Exciting last day

Our last day was an eventful day! We got an early start and it was exciting to watch all the workers (31 Haitian and 8 blan) working on the cement roof. They have quite a system. They mixed and poured 225 bags of cement a zillion buckets of water from the canal and the hose and a ton of gravel. I went to devotions at the school and just as they were raising the flag and singing the National Anthem Cabano came running into the school grounds and spoke to Luckner and he took off on the run and jumped into another mans truck and tore out of the yard. I wondered what happened but didn't think too much about it. Later I was walking to the compound and saw that all the staff were talking excitedly and running to the gate so I took stock of who was missing and I saw the truck was gone. When the truck is gone I know that Dickie and Karen are gone too. I headed to the gate with the biggest knot in my stomach and Cecile stopped me and took me back to her house and put Josee in my arms. After a few minutes she headed to the gate again so I put Josee on the step and headed to the house and then I went out the side gate to the school and ran down the road between the compound and school and as I walked past the gate I could hear them all talking and I heard my name but I didn't look back. Faith had come from the accident to get Dickies drivers license that was in his vest pocket and had told me that they were okay so when I got there I found Ed, saying he was fine, Dickie saying he was fine and Karen saying she was fine and about 500 Haitians talking and yelling madly at every blan there. Dickie had blood on his nose forehead and knee and the eye peices were missing from his glasses, Karen had a big bump on her right side of her head and was holding her ribs and Ed was white and limping BUT they were all fine. They had taken 2 people from the Tap Tap to the Hospital. We had to wait for the Police and it was hard to manouver around the two trucks so everyone stopped and got in on the action and the Tap Tap owner was cursing us big time and everyuone was yelling and talking excitedly. It was the Tap Tap drivers fault BUT when you are lan in Haiti you are in the wrong. The Police finally arrived with the Judge de Prix and they looked everything over and took photos. We had taken a lot of photos by this time and I was talking to Faith and I noticed a Police behind us with a machine gun so we both turned to get his photo but he moved so we each took a side of the road and hoped to get a good one. It seemed we were there for hours when given permission to leave. Dickie had to give his drivers license to the Police and they wouldn't give it back. Faith ran and photocopied it but they wouldn't accept the photocopy so we didn't mind he could get a new one when we got home. We returned to the compound and got ice on Ed's ankle and iodine on Dickies scrapes and ice on Karen's head and ribs but before long they were all back at the school again limping, hurting some and continuing to enjoy the day! What troopers. Poor Luckner was left to deal with the Tap Tap owner and anyone he could bring to help him plead his case for $50,000.00 US for a new truck. Luckner was wearing many hats today, first he was the school director, then the construction foreman and then lawyer....all before 9:00 AM.

The roof was finished and we had a fun time with 12 of the workers here on site where they all got to say what they wanted to each other, share a pop and we gave them all a bag of shoes, clothes and hats to take home to their families. Then all the kids and Cecile came for a visit and pop and they all thanked us and sang for us and told us how much they appreciated us. Faith was wondering since our arrival how she was going to take a little kid home with her BUT today she changed her mind and was wondering how she was going to take a tall dark and handsome man home. Timothy is about 7 feet tall and handsome as can be.

We gave the staff their tips and said our goodbyes today and we will be on the road early morning. Don't know how we are going yet but we will be going. Please pray for our safe travel to Port Au Prince.

Sandra

It was a very exciting day to say the least. We were up early and all working towards the big roof pour. We hauled all the cement over in the back of the truck from the depot to the school site, then we went to Luckners to get a ladder. The next trip a few minutes later was back to Luckners to get some gas for the cement mixer. It was on the return trip that we were hit on the rear passenger side. In order to get on the road by the canal which leads to HATS you have to make a wide turn in order to make it in one try. That is what I did but a woman walked in front of me and I slowed down and got hit very hard. The tap tap driver was going really fast. It spun us around violently. Ed and Cabano were in the back and were thrown unto the hood of the tap tap.Ed hurt his ankle. Cabona appears to be OK. Karen hit her head, ribs and ankle. I hit something that knocked me out, I have two scrapes on my forehead, a cut on my nose and am sore everywhere. We are all very fortunate considering the possibilities. We gave the biggest show in the area for a couple of hours. This has been a wonderful trip and we accomplished more than we expected when we first arrived.

Dickie

An early good morning

Good Morning to the family and friends who have been following both blogs.
It is 3:50 a.m. and my day is underway. I want to aplogize for my blog being a bit of a mess yesterday. Guess I am meant to take a break from blogging or from including photos. After writingI had checked it and it was all there. Then I added one more photo but did not recheck anything. The photos when downloaded always sit at the top of the page and need to be dragged into position. When putting that last photo in place I dropped it a couple of times and had to start over. I am assuming that when doing so I had dragged and lost some of the writing I had done.

There is a ton to be done today and I know I will be running all over the place assisting with many different things so the cement roof can be poured. It looks like Dickie and I will have to go to St. Marc one more time for propane so the ladies can cook for us but neither of us want to go.

Thank you for all your support for the fantastic group that God sent to help HATS and for all the support to get them here.

God bless you.
Karen

Almost over

Greetings from a hot HATS Compound. We just returned from Luckners where we had supper on the roof, picnic style. We took sandwiches, tuna and peanut butter and jam, cookies and Luckner supplied the drinks. There were 18 of us and we had a great time. It was great to spend time with Luckner and for people to get to know him a little better. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy hot day here so most went straight to bed to be ready to face tomorrow. Ed just got some more iodine...Don you are not here so Ed is the receiver of the iodine this trip. I have gotten the bottle for him many times this past 2 weeks.
After work tomorrow we plan to spend a little time with the Haitian workers and give them some clothes for their children and or wives. We do not know yet how we are going to Port Au Prince on Tuesday but I am sure it will all work out tomorrow.
Church was good with Pastor Dennis preaching again and Luckner translating. It started out slow (due to the fact we started at 7 AM.....well that was the time we were told it would start) but people didn't come until 7:30 or later, so we started about 7:40 with people arriving all the way through until 9:15 AM when we were leaving to start work.
Faith and I and Karen gave out clothes to a bunch of needy children that Luckner sent over after church. Most were delighted but one teenage girl had a very hard time finding something to fit her. She left with the others but she had wanted something that didn't fit so wasn't quite as happy as all the others.
Karen just screamed so we are all wondering "what did Dickie do now". I think he set off a fire cracker that Josiah had here at Christmas time. Maybe that is not a smart thing to do here without letting security know that it is a firecracker and not someone shooting on the compound. Dickie has played many tricks on Karen these last 2 weeks so we are all used to her screaming.
Faith, Karen Dickie and I are going down to spend a little time with the kids before bed time. I think our bed time is much earlier than the kids. There are only 5 of us left up at 8:50 PM.
They are gone without me so I must run.
Sandra

Sunday - Just Another Work Day

Hello Everyone,

Here are the photos I promised last night. I was much too tired to finish the job before my eyes closed.

The truck breakdown yesterday was a good experience for Dickie but it was the 'frustrating norm' for me.

Dickie trying to lift the truck with a crappy jack

I need to get out of here

Four out of five wheel posts broke off. Only one post left. What do we do now??

Call Luckner and wait

Dickie driving the truck with the tire being held on with only one bolt. Luckner, Karen and Odner followed closely with Karen staring constantly at the tire, fearing it would fall off.

Today's church service was good. People arrived constantly from the time we started and some even walked in as we were about to walk out. Not really their fault. Due to the absolute Afterwards a lot of students came over to this compound where they all received clothes and/or shoes.

The necessary work to get the project ready to have the roof poured tomorrow was finished today in extremely hot temps. The men were on the roof working on rebar which drew the heat and almost burned their fingers. The temperature was at least 130 degrees up there. Luckner was concerned about the men, but they all seem to have survived.

The unfinished roof preparations. Photos two days ago.

Roof almost ready. Roof ready for pouring cement

I leave you with one more photo. This has been a fairly regular noon hour sight.

Well deserved nap time

Tomorrow work starts at 6:00 a.m. and will be very interesting for 'blan as I love Students will arrive for devotions at 7:30 a.m., enter their classes at 8:00 and get out again by 9:00. It will be much too noisy for them to hear their teachers due to the cement mixer and all the people yelling back and forth. Dickie and I must go to St. Marc and I would prefer for someone to kick me into the canal in front. We, however, ran out of propane for this house yesterday. Today Martha and Germaine cooked a good meal outside the back door on the recho with charcoal. We do, however, need to get propane purchased and hooked up again. Truly never a dull moment in Haiti.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute the workteam (and I mean "work"team) have been with us. It is going to be very difficult for me to see them leave on Tuesday. Back to the old lonely existance. Lonely for sure at times, but not often dull or boring.

Many blessing to all of you.

Karen

Typical day in Haiti

We needed supplies today but had no gasoline for our borrowed truck. We heard that there was some gas in Verrettes so Karen sent Odner on his motto to try and find some. He returned 1/2 hour later with 5 gallons. We put the gas in and Odner, Karen and I set of for St.Marc. On the way Luckner called to say that the HATS truck was ready. We stopped to pick it up from the mechanic(about 20km away) and left the borrowed truck on the side of the road. The HATS truck would not start when I tried it. I got the mechanic and he hit the battery with a wrench and the truck started, then we had to put air in 3 of 4 tires. Before we could they had to find gas for the generator to run the compressor and then it took 3 guys to put the air in. We drove to the grocery store to get supplies but more importanly to exchange US$ for Haitain$ to pay the work crew. The truck would not start so Karen got out and moved the battery cable and it started, but I had to shut it of again so Odner could go to Western Union to exchage more money, it would not start again. I got out and discovered the battery cable was loose and only sitting on the battery. I could not tighten it because the wrenches were behind the back seat and the the latch is broken so you can not get access to them. We ran a few more errands and left St. Marc. I love Haiti but you could never describe the conditions in St. Marc and make anyone who has never been there believe it. Halfway between St.Marc and Ponte Sonde we had a flat tire in bandit country. The spare tire was at HATS so we called Luckner to bring it ot us. He had to take a tap tap and then borrowed the mechanics truck. The handle for the jack would not fit so I shoved my arm behind the back seat until it was raw trying to reach a tool. I found a short bar and finally got the truck up. We could not get the nuts off, they were rusted solid. I persuaded them with a multipier and broke all 4 that were left. There was one stud left and another broken. I took a nut off he front tire and took some oil from the dipstick and the power steering pump and tried to get the nut on the only stud. After trying for a while it spun on easy. I then found a proper wrench behind the seat and tightened the battery cable. Luckner arrived with the tire and we put it on with one stud and drove back to the mechanic. It was easy the rest of the way.
Dickie
I had a calm day according to everyone else. Faith and I painted again this morning, then we sorted and counted clothes to give out to needy people. We added ours to Liettes so we would know just what we had and the sizes etc. I played with the kids a lot and then took Alex out to watch soccer and play with the boys and toys. He wanted to do laundry with his feet and was ticked at me when I would not give him water. Josie called my name today and ran to me and put up her arms. She usually hangs back and waits for you to pick her up but my heart soared when she called to me from way down the compound and ran with her arms up. What a joy! There was confusion today when Karen and Dickie and Odner were gone. Propane in the main house for the stove ran out, Fedna came for her weeks supplies and money and I was trying to find all of that, the Haitian workers were waiting for Luckner and Karen to return to pay them and I couldn't get her on the phone and then couldn't tell them anything. Finally I reached Karen and by the time I went over to the compound they were just leaving and Tim and I tried to explain. Tim was using his French and communicated well. We had a delicious supper of rice, chicken and kalliou and sauce, then I bathed Alex and rocked him to sleep and it is now 8:50 and I am still not showered...so must go. Karen will write a few lines now......maybe, she is so tired she may not make sense...BUT then that is often that she doesn't make sense so what is new?
Must run before she reads this.......
Sandra
I truly am very overtired and I am giddy again. All I can do is laugh at the trucks ongoing problems. Choose - laugh or cry. There is no choice there. I am laughing. What else can I do?? There was nothing left to go wrong today I thought. Then I returned home to find the house was out of propane and there is no way to cook anything for the 14 people in this house tomorrow. I figured bread and butter could be available. Sandra suggested we not eat tomorrow so the team could experience some of what the people in the area experience regularly. But tomorrow is another day of hard work so not eating might not be the best thing for the men. God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

We want to add some photos taken today but the two giddy sisters don't know how to download to the laptop. We will post this and go to my office computer, download, and do a very short blog with the missing photos. If you don't understand any of this it is because I don't either, so please do not ask for an explanation.

Goodnight everyone. God bless you.
Karen

Another good day in Haiti

Progress on the School is sporatic at times but this is Haiti and plans do not go as required . The roof will be poured tomorrow. That was the plan 10 minutes ago. Church is at 7:00am to enable us to get started on the pour. Everyone is working hard and are very tired, it is pretty quiet around here by 9:00pm with mostly everyone in bed.
We can not get supplies because there is no gas in the country and may not be any before next week. Jacques has been going every day on the tap tap/ moto to get bread, drinks.etc. Martha took a tap tap to St. Marc today to get chicken, ground beef,etc. That is a long trip on a tap tap.
Karen and I walked to a hardware store(not quite like Home Hardware) to buy hinges. hasps and paint. The paint weighed 200 pounds by the time we got back. The cupboards down at Luckners are finished and the closet is painted and ready to go down if we can get gas for the borrowed truck. Pal has been sick with a bad infection on his flank and has been on a 6" chain so he does not get into it. The Vet was here today and said he could roam within the compound but not go in the canal. He is pretty happy. I take him for a walk 3 times a day to give him some exercise. Thursday we were walking across the bridge and he peed on a ladies big bag. Although I did not know what she said it probably was not good. Alex was over at the school all morning watching the men work and playing with his trucks and a hammer. We only have a 1/3 drum of diesel left for the generator, thankfully Haitian power has been on a lot so that helps. When we get gas we can then go for fuel for the generator. This is a great place to be and I am sad that we only have 3 more sleeps.

Thursday already

Good Morning,
I just returned from the school and feeding Alex his lunch. The kids get fed at 10:00AM and Alex needs to be fed and today Karen is taking people to the Hospital for a tour, so I got the privilege of feeding him. It is such a joy to go to the school for devotions and watch all the kids...what georgeous children!
I have to tell a story that happened on Tuesday when I went to feed him. Dana Lynn, Liette and Shondi you will enjoy this and remember when you did this same thing to Grammy. I was sitting on the cement wall feeding Alex in his chair and a little preschool girl came and smiled at me and sat beside me. After a while she touched my arm, then she put two hands on my arm and moved upward...then she tried to put both hands around my upper arm then she smiled at me and wiggled my flab and laughed. I burst out laughing and thought "I have become my mother" she did it all the more after I laughed. It was a great moment!
Everyone is back from the hospital tour and back to work. It is extrememly hot again BUT was chilly last night, so I will be looking for more sheets for people tonight.
Bob and Brian put hooks in the cement ceiling in the gallery for a swing for Alex this morning. He will be a happy boy when he gets home from school. We have more kids coming today to have photos taken for their sponsors and to meet the ones here. We are also going to try to give shoes that Superstore donated out to those with feet size 7-10. We will try to get the rest of the clothes you brought given out tomorrow Liette.
I must run I have a bunch to do before noon and it is fast approaching.
Hope your storm (Yarmouth)wasn't too bad and temperatures didn't drop too low in Ottawa.
Bye for now
Sandra

Too tired to write

Good Morning to those of you who enjoy hearing from us here at the HATS-Haiti mission.

I had good 'intentions' of writing last night, but those were overridden by the fact that my head could not sit properly on my shoulders and my eye lids decided to close of their own accord. I remember someone, hopefully it was my giddy sister, walking me to my bedroom. Don't remember much for some time after that.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I was up before 4:00 a.m. and I saw an absolute ton of work completed. It was a day that I will remember always. I did the usual run, run, run around both compounds seeing that things were moving along and things were supplied as needed. I ran for plumbing supplies with Brian and Dickie and Dickie and I took one of our security agents and headed to St. Marc for plywood, propane, and to return the second cheaply made, but expensive to buy, water cooler. The store owner continued to tell me the problem was me, or my house/electricity, etc. Dickie and I knew it was not and I stood my ground. I said I was not leaving the store without a credit for the total cost. Got it and then used it all, and more, to pay for plywood, etc.

The school construction was more than busy all day long. Luckner knew it was important to get all of that stage of the construction, building and pouring the cement supports for the roof, finished yesterday so this morning the work could move forward. There was still a lot to be done at 3:00 p.m. so Luckner jumped in the truck and ran outside the compound looking for men who wanted to come and work hard and fast. He found seven new ones and the other regular workers kept on trucking, Haitian and Blan alike. When it got dark we ran with extension cords and two lamps from my house. All the 'blan yo' who were not pounding nails or mixing or pouring cement, held up flashlights so the work could continue.

It was an amazing few hours where the workers , chocolate and vanilla alike, ran around like ants trying to get to the honey jar. At 8:00 p.m. we were all very overtired but had an extreme sense of accomplishment. Luckner and I both really want to see the cement roof finished with the tremendous help of the team. We would like to be able to start pouring on Saturday, but that might more likely happen on Sunday. Oops, for those of you who have not been on a work project like this, sometimes Sunday, after church, must be a day of work.

Ed mixing cement

Sandra and Faith have been busy beavers bug painting and regular painting the big fantastic cupboard Dickie built for my bathroom. They are in the process of moving and organizing things there for me.

They have been doing a lot of different things which includes an outstanding job with my precious little happy guy. Alex is soaking up the attention of the whole group but looks to Sandra and Faith for most things. Mama Karen keeps running around and does not have enough time for Alex. He wants time with his mama, but he is certainly not hard done by with these two taking care of him.

I got back at this early this morning but the work day started. School is in session and today a presentation of Creole Bibles was made by Gerry to all students in our grades 5 - 8 students. Several sponsored students received gifts from the workteam members today that had been sent down by their sponsors and photos were taken. Work on the school construction continued, a lot of odd jobs and running around was done, and now at 7:40 I am once again very tired.

If you enjoy reading about the escapades of the group, come on down.

Karen

Vacation Day

We had a day to relax if you can call 15 people in a truck driving two hours over a terrible road to a resort, relaxing. It was very nice though, we went swimming and enjoyed each others company and had a meal together. The road is in worst shape than my previous trips to Haiti. At one place we had to get everyone to get off and walk while I tried to get the truck through a deep hole with the help of Bob. We stopped in St. Marc to return the second water cooler which did not work. The owner of the store was not impressed and blamed Karen for not having the right voltage, etc. We have to go back to St. Marc tomorrow to get plywood and plumbing supplies for another water tap for the school and another go at the water cooler problem. Everything in Haiti is expensive and the quality of most things is poor. For example most plywood you buy has to be glued together before you can use it. The only kind of screwnails you can buy are slotted and in my opinion useless. I always bring my own and it makes every job easier.
Progress at the School was slow today due to a number of factors. The Boss Man was in no mood to work. They were going to rent forms/plywood to pour the roof and expected to pay $4,000.00 and the guy wanted $18.000.00, Haitian $ that is. Tomorrow is another day and Gerry will crack the whip.
Karen is working way to hard and is in constant demand. Problems are the norm here but lately seem endless. I sent her screaming to her office and bedroom but she would not stay. I brought mousetraps to catch a mouse she says is here. One night I took a mouse trap out of her room with a large toy very real looking rat attached and asked what I was supposed to do with this. She disappeared instantly. Last night I got down on my knees in the Galley behind a door with a scary mask on and terrified Karen and Sandra on there way to the Depot.

What a great day

What a great day we have had. A wonderful church service, delicious lunch of rice and beans, a 3 1/2 trip to Ti Rivere and back by a different route. Dickie drove with Luckner, Karen, Dennis and Paul or Bill inside (they took turns) and the rest of us outside. We put 2 benches in the back....trying to be a regular tap tap but we were not very successful, no one wanted to get on with us! A lot of people laughed at us though.
We saw the whole valley and what a beautiful sight!
We returned home and a bunch walked the canal with all the kids. Faith and I stayed at home and "poisioned" the wood. We are to paint it tomorrow when we return home.
Tomorrow we go to a resort for the day, all 12 of us and Karen and Alex. School also starts again tomorrow and the kids return with the construction well underway.
The living room is a bee of activity with about 8 or 10 people playing Mexican Train.
I am hoping Karen will get a few lines in here. She has been dealing with a lot of stuff since we returned and has to get things organized for tomorrow while we are away.
Hi, me here now. I just had a two hour phone call with my trusty assistant dealing with problems at school and onsite. Fun and games.
We really did have a great day, which helped make the problem solving go better.
Alex is spoiled rotten, more than usual even, by all the loving attention from the great crew here. He is loving every minute of the attention and is shining in fine form with his performances. It will not only be hard for me to see them leave, but it will be horrible for him too. So how many of them am I going to be able to tie on down here.
Now I have to go down to the depot with the giddy sister to prepare food for the students as school reopens tomorrow.
Two we have to take time to check over our kids skin for any problems to see if a visit to the doctor is needed tomorrow.
If I don't go now I will get even more giddy, so goodnight. More tomorrow.

Sunday after Church

It is another great day in Haiti. We had a great Church Service this morning. We are having a great time together and getting lots of jobs completed. The kitchen cupboards at Luckners are completed except for the doors. Luckners children have poisoned it and will paint it tomorrow. Then I will make doors. I finished Karen's storage closet yesterday, Faith and Sandra will poison it and then paint it.
The School work is progressing nicely and with a couple of hundred kids added tomorrow it will be fun. The Market trip yesterday was interesting as usual, I almost lost it smelling the rotten meat,etc. We are going on a field trip after lunch, 14 people in one small truck, no small feat. The heat is bad but getting somewhat better at standing it. Lots of funtimes with the children. It is always a pleasure to come here, I enjoy it tremendously despite the trip in from PaP.
Love Dickie

Giddy sisters

One of the giddy sisters here, the smaller one.

We are having a good time together. What a great bunch of people I have here. At this time of the day Sandra and I are very overtired and extremely giddy, but I am really enjoying having someone to be giddy with.

A ton of work is being done on the school. Things are moving along nicely. Alex and TiFi are both benefiting from the attention of the other giddy sister and of non-giddy Faith.

Today a large contingent of blan yo (12) walked from the HATS compound to Luckner's house, along with Alex (in stroller) and Pal on a leash. It appeared that Pal was walking Gerry most of the time. This walk brought a lot of attention and stirred a lot of comments, but was well enjoyed.

Tomorrow morning I plan to take some of the group to the market in Verrettes. Sunday afternoon we plan to take them to Ti Riviere, and one day next week we are planning on a beach day. So, who came here to work anyway??

It is fantastic for me to have the group here, but is going to be extremely difficult to see them leave.

Now the other giddy sister needs to write a few lines.
We are having a great time....much too hot. Karen wears jeans, corduroy pants and long sleeves and the rest of us are melting!
We have eaten a lot of good food and had a few good laughs. We go to bed early......last night I woke up having to go to the bathroom and I looked at my watch to see what time it was only to find out it was 10:20PM. I laughed so hard I woke Dickie and he wanted to know what was wrong and I told him it was only 10:20 PM and he said "good" and went back to sleep.
It is good to be back again. I love the children and seeing how they have grown and changed. It is so good to see the staff and families and we look forward to school starting on Monday so we can see it in action. The storage and cook area are great and I have been taking food over to the Haitian workers to cook there daily. The work team at the school are all working so hard and they have a great rapore with the Haitian workers and you can find them laughing and teasing each other as they work.
It is too late and I am too tired to write anything intelligent tonight. Dickie has some good pictures and I hope to get some up soon.

New blogspot address

Hi everyone, we have arrived safe and sound. It was quite the ride here but God is good! Our team will be writing about our adventures from a blog that was set up early in the planning stages. The address http://www.haititeam2009.blogspot.com
I will try to add a few personal stories when I can on this blog for those that know me and want to check.
Sandra

Final thoughts

Well, we've been home for 2 days now.

Our trip home was eventful with Mariah, then Tevan getting the same flu bug that my mom had. Mariah was up all night sick in Miami and Tevan was really sick all the way home from Miami to Calgary. He was a real trooper, using his bag on the plane and never once complaining. Plus Ariane was still suffering with her bad ear and fever. I was so happy when we finally made it here. The kids have all turned a corner and are on the mend, although Tevan is still pretty green. I think he'll be back to normal by tomorrow.

Unfortunately, with me taking care of three sick kids on the plane, my camera was got lost on the plane from Miami to Dallas. I called yesterday but the Lost and Found was closed, so will be calling again today and sure hope someone turned it in.

I've been thinking about our time in Haiti and what it meant to me and to our family. Haiti is a beautiful, crazy, upside down, magical, terrible place. It's a place where children die every day from malnutrition, water-borne diseases, and preventable illnesses. It's a place where labourers line up every morning at 4:30 am on a bridge near the orphanage, hoping to be hired for a day's work in the fields so that they can provide for their family. Where women can't read or write, but can do complicated math calculations in the marketplace. It's a place of corruption and distrust. But also a place of laughter and unending hope where people find reasons to celebrate, to laugh and to make connections with others.

Haiti can seem lawless and chaotic, but when you observe the culture, there are complicated social and cultural rules that govern everything that goes on. People live according to age-old rituals and culture, with both harsh aspects and beautiful and gracious ones. It's a reminder that our way of doing things and of living life isn't the only way or even the right way. Being a part of another culture helps keep things in perspective here and helps me to be more open to the myriad of differences in the people I meet every day.

I had time in Haiti to reflect, to slow down the hectic pace of my life, and to spend time with my children. I had a chance to welcome more people into my family as Mariah and I visited with her father again and had the chance to meet Mariah's siblings. I enjoyed the beauty of the country right outside the gate of the orphanage and I got in touch with nature in a way that just doesn't happen in a big city (cows mooing, goats sqealing, roosters crowing - oh joy!).

My two oldest kids had a chance to reconnect with their roots and heritage, while they all had an opportunity to learn about different ways of seeing the world and different ways of living. They saw what their efforts could do to help others, forged friendships, and worked alongside people who live in very different circumstances. I know their lives are richer for the experience.

Haiti reminds me that it is possible to make a life count for something more than commercial success and material gain. I can use my gifts, my education and my blessings to help others. In Haiti, if you are hoping to change a country, you will be sorely disappointed. But if you do what you can to touch one life, you can make a difference. That applies not only to Haiti, but everywhere. We're here for a bigger reason than just finding success as defined by our culture. We're here because God made us and our lives have a purpose. We can be fueled by our passion to make this world a better place, one individual, one person at a time.

It has been a joy sharing my experiences with you!

For those of you who are reading and want to know more about Hands Across the Sea, directed by my mom, Karen Huxter, you can post a message here for me, email me, or email hats.haiti@starband.net. You can also visit hats-haiti.com.

There is a team travelling from Nova Scotia in a few days to spend 2 weeks in Deschapelles, Haiti and they will be posting their photos and blogging about their experiences on this same site. I hope you'll turn in to read about their adventures.

Liette