Mission Trip to Haiti: Day 4

I woke up to a bunch of laughter and talking.  The group from Ohio was leaving later on the day, but a friend pulled a prank on them and put a rooster in their room as a wake up call.  Apparently, the rooster rummaged around in the room for about 10 minutes before hopping up on a bed and giving his wake-up call.  From what I hear, the lights went on, blankets went flying, boys started screaming and ran out of the room.  I missed most of the action, but it was still hilarious seeing their faces when I got there.

We left for the job-site around 7am, and arrived to it at 8:45ish.  This time we took only 2 SUV's to bring our group of 8 to the job-site.  In my car, the 4runner, we had 2 in the trunk, 2 in the back, and 2 in the front.  It was quite a site.  Good thing the cops in Haiti aren't as strict on the seatbelt law as police are in the states.

A view of our drive to the job-site.

Today was probably the hardest day of work we had while in Haiti.  We finished laying the block and built forms to pour concrete in to create a bond beam at the top of the house.  A couple of us left early to go to the airport and pick up a teammates baggage that still hadn't arrived.  After several rounds of security checks and much convincing on our drivers part, he was able to get his bag and all his belongings.

We came home, cooled off in a pool, and ate some dinner.  After that I don't remember much.  It must the the reward to a hard days work, a good nights sleep.

Mission Trip to Haiti: Day 3

The day started like every other day, waking up to a bright and sunny world at 5:15am.  We got our work clothes on and headed to the large room for breakfast.  We were taking a larger group than expected to the worksite, since the group from Ohio was still in town.

After breakfast we started to figure out car assignments for getting to the worksite.  We needed 3 cars to get there.  Though the job site was only 12 miles away, almost everyday it took us 1.5 hours to get there.  Today was no exception.  We took 2 cars and 1 "tap-tap."  A tap tap is a painted pick-up, usually painted in bright colors and religious pictures.  Literally, it means "quick, quick."  The pick-up bed is equipped with "benches" and is covered with the top of a ford bronco like vehicle.  It was interesting to say the least. You would be right to assume there is no seatbelts or windows that roll up in the back.  Somehow we managed to get 12 Americans in the back of it.  We were proud of ourselves until we started to drive down the road and realized Haitians often fill a tap-tap with 15-20 people.

Haitian tap-tap

Once the roller-coaster ride of the tap tap was finished and we arrived at the job site, we realized how mammoth of a job we had on our hands.  The foundation was poured, but that was it.  We had to lay the block, build the trusses, create the bond beam, and make doors for this house.  All in 6 days.  I guess that's why we immediately got to work and started cutting wood and laying block.  It was a very productive day.  We got all 10 of the trusses built and blocked almost half of the house in the first day.  It helped that we had 8 Haitians helping us, but like us, most of them had never worked on one of these projects before.

A look at the house at the beginning stages

On our way home we again got to ride in the tap-tap, but when it arrived it had a flat tire.  Being from America, I assumed that he would get out and put on the spare tire, but instead he pulled out a bicycle pump and began pumping up his tire.  It was shocked!  

The car ride home was one for the memory.  The tap-tap broke down 3 times and the benches we were sitting on broke too.  Two times the driver had to stop to add more brake fluid and once he had to stop to add more tire pressure to the tire.  I was glad we made it home safely.

All but one of our team members baggage arrived today.  He took it with stride though and it would arrive tomorrow.  Dinner and the rest of the night were good.  It was nice to be home and relax after a hard day of work.

Mission Trip to Haiti: Day 2

Haiti does not participate in daylight savings time.  Therefore it becomes light around 5:15am.  At first I didn't know how to respond to this, but I will say it makes it much easier to wake-up in the morning.

After the rest of our crew woke up, we joined a group from Ohio that was working on homes the week prior and headed to church.  Since it rained a lot the night before the roads were wet and difficult to maneuver.  When there is a puddle of muddy water in Haiti, it's best to go around it since you can't safely assume that the potholes in Haiti are shallow.  Many of them could be classified as craters.  Church was only about 6 miles away from the Villa, but it took us over an hour to get there.

When we arrived we were escorted to the very front.  It was fun to see the church already have the sound system that we gave them the night before up and running.  They had us stand up, and thanked us for our hard work and contributions to the church.  Songs were sang, some of which we knew the english version to, and a sermon was given.  At the end of the service, communion was given.  It was a piece of a cracker and actual wine.  The church sustained extensive damage during the earthquake and as a result had to be leveled and will have to be rebuilt.  As of right now, they hold church on the same ground the original church was, but underneath a tent.

After church, we went to a hotel for lunch.  All the rest of our meals were held at the Villa for the rest of the week, but on Sunday's the kitchen staff has off to be with family and worship the Lord.  When we arrived we walked into a room with A/C.  It felt great.  Right off, we could tell this hotel caters to Americans, even the menu's were in English.  What we didn't know however was the amount of time it was going to take to eat.  It became apparent that the restaurant did not have enough plates for all of us to eat at the same time.  Thus, one table would eat, then the next, and so on and so forth.  It ended up taking us 3 hours to eat lunch.

On our way home, we stopped by a street market so people could collect some gifts for supporters and family members.  It was an interesting site, and it took a lot of convincing on my part to persuade the street sellers that I did not have any money on me. I remember one conversation with an individual who  said, "You do to have money on you.  You have Jesus in your heart."  I was a little taken back by the comment and told him that it's true that Jesus is in my heart and he gives me joy, but the joy in my heart given to me by Jesus did not give me money to buy something from him.

Picture of the Street Market

When we got back to the Villa, the rest of our team arrived from the airport.  Half of our team left on Saturday with me, and the other 4 came in on Sunday.  They too, had a tight connection to make in Miami, but they weren't as lucky as we were.  Their luggage did not make it to Haiti.  Luckily most of it would arrive the next day.

The rest of the day consisted of resting and preparing for the week ahead of hard work and sharing with the Haitian people.

Mission Trip to Haiti: Day 1

I woke up at 3:45am to get to the airport at 5:15am.  As soon as the alarm went off I knew it was going to be a long day.  Getting through airport security was a piece of cake.  We had enough time to get a last minute breakfast from, of all places, TGIF.  Our flight to Miami was delayed a couple of minutes which worried us because we had a close connection, but I guess the pilots opened the throttle because we wound up arriving before than we were scheduled to.  Luckily too, our flight from Miami was delayed 10 minutes, which gave time for our bags to make it to the new plane.  Both flights were smooth and comfortable.

As soon as we landed, the team could tell "we weren't in Kansas" anymore.   The Port-au-Prince airport was badly damaged in the Earthquake from last year.  They have one terminal open.  When you get off the plane, your escorted through a non-airconditioned hallway to a security checkpoint where you wait to be bussed to customs and baggage.  Even though most of the airport is still standing, much of it is uninhabitable, and thus customs and baggage claim are now in an old airplane hanger.

Customs and baggage claim we fairly easy to get through and once we walked out of the old hanger, the fun started.  As soon as we walked out, we were swarmed with people trying to carry our baggage for us talking to us in a language that was foreign to most of us.  We were able to find our driver and blindly followed him to his car.  It was half parked on a sidewalk and we watched as Haitians tried to fit 8 bags of clothing and work materials and 6 people into a 90's Toyota 4runner.  At first the group didn't think it was all going to fit, but we soon found out that Haitians can make anything work.  We got in the car and hung on for dear life as we headed toward "The Villa", the place we would be staying for the next week.

As we were driving, we all rededicated our lives to the Lord, as we learned that Haitian driving laws are merely just a suggestion.  Seatbelts are not used, nor are blinkers, speed limits, stop signs, red lights, and even driving on the correct side of the road.  It was interesting to say the least.  Right out side of the airport sits a decent size tent city with a couple of out houses near it.  The smell is strong, but the sight of it really broke my heart.  Street sellers were everywhere, and people were coming up to the car asking for money.  We passed several similar sights, the destroyed capital, and even a dead guy on the side of the road before arriving at the Villa.  In terms of distance, the Villa is about 10 or so miles away from the airport, but on an average day it takes about an hour to travel to and from because of traffic and road conditions.  Many of the roads were nothing but dirt and large rock/rubble.

When arriving at the Villa, the site of the outside is not much for the taking, but once inside the gate the inside was surprisingly well taken care of.  Luckily the Villa managed to escape the earthquake with not a lot of damage.  We were able to unload our stuff, adjust to the temperature and rest until dinner.  After dinner, we were able the pastor of Portial Leogange Evangelical Church was able to stop by and we were bake to give them the prattle sound system the team brought down for them.  It was fun getting to train them how to use it and see the excitement on their faces. 

The view from the outside gate of the Villa

The view from inside the Villa

When the night was beginning to come to an end, it began to rain.  Haiti is beginning to enter their rainy season, and I was grateful for the rain.  Showers their don't have much water pressure and we could get hot water to come out of any faucet while we were their.  With that knowledge, a fellow team member and I put on our swimsuits and went out side to shower in the rain.  It was the best water pressure and warmest water I showered in all week.  It was refreshing and just what I needed before I went to bed on top of my covers praising the Lord for allowing me safe travel and the chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the Haitian people.

Amazing opportunity!

Briyana and I were blessed to just learn about a great opportunity for you and for us.

Through the generosity of a couple wanting to help current missionaries who are raising support, One Mission Society has offered me the chance to MULTIPLY new gifts toward my missionary support.

If you are considering supporting us, or considering increasing your support, now is the perfect time.

Between now and August 1 I have $5,000 available as a matching gift for anyone who gives new regular support or gives additional regular support toward my missionary support. The way this works is noted in the following example:

Example:

If Mike decides to begin supporting us for $50 per month, then OMS will put an additional 4 months worth of support in with Mike’s gift. This would mean Mike’s first $50 gift would become a $250 gift to our support.

Example:

If Suzanne decides to change her $25 per month pledge to $50 per month, then OMS will put an additional 4 months worth of support in with Suzanne’s gift. This would mean Suzanne’s first $50 gift would become a $125 gift to our support.

We earnestly value your prayers and support, and couldn’t help but share this amazing opportunity with the people we love and cherish.

God Bless,

Brent & Briyana