February 16....arrival in Haiti

Flight was uneventful from Atlanta to Port-au-Prince.  I was so surprised to see how far Haiti has progressed since I was last here in October of 2011 and from when I first came in November of 2010.  The tent cities are almost all gone, the tarp shelters are few and far between, the main roads are paved, the airport has had a complete transformation, there are no buildings and businesses, and even a few signs letting you know when you go from one village to the next.  The progress stunned me all week.  Words can't describe how much better it is.  To those who think we aren't making a difference, I beg to differ. Looking at my pictures from the previous 3 trips show a tremendous difference!

Our home is a beautiful 2 story house with an upstairs balcony (my favorite spot), a front porch, and a small courtyard.  It is gated and we have visitors daily peeking through the bars at us.  The village is very friendly and we are able to walk to church, the school, chicken coop, and garden area.  We are staying in Saintard, about 45 minutes northwest of Port-au-Prince.  It is a beautiful community.  Below is a picture of our house.  It is the green one.

Our team consists of 16 people, 8 men and 8 women and we are sharing the house with Romil and 5 of his family members who will cook for us and make us feel at home for the week.  There are 2 bathrooms between all 22 of us.  The shower consists of a trickle of water (washing my hair was difficult), can't flush the toilet paper, 8 women to one room, no air conditioning, power out several hours a day but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It's amazing how we can actually LIVE without modern conveniences we think we have to have!  It's so simple here!

Tonight we will go to Romil's church and worship with the Haitian people.  I enjoy church over there so much.  The people are so excited to worship, there is loud singing, dancing, hands in the air, and alot of "amen" shouted.  Words can't describe it, you just have to experience it.

I love Haiti, the sights, the smells, the land, the people, everything.  While I'm there, I just take it all in and enjoy it.  I wish I could bring it home with me.

On my previous trips, I became friends with a guy named Reggie who worked with us in construction.  He was a very sweet young man, very hard worker.  When I first met him, he was a little standoffish.  He wasn't quick to warm up to but once he did warm up to us, he became a lifelong friend.  One that I thought of daily and who actually sent me a gift from Haiti via a team from Charlotte once.  At dinner tonight I was informed that he had several encounters with some men who were harassing him because he was a Christian.  He continued to stand up for what he believed in and continued to worship God.  Because of this, they burned his house killing him.  Needless to say, it was quite devastating and effected me the entire trip.  To hear of people being persecuted because of their religion is one thing but to know someone who was killed because of their belief in God is another.  Me and my dear friend Reggie from November 2010.

Prayer requests:  strength, endurance, safety, the people we will meet, finding materials for chicken coop (not an easy task in Haiti), Romil and family.  Trying to please 16 American's can't be an easy task!