Below is a summary of the last trip to Haiti from January 15 – January 26

Friday, January 26, 2007

We are heading home! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers today as we have a long day of travel ahead of us. We will leave our compound at 9:30 a.m., and be in Woodstock, ON around 2 a.m. We had a great week, and hope that we do not have any troubles getting home i.e. broken down buses, lost luggage, passport troubles, weather…

Friday’s pictures include the cleaned-up orphanage, our group photos, packing up, giving thanks to the ladies that cooked for us, and us hanging out at the airport. Click here for pictures of Friday

Thursday, January 25, 2007

We started out the day at the crack of dawn, cleaning up our compound and making sure it looks better than when we came. This included sweeping out the orphanage, picking up tools and packing up medical supplies.

Then it was off to the beach. The pictures show how much we all enjoyed this beautiful resort and the good times that were had! We were able to do a variety of activities including snorkling, a boat ride, and mostly, lying on lawnchairs in the sun. We had a great lunch with a variety of familiar foods. We were able to swim in the Bay of Port-Au-Prince (which leads out to the Carribean Sea), as well as in a beautiful pool.

Click here to see pictures from Thursday
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The wood forming was taken down by the construction crew, revealing another successfully built wall. The stairs to the second level were also poured and will be ready to use tomorrow! The first level of the orphanage was cleaned up and odds and ends fixed up. The kitchen was completed, and the cabinet crew was excited to be able to open the kitchen for business to the women.

The medical, dental and pharmacy crews traveled to Christa College to take care of the 300 students that attend that school. For having 300 people, this school was incredibly tiny and space was limited making things a bit more chaotic than usual.

Sponsorship pictures were taken of over 50 students that are sponsored at this school. New students were also found to add to the sponsorship list. Members of the group had an opportunity to give their gifts to the students who attend this school. Many reminisced at Christa College as this area was a past residence for them.

We had another adventurous trip home from Christa College, which is located near the airport, one hour away from the camp. When we were half of the way home, the back left outside tire blew. This scared most of us on the bus, especially those sitting on top of this tire. Thank goodness for dual tires because we carefully drove the rest of the trip home on the inside tire. In Haiti, the tires are driven on until they are worn completely thin and from the state of the roads here, it doesn’t take much to do that.

We are sad and excited that our last day of work here is done. There are a few things that will be cleaned up tomorrow, but we are mostly excited to relax at a resort by the beach. This will be a refreshing time for all of us before we come home. We had the opportunity to express what this trip has meant to all of us in the evening. This was a great time of sharing and provided a time to express our gratitude to God and our team for all of our experiences this week.

Click here to see pictures from Wednesday

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The construction team completed putting up the wood forming in the morning and poured the concrete into the last half of the bulk head in the afternoon. It was quite hard work and many of us were covered in a combination of sweat and concrete. They had extra help from members of the medical team too! The kitchen cupboards were installed today with a few minor adjustments to be made. They look beautiful and from the “sneak peeks” the women were taking, we could tell that they were excited to use them. The pictures show the progress of the installation over the course of the day.

The medical team had a bit of a lighter day, seeing people from the community in the morning and the Haitian construction workers and women that assist with dinners and laundry etc. in the afternoon.

A few people traveled to another school today, Foveau, to take more updated pictures of sponsored children and to add more children to the list of those needing sponsorship. This trip also provided two people with the opportunity to meet their sponsor children, which was an exciting event for them.

We are very thankful for all those who are leaving us messages on the website with the pictures. We have been reading them out-loud in the evenings to the whole group. We feel incredibly supported as it gives us that extra motivation to keep going to the end.

Click here for pictures from Tuesday

Monday, January 22, 2007

Everyone was back to work, working hard on their respective projects. The cabinent workers are getting closer to their goal of installing the kitchen cupboards tomorrow. The construction crew worked on putting up the wood forming around the back and sides of the orphanage so that tomorrow afternoon, the concrete can be poured.

The medical team and pharmacy assisted all of their patients today, even getting an early end to the day. The dental team had many tough cases and saw double the amount of people they usually see.

We worked on taking and updating sponsorship pictures as well. Many of the children’s appearances change over the course of the year and it is important to keep a current picture of them. A few of us visited the children in their classes and took pictures of them studying hard.

Many of today’s pictures are “aerial” views as they were taken from the tops of Pastor Charles’s house, the school and from a tree! Click here for pictures from Monday

Sunday, January 21, 2007

This morning the team had the privilege of worshipping with Pastor Charles and his congregation. The service was spoken in both Creole and English, with songs sung by choirs who also sang both languages. After the service, the whole team spent time with members of the congregation, eager to shake our hands.

After lunch, most of the team was able to walk to a house that was built four years ago for a woman who has 5 children. This woman wanted the team to straighten out her crooked hut, which had been washed away by the river, but the team gave her so much more with a new concrete house and the feeling of added security. This 45-minute walk provided the team an opportunity to see how Haitians in the country really live.

Another group of the team had to opportunity to travel to the orphanage that Chedlin operates. Chedlin is a Haitian that was sponsored from grade 2 and he is now an adult who is investing everything he has back into Haiti. Chedlin realized the value of his education and is now an architect and contractor as well as his role with the orphanage.

The sponsor children from local schools came to the compound this afternoon to receive their gifts and meet their sponsors. The children were very excited and thankful.

The team then sang songs and played games for the rest of the afternoon with about 65 local children who were led by a woman from the community. The games and songs went on for hours, yet the children never tired. The pictures cannot convey how much fun we had this afternoon with these children.

After dinner, we were discussing our day and talking about the importance of sponsorship. Ronald, a Haitian, told a story of an afternoon he was traveling with Bill. They saw a donkey that was carrying many items and the load was so heavy that the donkey laid out flat in the middle of the road. Ronald looked at the situation and said to the Haitian leading the donkey that if he took off some of the load, the donkey may be able to get up and travel again. The Haitian did this and the donkey was able to get up and continue on. Ronald related this experience to sponsorship saying we often think that we are not doing enough. Ronald said if we give money and support to these children, we are taking off a part of their load so that it is easier for them to get up and go on. His hope is that these children will in turn lighten the load for others.

Click here for pictures from Sunday

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The team was up at 6 a.m., taking down the wood frame around the concrete that was poured yesterday. They also did more work on the cabinets and fixed up the bus for today’s trip. Everyone was ready to go at 10:30 a.m. to go to the look-out point.

You’ll notice as you look in the pictures how the scenery progresses. We start out in the countryside with the mountains and small villages. Haiti’s population is 8.3 million and about 75% live in rural areas. As we get closer to the city, we see the beautiful blue ocean as well as fields of burning garbage. You can’t imagine how bad it smells!

When we enter Port-Au-Prince, there are many shops, markets, and people outside wandering around. You’ll notice that the roads are not very wide. There are no road rules; people pass when they want, they turn when they want, and use the horn frequently. We were surprised to find one stop sign, which no one really followed. We also came across three funerals in which hundreds of people take up the whole street, following the Hurst that carries the coffin. One picture shows where a river used to flow through the city; in fact, there was water there last Saturday!

The further you travel up the mountain in Port-Au-Prince, the bigger the houses are and the more wealthy people are. Close to the top of the mountain, we experienced bus troubles. Our bus was overworked, traveling up steep and winding roads. We didn’t make it to the lookout and had to turn around and coast back down. We stopped at Domino’s Pizza for some supper, where a “Super Pizza Deal” cost $220! (That’s Haitian dollars, of course). We were very grateful to have Jack with us to fix the bus to allow us to get back home safely!

Click here for pictures of Saturday

Friday, January 19, 2007

The construction crew finished framing the support headers in the morning and also installed the support beams to prepare for pouring concrete. The afternoon was spent with an assembly line of crew members carrying buckets of concrete, which were then poured into the support headers. The cabinent crew worked on the kitchen cupboards this morning, getting closer to being able to install them in the kitchen next week. They received a visit from a class of children from a visiting school on a class trip. The class toured their “shop” and had a chance to see the team hard at work.

For the first time this week, everyone who waited to see the medical team was seen. This was very encouraging for the medical team as it is difficult to turn people away at the end of the day. They seen many children today, as well as pregnant women. The pharmacy had a busy day today as there were many prescriptions that were filled.

We ended the day with a friendly football (soccer) game: Haitians vs. Canadians. The Hatians won the game, 2-0, but we will not name who was responsible for the Canadian loss!

We were very excited that Dr. John Boersma and Beverly Jansma arrived today, making our team complete. Dr. Boersma will be assisting in the dental clinic and Beverly will be a much needed addition to the medical team.

We have had a busy week full of hard work and great experiences. Our bus trip to the look-out tomorrow will be a much needed break for us all!

Click here for pictures from Friday.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Happy Birthday to Jane Klasen today!

The medical team was extremely busy again, treating a variety of ailments and illnesses; some more serious than others. Some of the Haitians have diseases that our medical team can only treat with TLC, which has been difficult for the medical team. The dental team saw 12 people, also with varying degrees of difficulty. Both of these teams have been incredibly grateful to their translators who have proven to be essential assets to the teams. Our translators explain to us the ailments, and then in turn, explain back the diagnoses and medications suggested by the medical team.

The construction crew worked very hard on building the support headers for the second floor. Their goal is to finish it by noon tomorrow so they can pour the concrete into these support headers. The bottom kitchen cupboards are almost complete and the team will be starting on the upper kitchen cupboards tomorrow. The team has also dug a trench behind the church, built a concrete barrier, and then filled it again as to prevent water from coming into the church.

Our electrical crew has been working on updating the wiring in the building that houses our generator. This requires taking out all the old stuff and putting in completely new wiring.

We have been enjoying our evenings of a great supper, fellowship, playing cards and generally enjoying each other’s company. We thank God for keeping us safe so far, despite some minor injuries. Hopefully the pictures tell the stories better than these descriptions do. We have noticed that many people have been checking out the website and we are thankful for your interest and support! Click here for pictures from Thursday

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Today was the first time the medical team has operated independently in Cabaret; things went very smoothly and many patients were cared for. The pharmacy was able to dispense medicines and vitamins that would help to improve the health of many children and adults. The dental team also had a busy day and was able to see a variety of patients with varying levels of difficulty, and the dentist asked to leave it at that…

The construction crew focused on three projects today. The first being the orphanage where more interior walls have been built and the forms for pouring major support headers for the second floor were started. The second project is improvement of the mission center kitchen where there are currently no cupboards. All the preparation work was done today and they will begin installation tomorrow. The third project involved digging a one-foot deep trench along the back wall of the church and it was poured with concrete as a footing to address flooding issues in the church.

Our electrical crew worked on various projects including upgrading the exisiting circuit board in the dormatory common room. Some faulty wiring issues in the mission house were also addressed.

The camp vehicles were given mechanical attention by our talented mechanics as well today. Looks like we will be able to travel safely for the rest of the trip because of their hard work!

A special Happy Birthday today to Nathan Streef and Kerissa Van Amersfoort!

Click here for pictures from Wednesday

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Despite lack of sleep, and arriving in Haiti at 8:30am, the team was ready to work as soon as they arrived at the compound at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. None of the luggage had landed with the team, which meant many people were wearing the same clothes several days in a row. Members of the team started lugging concrete blocks over to where the orphanage is being built. Others met with their individual teams, i.e. dental, medical, and reviewed plans for the next day. Late in the day, a dump truck arrived with all of the luggage.

Tuesday evening, Bill officially welcomed the team to Haiti as all members had now arrived. The evening was spent discussing plans for the week, getting to know our new “roomies”, playing cards, and for some, an early bed-time!

Click here for pictues of Tuesday.

Monday, January 15, 2007

A bit of a rough start for the team. Weather conditions in Ontario made it difficult to get to the airport, fortunately the plane was delayed and we boarded on time. Unfortunately, we missed our connector flight from Miami and could not fly to Haiti until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Bill, Marge, Jolien and a few others had arrived in Haiti on Saturday. Click here to see pictures from Monday.