Today started for me around 5:45. At breakfast everyone was much more interactive. We had some lively discussion about how drastically different life has developed in the Haiti as compared to the Dominican Republic even though both countries are on the same island. Everyone seemed to be well rested and ready for the hard day of work ahead of us today.

After breakfast and devotions we headed back to work. I worked on building shelves and moving gravel. During the day, there were a few welcome breaks for lunch and to test the new Mules that arrived. Around 6:00 Mike and I finished up with the last set of shelves we were building, hit the showers, then headed to dinner.

Being a picky eater and being late for dinner is not a good combination. I had a Haitian rice dish and some oatmeal raisin cookies I had brought with me from the states. After dinner I was exhausted and went to bed early.

Today the work begins. Last night, the air conditioner shut off and we had to make it through the night with fans.  It was a little warm in the top bunk, but not unbearable. At least I didn’t get eaten alive by the mosquitos. The women had it a bit rougher, they had no electricity and thus no fans. The generator at the facility only powers some of the equipment and electricity from the city is only on about 50% of the time. Sometimes its easy to forget that everyone doesn’t have access to the things we take for granted in the U.S. How can you encourage business or tourism when you can’t guarantee them the necessary electricity to power their equipment?

At breakfast this morning we met Mislie, a young lady that lives in Kansas City but was born in Haiti. She left Haiti as a child and has returned to volunteer with Heart to Heart.  She is volunteering at the Bel-Air clinic and is currently a sophomore at Spelman College.

After breakfast we headed to Seminaire Theologique Nazareen d’Haiti to inventory a recent shipment of medication.  The goal was to get through all of it today, get it catalogued and ready for dispensing to the clinics.  We were expecting twelve pallets of medicines, but somewhere between the time it shipped and the time it arrived, that number had dwindled to nine.  We attacked the shipment and began to organize it to do a full inventory.  We were so efficient that we managed to get everything inventoried and organized before lunchtime.

We walked from the Nazareen compound back to the Heart to Heart facility for lunch.  Veronique had set out a very nice lunch for us consisting of rice, beef, left over pizza, banana bread, etc.  We enjoyed lunch and rested for a few minutes.

Since we were ahead of schedule, Linda decided to rearrange our workload.  She had the wood brought in to start making the shelves for the Bel-Air clinic and a truck of gravel arrived that had been ordered months ago.  The men headed outside to start building shelves and move gravel.  We spent the afternoon sawing wood, pounding nails, and hauling gravel.  One of the you Haitian men I was working with, Ben, paid me an unexpected compliment. He told me I was a tireless worker, a good quality in a man. I think it is easy to work tirelessly when you see the need here. I would love to see Haiti have the same quality of life that we are used to in the U.S.

The ladies in the group spent the afternoon painting and reconciling the inventory.  We relaxed for a few minutes before dinner, took showers, etc.  Dinner was another good meal…rice, plantain, fruit salad, goat, and au gratin potatoes w/ chicken hot dogs.

After dinner we gathered together to reflect on the day.  Rev. Sherri asked us to come up with one word to describe the day.  Our responses were: awesome, focused, necessary, outstanding, fulfilling, amazing, and extraordinary.

Rev. Sherri then asked what we thought of the government taking their “fair share” of shipments coming into the country.  Everyone was little upset about the fact that government and government workers would take medicines that are going to help needy people.  A healthy discussion then ensued.

Rev. Sherri then asked us where compassion comes in.  Mr. Hobson responded that we  can spread the word of the need by talking with others and letting them know how they can help.  Mr. Butler commented that people don’t know that they can do things local even if they can’t afford to travel to Haiti to help.  One of his goals is to encourage African Americans to do more.  People can go to a store pick up one extra non-perishable item and donate it to Heart to Heart and it will help someone that couldn’t afford it.  In the U.S. we don’t have to worry about drinking water.  In Haiti, the tap water is unsafe to drink and people wait in lines to get drinkable water from trucks that ship it into the tent villages or buy bottled/filtered water.

We need to reach out to the youth and develop an understanding of why missionary work is important and what they can do to help.  The African American community as a whole does not seem to get involved in missionary work.  People are falling behind because they don’t realize we are all global citizens today.  What happens elsewhere affects us.  I think I may just sponsor the airfare for a youth from St. James to go on a mission trip to Haiti.

3 points from tonight’s discussion:

1. Everyone has something to give.
2. Most people are willing to give when they see it and have the opportunity.
3. Everyone can do something for someone right now.

Some words to close out our discussion:

James 1:22-26
New International Version (NIV)

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Today our day started bright and early around 6 am for many of us. We said goodbye to some of the BD people that were leaving for early flights. The chef of the house, Veronique, had prepared a wonderful breakfast of eggs, chicken bacon, sweet bread, and fresh fruit for us. Not eating breakfast was not an option as Rev. Sherri found out. Rev. Sherri asked for coffee and didn’t get any food. About 20 minutes later Veronique came out and beckoned her to the kitchen where Rev. Sherri promptly was handed a plate with a freshly fried egg.

After breakfast we headed to church at l’Eglise Methodiste de Freres, a local Methodist church. The service was 2.5 hours and entirely in Creole. The liturgist told us today was Global Children’s Day and in honor of that the children played a prominent part in the service. There was a lot of singing. (video will be played at a service in the future) Although we understood little or none of what was said during the service, we all enjoyed it. One members of the church translated the pastor’s sermon to Jason. I wasn’t sitting close enough to hear what he was saying however. After church we met the pastor and took a photo.

After leaving, we headed off to have lunch. Lunch was authentic Haitian Chinese food. LOL The food was very good and everyone enjoyed their dishes.

Next we went on a tour to see Port Au Prince. We were amazed at how much devastation there was. There were tent villages everywhere. Some of the nicer tent villages had evolved into permanent tent villages with tent stores and cinemas. We visited a church that had been destroyed by the earthquake. There were a few Brazilian UN peacekeepers there to ensure the safety of people in the area. As we walk around the number of young men, women, and children in the area quickly grew from 3 or 4 to about 25. They were pleading for food and money for the babies. Steve told the women to bring their children to the clinic tomorrow. We were heart broken to see where these people were living and suffering.

We headed back to the Heart to Heart facility after the church. On the way back, we passed through the area that used to be the main drag in Port Au Prince. Most of the buildings had been destroyed or condemned. We discussed how much Haiti needed to develop to begin making progress and wondered what the new president might do.

Back at the Heart to Heart facility we relaxed and unwound from the day. For dinner Veronique had prepared wonderful potato salad, fried chicken, rice, plantain, and banana bread. We enjoyed dinner, then discussed St. James and how to get more people involved at church. Later we broke up into small groups watching Game 6 – Dallas vs Miami, surfing the web, and just general discussions to round out the evening.

The work begins tomorrow!!

The day started pretty early for most of us. Our flight left Kansas City at 6:00 am, so many of us were awake at 3:00. A couple of people bypassed sleeping altogether.

I arrived at the airport around 4:40, parked, and was at the terminal by 4:45. I saw Andre checking a couple of really big bags. He had brought medicines to deliver to the operation in Haiti. I had checked in online and didn’t have any gear to check, so I went right to the security checkpoint. At 5:00am, airport security only took about 2 minutes to get through.

A few minutes later I get a text message from Rev. Sherri saying that she and Jason are in the economy lot waiting for the airport shuttle to arrive. At 5:35, people start boarding the plane and Andre and I are still the only ones there. It seems there was a long wait for a shuttle to arrive to pick them up and by the time the shuttle came, there were so many people that they had to wait for a second shuttle to arrive. By the time the plane took off, the entire team was safely onboard and the St. James Mission team was Haiti bound.

The first leg of the trip was to Dallas. We arrived in terminal C on time and quickly found our way to our gate for the next leg of the trip, Miami. We arrived at terminal D to find our flight had already begun boarding. Everyone got onto the plane and we were off to Miami.

Upon arriving in Miami, our last stop in the USA, everyone took a moment to call friends, loved ones, and cell phone carriers to say goodbye and ensure cell phones would work upon arrival. We headed to our next gate and decided to grab some food since we had time. Andre treated the team to lunch at a trendy little restaurant, then we headed off to our gate. At the gate we tried to round up the entire team for a photo before leaving.

Once on the plane, we got the first sign that we were about to leave the United States. The air conditioning was set noticeably warmer! The airline did their normal pre-flight announcements, which were in both French and English, then we took off for Port Au Prince, Haiti.

The flight was a short 90 minute trip. The plane seemed like a US military transport due to the large number of uniformed soldiers onboard. I also noticed that there plane was mostly different mission groups based on the shirts they wore. I wished that we had thought to make a shirt up for our group and had all worn it on the ride over.

Upon arrival, the first thing you noticed was the heat and humidity….it was in the 90′s. We proceeded through customs, got our luggage, and headed out. Linda Weber was there to greet us as we exited. We were quickly flanked by men wanted to help us with our bags. They followed along side as we left the airport until we found the Heart to Heart vehicle. I found it surprising that they were determined to help with the luggage no matter what. I was rolling my bag as well as one of Mr. Hobson’s bags. Brenda stopped to take a short break during the long walk. I offered to take her bags and let her roll Mr Hobson’s bag and one of the guys swooped in swiftly to try and grab the bag from me and assist. I said, “no, no,” but he kept his hand on the bag as I rolled it the entire rest of the walk.

Once aboard the Heart to Heart vehicle we embarked on the ride to the Petion-Ville. Most of the roads were not paved. We passed many tent villages as we left the airport. Most of the homes and business that were standing had various markings spray painted on them indicating whether or not they were habitable or due to be demolished. The French had done inspections of buildings and marked them for safety. We passed dogs, pigs, and goats as we travelled. Upon arrival at the Heart to Heart facility, we entered through a gate that had security guards 24-hrs per day. The facility is very nice compared to what we passed driving in. It is almost like a vacation resort. The building is nice, makes a great office for Heart to Heart, and most of the enhancements were made by volunteer groups.

We met the BD group that was finishing a 3-week tour of service. They had pizza as their last dinner in Haiti. They were excited to finally have something other than rice & beans that they had most of the time here. After dinner we had orientation and learned more about where we would be working while here. Due to recents rains, there were mudslides and Steve didn’t feel it safe for us to work and travel to Leogane/Fondwa each day, so we will be working to inventory a shipment of cholera medication that just arrived and urgently needs to be distributed. We will also be working to build medicinal storage facilities in the Bel Air pharmacy.

After dinner we had free time to just hang out. It was a fun evening where both groups mingled and had discussions. I found a group starting a Jenga game and joined in. At the end of the night, I was the new Jenga champ. Everyone said their goodbyes and wished each other the best. We departed for the sleeping quarters and called it a night.

The St. James Mission Team has arrived.  We’re safely here and getting oriented.  Everyone excited to to get to work.  Pictures of the team are here: Mission Pics