonight, though, as it is very breezy and cool enough for long sleeves. WE are just hanging out on the porch talking.
Grace and Peace to all from Haiti
a sweetie and prepared no bake cheesecake and oreo cookie cake for dessert. The guys worked on the driveway today, removing rocks. They were helped by the neighborhood boys, and at one time, had eight kids hanging around. The girls scrubbed walls, and showers, and beds with bleach. We got the downstairs house clean enough to paint. All the doors are working, the kitchen counter back in and the bathrooms clean and working. Tomorrow we paint. The hope is to be able to move one of the nannies and her big boys from the upstairs, back down into the downstairs by Saturday. Other teams did a lot of work getting the mud out, and we are getting to do the finishing up, and see the homecoming!!! Where the guys dug out rock from between the buildings for the last two days, a work crew came in and demolished the fallen rock wall which the guys uncovered. Then a foundation trench was dug, in preparation to replace the missing wall. There is so much work here because of the hurricanes! After we paint tomorrow we may get to go to a beach to swim. We are getting plenty of water to drink, food to eat, clean showers and comfortable beds, and even airconditioning at night. We won't need it tonight, though, as it is very breezy and cool enough for long sleeves. WE are just hanging out on the porch talking.
Grace and Peace to all from Haiti
February 7th, 2009
Hi! Today we did more painting and digging... Then we went to the beach!!! We took off at 2 pm in the pickup - 15 kids and 9 adults - yes in one truck. We each had a kid on our laps, and the rest in the back.We played in the surf for about an hour and a half. It was so beautiful - and warm. Haiti is experiencing a cold front this last couple days - It's been about 78 - 80 degrees with a breeze!! We had dinner, then chilled on the porch with the kids, did a devo...Right now we're getting some great stories from Michelle about some of the groups that have been here. (Apparently we are a hardworking, easy to manage group - yeah!)
February 8th, 2009
Well, we did it. The nanny and boys moved in to the cleaned house this afternoon! We spent the morning painting touch up on the trim and painting the beds for the boys. They were all very excited - especially the nanny. She and her kids had been sharing a house with 2 other women and all their charges since November!! (Could you do it?) We did a bit more rock and dirt excavation for an hour before lunch, and in the afternoon after returning from town. Six of us went with Jo and Michelle to Jacmel. We picked up Sugar, Water, and other supplies. We were also able to visit an art gallery and a mask vender. The masks are made of papier mache formed over a dirt mold of a face, then painted and varnished. These masks are about 4 feet high! All the carnival (which they call Ra Ra) masks are hand made and carried in the parade. Jacmel has 2 weekends of carnival starting tonight. Jacmel is very interesting. Lots and lots of motorcycles buzzing up and down the street,and lots of people walking. Mostly men. They were very few women out today. We then celebrated the February birthdays with the nannies and kids. Bekah and Tessa baked and frosted 72 cupcakes. The kids sang Happy Birthday in Creole and English, then blew out candles and opened gifts. The dogs, Madam T-Bone and T-Bone stole a few cupcakes from the smaller kids, until we shooed them away. After dinner, Drex taught us a few Sunday School songs in Creole. When the kids heard them, they busted out singing at the door to the dining room. Wow, they can sing. We get to sleep in tomorrow, church is not til 10 am. It will likely be lots of singing with a kid on each lap (by the way, this kids do not like to share laps -
they want you all to themselves) and probably hot. See you soon!
they want you all to themselves) and probably hot. See you soon!
I hope that gives you a little insight into our first experience in Haiti, at least from Tamis point of view since she is the only one who wrote everyday :o) Im sure I did but its in a journal somewhere, that would take me days to type....
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