Sunday, 27 Feb

It is another beautiful day in Haiti!  We awoke for breakfast of french toast and oatmeal, as always accompanied by bananas, toast, jelly, and fruit juice.  At 8 AM we loaded up and drove off for church in La Tremblay.  A group of 7 people from Houston came along with us.  The service was energetic, full of song and smiles.  Afterwards, Dawn B caused a sensation as she danced (a capella) with little girls in beautiful dresses and shy young men in nice church clothes.  The little girls, little boys, and many adults shrieked with joy and hilarity when she pulled in one young man to teach some fancy jitterbug moves.  Many photos were taken, and a few movies.

After church we drove a very short distance down the road to our work site.  It is a small church, made unusable by earthquake damage.  There's no roof, no windows, and it's already missing a few walls.  Our job will be to tear it completely down and pile the rubble out near the highway.  The Houston team will join us in doing that tomorrow, then they'll return to their usual job here at the Guest House.  A porcelain commode needs to be installed at the school where we'll sleep, and that should occur tomorrow.  The plan (ha!  plans!!) is for us to return to the Guest House in Petionville tomorrow night, and then we'll sleep at the worksite in La Tremblay Tues, Wed, and Thurs nights.

La Tremblay isn't really a town. It's more or less "an area" along the main highway that heads towards the Dominican Republic.  A series of small roads lead away from the main road, and that's what they call La Tremblay. 

We are having a very good mission trip, bonding well and sharing stories from our spiritual journeys.  Tomorrow, some real, good, hot work will start.  We've made plans to hang a tarp for shade, there will be two people who are designated safety officers, and hydration will be strictly enforced. I expect to become very dirty, very hot, very sweaty, and very happy.

Day 2 - Arrived in Haiti

Our team of nine--Don, Paul, Wendy, Gregg, Dawn, Dee, Kathy, Jon and Jim--safely arrived in Haiti and are now settling in to the Methodist Guest House in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, after a 45 minute ride from the airport. Though we weren't passing through the parts of the city most heavily damaged by the earthquake, there is lots of evidence of construction. Many small stores are open along the streets. Shops selling construction material and hair studios are very prominent. In addition to the stores, there are lots of small businesses set up anywhere possible. Much of the time, goods are hanging from walls or spread on top of tarps on the ground. The traffic is crazy--lots of horn honking and near misses. Petionville is very hilly and that adds another element of excitement. The Methodist Guest House is nice--several dorm style rooms with bunk beads, a nice open air patio and an inside dining room. We missed lunch here, but Johnny, one of the guest house staff, transported us in a van (not the Tap Tap we took from the airport) to "Epi d'Or", a restaurant/bakery specializing in burgers, sandwiches, crepes, ice cream and cakes.

26 Feb 2011

We made it!  All nine of us and all of our bags are safely in Haiti!  We scooped up our three non-Montanans at the airport in Miami this morning.  Jon, Jim, and Kathy appear (at first glance) to be more than tolerable.  I believe that we are truly going to enjoy getting to know them better.
It is a balmy 87 F outside, with a gentle breeze.  We did not get to meet Sean Penn at the airport this time.  Bummer.
I am pleased to announce that there is evidence of PROGRESS in Haiti since I was here in early November 2010.  For example: the lights in the baggage area of the airport were working.  It wasn't a dim dungeon.  There is now a shaded canopy from the airport exit all the way to the parking lot.  Many nice-looking buildings were being built along the road between the airport and Petionville.

Previous Haiti mission members will remember a driver named Johnny.  He was our driver today, and I learned that his name is actually Pierre Louis Cherubin.  After our 2 pm arrival at the Guest House, we went to a familiar restaurant called the Epidoor for lunch.  Yummy.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we'll go to church in La Tremblay.  Afterwards, we'll scout out the work site there and see if the school is ready for our week-long habitation.  If it is, then we'll return early Monday morning and stay there all week.  If not, we will likely have to commute to and from there all week.
Unfortunately, the swimming pool water does not appear safe to swim in at the moment.  So we'll just hang out and relax this evening at the Guest House, getting to know one-another and receiving our formal "Welcome to Haiti" briefing after dinner.
Thanks for your prayers!  We are safe, bonding nicely, and ready to serve!!!

25 Feb (Friday)

My truck said it was 18 below zero when I was dropped off at the airport in Helena at 04:45 this morning.  Upon arrival in Miami this afternoon, it was 82 F.  That's an increase of exactly 100 degress!  Schweeeet!
Tomorrow, at 09:45 EST we will depart Miami on our way to Port-au-Prince.  There, we'll discover whether or not all of our luggage full of tools arrived with us.   We have over $500 of tools to dismantle and then reconstruct a church in La Tremblay.  At least that's the plan today.  In Haiti, actually anywhere on a mission trip, one must be prepared for radical changes in plans.  And having a smile ready for these changes will go a long way in making it a fruitful mission trip.

Day 1 – Helena Contingent Departs

It was -15 degrees early this morning as the Helena team members made their way to the airport for our departure to Miami., where we'll overnight before we meet up with the rest of our team for the flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti tomorrow. All our team gear, including tools, bedding and medical supplies, eventually made it into our checked luggage and will hopefully arrive at our destination.

Work Assignment Update

The following is an update from Beth Guy, Assistant Volunteer Management Coordinator, UMVIM Haiti:

We've hit a small speed bump. It seems that La Tremblay School might not be ready to host your team by Sunday. We're still hopeful that they might be able to arrange things in time, but it's looking more and more like that might not be the case.

If your team cannot stay there, then more than likely, you will be staying at the Guest House in Petionville all week and commute each day to La Tremblay. Another possibility would be to change your work site all together and have you stay on site at the new place, but we know that your team has been preparing for time at La Tremblay for a while and would probably prefer to work there if possible.

I'm sorry that things did not progress in the timing that we had hoped and planned for. I'm sure that God will be with your team regardless of what the housing situation is.

St. Paul's Team Members Commissioned

At a service this morning, the St. Paul's United Methodist Church congregation commissioned those going on the Haiti Mission Trip. The team members, while wearing their mission t-shirts, confirmed their commitment to the goals of the mission. Senior Pastor Marianne Niesen presented the team members with a carved wooden cross she found in Assisi, Italy.

Updated 3/19/2010

The crosses are known as a ‘Franciscan’ or ‘Tau’ cross. The unusual shape is meant to symbolize service…an image of a servant, arms outstretched and Jesus, arms outstretched in return. Pastor Niesen likes to think of these crosses as a symbol of both hospitality and service.

The doves, as well as the leaves, on the cross symbolize peace.

The three knots in the necks string represent faith, hope and charity – all virtues needed for a mission trip!

The fact that the crosses come from Assisi is especially important to Pastor Niesen since Francis was the ultimate ‘servant of the Lord’ who gave his life to serve the poor and to respond that way to God’s love. Assisi is known as a city of peace.