Tevan and Alex JJ, Ariane, Mirlande, Moise All of us walking beside the canal.

Today I had the joy of taking the younger children for a walk beside the canal. I went with Ariane, Tevan, Alexandre, JJ, Moise and Mirlande. We laughed and sang and skipped beside the canal and then had a ton of fun throwing rocks into the canal. It was a nice change of pace from the work back at the mission.

Alexandre squealed with joy every time he managed to throw a rock into the canal with his foot!

December 16, 2008

Our first day in Haiti we had the opportunity to visit the construction site of the new school. The men passing buckets full of cement from one to another was a sight to see. Mariah and Josiah even had a chance to participate.

We also played soccer with one of the new balls with Alexandre and with a group of school kids who came to practice for the Christmas concert next week.

Some of the gifts we brought to Haiti will be given as prizes tomorrow for the kids who attained first and second place in their grades this year.

Enjoy the photos!
Liette

Josiah at the start of the cement bucket brigade.

Bucket brigade

Mariah in the bucket brigade

Luckner in the rock passing brigade

Bucket brigade and soccer

Bucket brigade with buckets full of cement

Passing buckets to fill in the foundation with cement

Soccer with the new soccer ball - JJ, Alex and Josiah

The old soccer ball!

Our arrival in Haiit

Ariane with Alexandre

Sleepy kids on the way to Deschapelles

Leaving the airport

Mom arrives - we were happy to see her!

The big pile of suitcases under the tarp.

Photos of our arrival in Haiti

December 16, 2008

We arrived safely in Haiti yesterday after a very long and tiring trip. Thanks to Lois and Barry who got out of bed in the middle of the night to get us to the airport on time, even in the –30C temperatures. We spent a nice evening in Ft. Lauderdale with my godson, Manno, and his girlfriend before getting up super early again on Monday to catch the flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince.

The flight was quick and uneventful, but of course when we arrived, there were people climbing over one another to try and get their bags out of overhead compartments. We finally found all of our bags and were waved right through customs without anyone checking anything at all. We didn’t see Mom and Luckner when we arrived, but they were there less than 5 minutes later so that was good. The truck I thought the mission had apparently died a while ago so it was an adventure loading 10 large suitcases and 2 carry-ons into the back of a tiny pick up. Once everything was covered with a tarp and the security guy jumped on the back, we all climbed inside. It wasn’t safe to have Mariah and Josiah ride in the back like they wanted because the pile of luggage was so high, so we were nice and cozy. The ride was a hot, bumpy, crowded adventure! After 4 hours on the road, we made it to Hands Across the Sea in Deschapelles to a warm welcome from the kids and staff.

This morning we had a chance to visit the school where the teachers are doing report cards, to see the new kitchen storage area that is almost complete (thank you to everyone who donated) and to witness the construction of the two new school classrooms. There are 2 dozen men digging down for the foundation but the work is slowed by the fact that the hole dug for the foundation keeps filling up with water and a pump is almost impossible to find around here. So they are working on what they can and Luckner ran off to see if he can find a pump this morning to get rid of the water.

Shortly, I’ll begin unpacking the suitcases and organizing the donated items so that we can have the gifts ready for the kids and some of the donated items for the kids when they come to do the Christmas concert on Dec 23rd. I’m sure the kids from the orphanage will be happy to see the new soccer balls as they are playing with a ball that’s pretty much destroyed. I’ll be sure to attach photos!

Liette

We are home

Our last words on our trip: we arrived home in Yarmouth around 3:30 PM Wednesday. We had a wonderful trip to Port Au Prince. We left the compound at 6:00 AM with Karen, Luckner, Gail and Trueman in the HATS truck with a policeman and a mechanic in the back. Timote (driver)and Dickie were in the cab of the Tap Tap "Jesus of Nazareth" and Pastor Jim and I in the back with a policeman and the money collector who usually works the Tap Tap. Pastor Jim and I were told we could only drive so far in the back of the Tap Tap and then they would take us inside when they thought it was too dangerous to stay outside. Well, they either decided it was safe enough or they forgot about us (haha) but we stayed there the whole trip and even through Port Au Prince! I had never been in the city before and was thrilled that we were going there. We drove through quite a busy section...maybe there isn't a less busy section...and enjoyed all I saw. Then we went to the Immigration Office and waited there (in an air conditioned room) for about an hour while Karen got some papers signed. There we were 5 blancs sitting in a row of chairs enjoying the cool air while others came and went. Patrick the Policeman stayed with us! Then it was off to the airport and say our goodbyes and thank everyone who got us there safely. As usual there was bedlam there ( not as bad as when you arrive) and we managed to get through the line up almost unscathed. We had a 2 1/2 hour wait there and then headed for home. Montreal was cold and snowy and I never enjoyed the cold so much. I stood in the cold air and breathed deeply and the next morning when we left the hotel for the airport it was snowing and I again stood in the snow and held my face into it and enjoyed it so much. I was only wearing summer clothes and it felt wonderful!
We had an uneventful trip to Halifax and Donnie was there to meet us with our truck and winter clothes and we headed to pick up Tagish ( at Shondi's)and then for home. Thank you to all who supported us and prayed for us, we appreciate you all.