Arrival in Haiti, June 11, 2011

Getting to Haiti from the Quad Cities is a little adventure all by itself. Regardless of what airline we took, it required a very long lay over somewhere, like an overnight lay over. So, we arrived in Port Au Prince, tired, excited and generally overwhelmed by the baggage claim to customs to getting to our van process. The baggage handlers were relentless in grabbing our stuff. I think I tipped 3 different teams of people before all the bags were fully loaded into the van.

It is amazing, that we were a fully formed team prior to leaving on the 10th and the trip here just strengthened that bond. We are easy going companions but eight distinct people with common goals.

Leaving the airport, the blue tent cities are still providing housing for literally thousands. They surround the airport and extend on the plain right up to the mountains.

There are still so many displaced people and the orphange we are going to be serving in took in many children from the Port Au Prince area after the earthquake. Our devotional this morning was James 1:22-27. So appropriate for the week of work we are about to start.

Even with all my travels and missions work, there was nothing that could have prepared me for the swarming children that greeted us when we stepped off the bus. Children jumped into our arms, hung on our legs and generally touched us all over! No one on the team anticipated the emotional needs of the children to be hugged and loved on. I pray I never become hardened and miss the rush of emotion that comes when you realize your presence alone is sufficient for the children.

We ate sandwiches for lunch and headed to the building site. Bobby, who is our project manager for the house build had already had the foundation poured and everything was ready to start laying the concrete block. We have not

met the recipients of the house yet. I am looking forward to getting to know them. Bobby does double duty as a construction supervisor and trainer of masonary workers and, with his wife, operate the orphanage. His compassion directed to action seems limitless.

This is a hard working group of missionaries and the locals are pushing themselves as well. There was a lot of concrete block to be carried, cement to mixed and hauled over the masons. We worked for about three hours before totally running out of energy in the 110 plus degree weather with 70 to 80% humidity. Combine the blazing sun, tiredness from lack of sleep, the physical toll of hard labor and the emotional stress of our new surroundings, to make us so ready for showers and a rest. The ladies accommodations are in a concrete block/stucco two story house with no plumbing but nice beds! The men have plumbing but no beds. They are staying on the second floor of the orphange. The outhouse on our side is well maintained and the gravity shower is plenty good enough.

Bobby has installed solar panel, has a generator and batteries for storage of energy to maintain electric at the house we are in as well as the orphange. Air conditioning would be nice but sweating seems to be the standard for the week.