Back in HaitiFriday April 26, 2013 Rough day of travel up at 3:00 a.m. and arrived in Port au Prince at noon. It was dark by the time we reached Garcon. Thursday night was a flurry of activity. We have been packing since Monday night. Traveling to Haiti is always hard, but when in involves a group of eight on a medical mission, it intensifies tenfold. Cecile, a nurse practitioner, arrived at our house about 6:00 p.m. We packed and repacked supplies until we had 6 huge duffle bags maxed out at the allowed 50 lb. limit. We are allowed on free checked bag each. Our second checked bag cost $ 40. The cost of a third bag jumps to $150 so we are limited to these six bags. Team members Janine, a nurse, Chris her husband, and Crystal, a surgeon, are all coming from Detroit. We will all meet up in Miami. They are bringing five more bags of supplies. The final two members of our team, Pevwa and Rose are our translators. They are both Haitian Americans and are from the Miami area. They will meet us in Port au Prince. Around 10:30 Thursday night Haley, our daughter, and Casey, her boyfriend comes. They are spending the night so that they can take us to the airport at 3:30 a.m. Haley has brought a large donation of children’s vitamins that somehow has to be squirreled away into our luggage. I am the first up at 3:00. I take a quick shower and wake the rest at 3:15. We are on the road by 3:40. This time of the day traffic is light and we are at the Nashville International Airport by 4:35. Surprisingly there is already a line at the ticket counter. It does move quickly and we are headed to security by 5:00. Things get a little testy in security. I had moved some wheel bearing for the Gator, our primary transportation in Haiti, into my carry on to allow more weight in our checked in luggage. This caused confusion but it was not critical, just added to the stress of traveling by air in today’s reality. We made it to the gate with minutes to spare. Our connection in Miami was very tight, but I did manage to get us some coffee and cookies for breakfast. We met Janine, Chris and Crystal and all boarded together for our flight to Port au Prince. We touched down in Port au Prince at noon. The new airport in Port au Prince has been completed. Although small it is clean and modern. This is one place that the post-earthquake construction is unarguably successful. However, like pre earthquake days navigating through with your luggage is not a pleasant experience. There are five “zones” you have to get through. Two when you depart Haiti and three when you arrive. Each zone has its own set of baggage handlers that aggressively handle your baggage with demands for compensation for this “service”. I always try to make sure that I tip at least $2 a bag, but when I have to do it each time a different group “handles” our bags, it gets expensive. There is a genuine need for assistance and I gladly compensate those who are helpful, but for the cost of this “service” we can feed many children. While waiting for our Pevwa and Rose, we met another aid worker that was accompanying a Haitian that she had taken to the United States for a medical procedure. Her name was Wendy. Wendy’s ride to St. Mark had fallen through and she was stranded. That boosted our van load to 12 people plus I estimated over 1,000 pounds of luggage. It was very noticeable when trying to pick up speed or climb a hill. We had agreed on $350 U.S. for the transportation, but I think there might be a little surcharge. It was good to meet Wendy, I am sure that our paths will cross again. Once we cleared the airport we headed to an area that local artist sells their work. We purchased many beautiful paintings and several stone sculptures. We will have them available for sale when we return to the United States. The road from Port au Prince to Gonaives is now complete. It is another example of success in post-earthquake reconstruction. We stopped for food just south of St. Mark. It was our first meal of the day and very welcome. The road from Gonaives to Grose Morne is still under construction. Although the journey is only about 20 miles, it takes a good 1 ½ hours. We reached Sr. Pat and Sr. Jackie’s around 6:00. It was almost dark when we got to Garcon. We received a very warm welcome. The generator was running so that we had lights and a meal had been prepared. We were all very thankful.

Friday April 26, 2013

Rough day of travel up at 3:00 a.m. and arrived in Port au Prince at noon. It was dark by the time we reached Garcon.

Thursday night was a flurry of activity. We have been packing since Monday night. Traveling to Haiti is always hard, but when in involves a group of eight on a medical mission, it intensifies tenfold.

Cecile, a nurse practitioner, arrived at our house about 6:00 p.m. We packed and repacked supplies until we had 6 huge duffle bags maxed out at the allowed 50 lb. limit. We are allowed on free checked bag each. Our second checked bag cost $ 40. The cost of a third bag jumps to $150 so we are limited to these six bags.

Team members Janine, a nurse, Chris her husband, and Crystal, a surgeon, are all coming from Detroit. We will all meet up in Miami. They are bringing five more bags of supplies.

The final two members of our team, Pevwa and Rose are our translators. They are both Haitian Americans and are from the Miami area. They will meet us in Port au Prince.

Around 10:30 Thursday night Haley, our daughter, and Casey, her boyfriend comes. They are spending the night so that they can take us to the airport at 3:30 a.m.  Haley has brought a large donation of children’s vitamins that somehow has to be squirreled away into our luggage.

I am the first up at 3:00. I take a quick shower and wake the rest at 3:15. We are on the road by 3:40. This time of the day traffic is light and we are at the Nashville International Airport by 4:35. Surprisingly there is already a line at the ticket counter. It does move quickly and we are headed to security by 5:00. Things get a little testy in security. I had moved some wheel bearing for the Gator, our primary transportation in Haiti, into my carry on to allow more weight in our checked in luggage. This caused confusion but it was not critical, just added to the stress of traveling by air in today’s reality. We made it to the gate with minutes to spare. Our connection in Miami was very tight, but I did manage to get us some coffee and cookies for breakfast. We met Janine, Chris and Crystal and all boarded together for our flight to Port au Prince. We touched down in Port au Prince at noon.

The new airport in Port au Prince has been completed. Although small it is clean and modern. This is one place that the post-earthquake construction is unarguably successful.

However, like pre earthquake days navigating through with your luggage is not a pleasant experience. There are five “zones” you have to get through. Two when you depart Haiti and three when you arrive.  Each zone has its own set of baggage handlers that aggressively handle your baggage with demands for compensation for this “service”.  I always try to make sure that I tip at least $2 a bag, but when I have to do it each time a different group “handles” our bags, it gets expensive. There is a genuine need for assistance and I gladly compensate those who are helpful, but for the cost of this “service” we can feed many children.

While waiting for our Pevwa and Rose, we met another aid worker that was accompanying a Haitian that she had taken to the United States for a medical procedure. Her name was Wendy. Wendy’s ride to St. Mark had fallen through and she was stranded. That boosted our van load to 12 people plus I estimated over 1,000 pounds of luggage. It was very noticeable when trying to pick up speed or climb a hill. We had agreed on $350 U.S. for the transportation, but I think there might be a little surcharge.

It was good to meet Wendy, I am sure that our paths will cross again. 

Once we cleared the airport we headed to an area that local artist sells their work. We purchased many beautiful paintings and several stone sculptures. We will have them available for sale when we return to the United States.

The road from Port au Prince to Gonaives is now complete. It is another example of success in post-earthquake reconstruction. We stopped for food just south of St. Mark. It was our first meal of the day and very welcome.

The road from Gonaives to Grose Morne is still under construction. Although the journey is only about 20 miles, it takes a good 1 ½ hours. We reached Sr. Pat and Sr. Jackie’s around 6:00.

It was almost dark when we got to Garcon. We received a very warm welcome. The generator was running so that we had lights and a meal had been prepared. We were all very thankful.

 Saturday April 27^th 2013

Full moon last night kept the roosters crowing most of the night, but I was so fatigued that it barely disturbed my sleep. I arose at daybreak to welcome the new day. Very peaceful. The rest of our crew slept until about 9:00. We then feasted on bread soup. Bread soup is a hearty broth with vegetables and chunks of bread. Very delicious, one of my favorites.

After breakfast, Pevwa, Rose and I headed back down the mountain to Grose Morne with John Robert, Pevwas cousin. John Robert is one of our local drivers and he came to get us in his Landrover.  Pevwa and Rose went to visit relatives. This is the first time in 12 years that Rose has seen her family here. She had not told them she was coming because she was afraid her trip would fall through.  Obviously they were all ecstatic.

I went to town to reactivate our cell phone and internet service. What should have been a simple process took from 10:30 until noon when they closed. Even then my phone does still not work properly. I was told I need to take it to Gonaives for service. What a decision. If I send it to Gonaives, it may or not be fixed and it will cost an indeterminate amount of money.   I can forget about having a phone or buy a new phone. We really need the phone very little, but when we do, we do. The phone was purchased in February and has not worked correctly since I bought it. So many challenges, so little time. I hope to buy an unlocked phone when I return to the States and just buy a local Haitian sim card.

When I finished with the cell phone company I spent the afternoon with Sr. Pat. The time was well spent. She updated me on current affairs and we laid out some plans for dealing with several issues that we need to address while Denise and I are here. It was determined that our priority is to familiarize the parish with the vision and goals for The Fr. Jim Bretl Agriculture Center.

While Pevwa, Rose and I were in Grose Morne, Denise took the rest of our team for a tour of the Fr. Jim Agriculture Center. We all met back at Garcon, shared a meal and prepared for a 7:00 a.m. departure Sunday morning.

Sunday April 28, 2013

Up at 6 am for 7 am ride. Heading for Riverie Mancelle for a week long medical mission. Fr. Gracia is going to delay Mass until 9:30 for us. Barack, one of our drivers is picking us up with Sr. Jackie’s  Landrover. As we load up, we realize that there really is not enough room for all eight of us, our luggage and the 11 duffel bags of medication we are taking for the medical mission. We left the medical supplies at Sr. Jackie’s when we first arrived in Haiti. When we get to Sr. Jackies to pick up the supplies, she has arranged for Tiden, another of our drivers to drive another Rangerover. We decide to take all of the bags and part of our group with Barack, and the remainder of our group travel with Tiden. This turns out to be a good idea.

Leaving Gros Morne we travel through the town dump on the edge of the river that is Rivere Mancelle’s names sake. The dump has many pigs and goats foraging for any available nutrition. It as an unpleasant stretch, usually with fires smoldering and the stench of burning plastic hanging in the air. Today there are no fires and with recent rains it is not too bad. As we drive up the river there are women doing laundry, people bathing, and men loading gravel and rocks into large dump trucks with shovels. The further we move from town, the activities in the river become more infrequent, but there are still occasional bathers and women doing laundry. Traveling up river there are sections of road, but mostly we drive through the river bottom.

Even though this is the dry season there have been several heavy rains lately and repairs to the road in the river bed have been washed away. When we are almost to our destination we drive into the river to cross it and get stuck in a deep hidden hole. Barack our driver gets out and locks in the hubs, but even in four wheel drive we almost do not get out. An elderly peasant lady instructs us that we must back out. While rocking back and forth the vehicle stalls and will not restart. Again Barack gets out, this time popping the hood. Seems we have a bad battery terminal. Barack wiggles it while I crank and it restarts. He jumps back in; rocks, stalls and we repeat the starting process. When we finally get backed out we discover that there was a deep hole hidden beneath the surface of the water where we were trying to cross. Evidently another vehicle had been stuck there for several days and the hole had not been filled back in.

We continued on and farther along the rocks became larger and closer together, becoming more and more difficult. After our last serious hurdle we realized that Tiden, who was following us, could not make it further. We were thankful that we had loaded all of the duffle bags in the lead Rangerover. The part of crew that was with Tiden ended up walking the last section. Not too far and not too difficult, if you are on foot.

As we come around the corner at the top of the last stretch of hill, the church stands beautifully silhouetted against the mountains and clear blue sky. It is unexpected in this remote rugged setting. Every time I make this journey I am surprised anew with this visual treat.

The church is full, the parishioners singing, waiting for our arrival so that Mass can begin. We must unload before we move to the church. We accomplish this quickly and soon join in the celebration. We are treated as honored guest and Fr. Gracia request that we process in together as a group and sit on the side of the alter. The singing is uplifting and we are able to share the joy even though we do not understand the language.  After Mass we have many friends to greet. We share warm greetings for the better part of an hour. People here do not rush off after church, but linger, sharing friendship and life. There is no mad rush to be the first one out of the parking lot or the first one to the local restaurant. I feel so blessed to share in this culture.

Tomorrow will be the first day of the medical mission, so this afternoon the medical team unpacks and organizes the medications and sets up their exam rooms. My sole contribution is preparing some solar flood lights for back up lighting in case there is a problem with the generator. Not an unheard of possibility. I am not a medical person so my job will be to count pills in the pharmacy.

We are thankful for Pevwa, our translator. To call him our translator is totally inadequate. He not only translates, his insights and wisdom add immensely to whatever situation we face. He is dedicated and committed to serving the community. This afternoon I was especially thankful for his help with our meeting with Fr. Gracia.

There is new difficulty with the schools. It seems that it is a case of unexpected consequences.  President Martellys has promised free education. The money to the schools is not consistent and does not go to all of the schools. Some of the teachers do not understand this and are dissatisfied. We have two schools where the teachers have walked off. Fr. Gracia is rehiring substitutes, but it has caused a hardship. This is the time of year that the older students are preparing for their high school admittance exam and cannot afford to be delayed. The principles at the affected schools are working with the older students so they don’t fall behind. The younger students are suffering. Fr. Gracia and all here are doing all they can to remedy the situation. We appreciate the deep commitment of the local communities to work together to overcome these stumbling blocks.

  

Collection of over the counter medication from St. Gregory and St. Catherine for the upcoming medical mission. Picking up from Cookeville tomorrow. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Mesi Ampil.

Shipping Container update

Shipping container items have all been delivered to Smyrna Warehouse. 24, 55 gallon drums, plus boxes, crates, rolls of black pipe, 3 treadle sewing machines, at least 83 shoe boxes for the kids, rakes, shovels, etc., all told 74 items. A total of 509.7 cubic feet. You all can take joy in your part in making this happen. Thank you from all of the people of Riviere Mancelle.

Simplified process

Look past poverty, embrace simplicity, share the abundance, and experience joy……………..

Last few hours in Haiti

Down time

Matthew 25, Guest House, Port au Prince, Haiti,  Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I’m sitting at a wrought iron table a few feet from the busy street. My spot is shaded by the covered front entrance, and the sun is doing its early morning magic on the scene in the street.  School children are walking by; all of their uniforms are scrubbed clean and neatly pressed. Some break into smiles readily, some are cautious and unsure of the “blan”.

 I am reading when a clacking bell pulls my attention back to the street. It is a wooden bell, a dry sound. It is a shoe shine man, proudly traveling the streets, looking for business. Cars and motos are honking. A UN car goes by, and then a break in traffic and the sounds cease, the air is still, just voices floating, some nearby and some in the distance. Then a new sound, it sounds like an ice cream truck. But when I look up it is a home delivery purified water truck.

Some of the ladies going to market in the street have new plastic baskets that they are carrying on their heads.  These I think are “uptown”, I have not seen them in our area. Mostly we see metal bowls or natural baskets.

We will be leaving at 11:00 am for the airport. It is just 10:30 and I am pleased to see the two volunteers returning form their early morning activities. I always enjoy the stimulation from the time I spend with other people at Matthew 25 and hear of their experiences.

While we are talking a fresh fish lady comes up. The volunteers went and got Valarie, to negotiate a purchase. She is the young Haitian woman who is the new assistant director. She had informed the volunteers to not hang around during negotiations or it would cost more money because the seller would factor in the “blan”. I did get a picture though, . It was neat, one of the fish was a really pretty blue color, parakeet blue.

11:00 and we are off, 13 ½ hours and we will be home. 

From Monday March 11-Wednesday March 13

13) Wendesday, March 13, 2013

Monday started out going check on John Louie, we had not seen him at Mass Sunday or anywhere around which was unusual. When we inquired we were told he was “malad”, sick. We knew from the past that he has ulcers so FrJadotte and I went to visit him. When we go to his house,(tent/structure), he greeted us in his yard. He looked terrible, his eyes were glazed and he was feverish, with beads of perspiration on his head. Father questioned him about his symptoms and declared he had malaria. I had some ibuprofen with me and instructed him on dosage and importance of taking with milk or food because of his stomach.

On our return to our compound a young man approached us and FrJadotte introduced him to me as a mechanic that had repaired the generator at Buchan Richard. It is an old Kabota brand. The carburetor was defective and I had brought it back to the United States for repair. When I took it to the Kabota dealer they informed me that the rebuild kit had been discontinued and that a replacement carburetor would cost $700. That was beyond our resources so I called Ken Drake, who has traveled with us here before and he volunteered to repair it. He is very “handy” to say the least. Our kudos to Ken. It worked. Anyways, now the pull rope on the recoil starter had been replaced and was not recoiling properly. The young mechanic wanted to know if I could get him a new spring. I suggested he follow us back and I would take a look at it.

As we headed back FrJadotte wanted me to take a detour, there is a neighbor to us that grows coffee. We walked down a side trail and it opened up into a small shaded area with several homes, it was a scene if simple beauty. The early morning sun was filtering through the trees bringing all of the details into sharp focus. As FrJadotte pointed out the coffee bushes an old man approached us calling out greetings. A little further down the path I could see several men moving in orchestrated activity. Upon asking he informed us that the men were making lumber. I approached the men and asked “photo?” They cheerfully agreed. They were in the process of setting up an above ground “pit saw operation”. They were not very far along so the pictures I took do not give justice to their work. One of the men proudly picked up the two man saw and motioned for me to take his photo. I do have photos of similar operations posted on facebook.

Turning back toward the cluster of homes a young woman was coming out of her house, it was a traditional thatch roof structure surrounded with lush tropical plants. The sun was illuminating her perfectly as it will only do in the early morning. Again I shouted “photo?” and she readily agreed. After snapping the picture she ran forward expectantly to see how she looked. Seeing herself she broke into a big grin and laughed. Then the old man wanted his picture taken as well and when he saw it he too grinned and laughed. It is very humbling to be able to share these moments of simple joy. Again we started back to our compound only this time FrJadotte spotted a young man among the moto drivers hanging around the community water fountain that were waiting for fares. He singled him out and had terse conversation with him. As we turned to leave I asked him what had taken place. He told me that the young man was supposed to be in school in Gonaives, but instead was driving a moto for hire. As we walked away I told him how disappointing that was and how common it is in the United States for youth to forsake their opportunity for an education also. He paused and called the young man and the chastised youth cautiously approached us. Now FrJadotte softly encouraged him to consider a compromise of driving his moto in the early part of the day and continuing his education in the evening. I hope and pray that his advice is taken to heart. Life here is so difficult that any little advantage will make a large difference in his future. As we finally arrived back to our compound I instructed the young mechanic to wait for me by the workshop door. I needed to check on things with Denise. When I had left earlier we had just discovered that we had no water and part of my early venturing out was to see if there was water at other stations which there was. So before I could help the mechanic, I carried water up to the apartment and put our “solar shower can” out. Later will scale the roof and switch over to our reserve tank.

I finally returned to the young mechanic who had patiently been waiting. It is amazing when I think of how often I see this patience among people here; it is such a contrast to the stress filled lifestyle we are so used to back home. This patience is contagious and I now realize what a gift it has been to me.  It is very peaceful to just accept the situation at hand, without the anxious feeling that I need to make things happen right now.

When we entered the work shop I cleared a place on the workbench and he started to disassemble the unit, I stopped him, removed the pull handle and showed him how to increase the tension. He was very pleased. As I thought about it I realized that he had done these repairs because they needed to be done, not for pay. I keep an assortment of pocket knives and multi-tools for just such an occasion. I had him wait again and went to my room and retrieved a mult-tool. As I presented it to him he looked puzzled, but as I started to demonstrate it his face broke out in astonishment and joy as he recognized its purpose. I know this will become a treasured possession.

Now it time to start the day.  Breakfast is ready and I have much to do to prepare for leaving in the morning to return to the United States. Fr Gracia is also coming today and will be spending the night.

The first order of business is hooking up the storage cistern on the roof. As I get the ladder out, John Louie shows up, his fever has broken and he insists on doing this. He still does not look well but he is very stubborn. I consulted with Denise and got my malaria medication.  I have four tablets left. I take one a week and I am not due to take another one until Wednesday. I know I can cheat a day and can get more in the US. When Denise got malaria several years ago she was given this same medication and it was the turning point for her. Using FrJadotte to interpret I was able instruct John Louie in proper dosage and instructions. He has started to respond and my concern is that he will push himself too hard and not give his body the rest it needs. The remainder of the morning I spent disassembling our shade tarps, putting things in secure storage and packing for my trip. Denise has been spending the morning packing and finishing a letter to the Bishop here. The letter is an introduction of us and an overview of our work here. We will need his approval and signatures on grants that Denise is applying for. She has been working in the make shift office that we need to restore to a bedroom for when FrGracia arrives. She needs my help with the printer that we borrowed from FrJadotte and just as we are finishing FrGracia arrives. Along with Fr Gracia is his maid Julia,(whom is his cousin), and Johnny. They will all be spending the night and we will need all three guest rooms so we hurriedly prepare the room.

We have much we want to do, so as soon as they are settled in their rooms we are off again. We are traveling in the gator. It must be a sight. We laughing call it our “tap tap”, which is the term used for overcrowded trucks that are used for public transportation. I drive with FrGracia riding shotgun. In the back, which is four ft. by four ft., we have attached a plank right behind the front seats. Denise and Julia sit there, then Johny, John Louie and another man that needs a ride to Buchan Richard cram into and hang off of the remaining space. The gator does not seem to mind but I drive very slowly.

Our first stop is close by, it is our nursery. This was begun several years back and we have been using it to start trees. Fr Jadotte has used these trees to start a forest on top of one of the mountains above Riviere Mancelle. Now we are using it to start coffee. Last November we traveled around northern Haiti visiting coffee processing centers. While we were at a coffee co-op, we purchased a bag of seeds of a local variety. These we are starting and they will be distributed cost free. We will be also starting trees to distribute also. Coffee needs to be shade grown and our hope is that the income for the coffee will encourage the people to maintain the trees and help with reforesting the mountains. Less than 10% of the rainfall in Haiti is absorbed into the ground; the rest runs off, eroding the soil further and causing damage downriver with almost any heavy rain. During our visits to coffee processing centers we also visited the center that has developed and distributes “Hatiian Blue”. This is the premium coffee that grows here. While at this center we purchased plants and these we have planted at the FrJim Bretl Agriculture Center and we will use these for seed stock. When we have plants available our plan is to sell these to select growers who are willing to work to produce a premium coffee.

From there we traveled to Buchan Richard and the FrJim Agriculture Center. This is the first time the FrGracia has had a tour of the center. He is eager to understand the scope of the project. Denise has some beans to transplant for Robert and she wants to see how things are going. As part of the tour John Louie excitedly takes us to where our Haitian Blue coffee plants are planted. This is exciting we are watching a miracle unfolding right before our eyes. We are overwhelmed at what God is doing with the giving and sacrifices that are being made for this project. Thank you for each of your contribution.   

We returned to Garcin with about 2 ½ hours of daylight remaining. The first order of business was to set up the laptop and connect with Google Translate. I have used it before, but using it for Creole, and that is a beta version and is not 100% accurate. This time we are using it to translate to French as Fr Gracia is fluent and Google Translate does an excellent job. I have prepared an overview of our work and have outlined some parameters our working relationship with him as the new priest. It was very simple to go through the letter paragraph at a time, expanding on his questions as was needed. This time was very profitable for both of us. It really helped in establishing a strong foundation of mutual understanding.

This meeting had been time consuming and as the day grew short we had to hurry to remove the solar electric panels and prepare for secure storage. As darkness fell, John Louie retrieved the generator and hooked up to the apartment wiring so that we would have lights for the evening. This convenience comes with a price; the fuel is very expensive and the noise drowns out conversation. We are so thankful that we have the solar. We shared a very nice meal; we had splurged and bought a chicken to share with our company. Haitian chickens are very skinny and chewy. The breast had about meat on it as an average chicken leg we get here at home. I am not complaining, just want share an understanding of what the reality here is. Many times when we are served chicken, we only have “normal sized” chicken legs. That is because they have come from the United States and they are inexpensive because they are surplus from the “all white” chicken finger and nugget industry.

We retired early as are ride is coming at 7:00 and we must be ready. Fr Gracia was planning on 7:00 am Mass, but on learning of our schedule he quickly rescheduled for 6:30 promising a 20 minute Mass. Even though I did not think a 20 minute Mass was possible. I was much moved.

In the morning I awoke about 4:30 and got up to spend some time reading. I planned on getting Denise up at 6:00 to give her enough time finish preparing to leave and 6:30 Mass. At 5:30 Fr Gracia emerged from his room for Mass. Even though daylight savings time was last weekend no one here had changed times. I ran and woke Denise and both of us quickly dressed and were at the church in less than 10 minutes. Since it was still dark FrGracia had decided that we needed electric lights, in the past FrJadotte used oil lamps and candles, and John Louie was still hooking up the generator to the church. He had brought in the medical exam lights that we are sending to the dispensary into the church for lighting but was not having success in getting the power to them. The generator was about 200 ft. from the church and he was using two, one hundred foot extension cords. He determined that one was faulty and moved the generator closer to eliminate the need for that cord. When he finally was able to get power to the lights we realized that one of the lights was glaring directly into the eyes of the parishioners who had made the effort to share this early morning Mass with us. As soon as the lights were adjusted the generator ran out of gas. While John Louie dealt with thus I glanced down to power cord feeding the lights and saw four or five cell phones plugged in, no one ever passes up a chance for electricity. John Louie quickly refueled and Mass began, but now the generator was so loud it was impossible for anyone to hear FrGracia. That was not really a problem for us as we really can’t understand anyway. We are able to follow because we know the order of the Mass. Just as the readings began we could hear the honking of our driver Tiden, demanding the gate be opened. Denise and I decided to try and wait but as Tiden pulled up in front of our apartment he kept honking. We looked to Fr Gracia and he motioned us to go ahead and leave. We felt bad not only because of all the effort put forth on our account, but also we were both looking forward to sharing Eucharist before we left. We hurried to our rooms and brought our entire luggage down and loaded up the Land Cruiser. Just as we were finishing FrGracia rushed into the room with Eucharist for us. This simple act speaks so highly of the value or our new relationship. This act was very humbling for me and elevated my faith to a new level.

When Tiden is ready to leave, he is ready to leave, and by 7:15 we were packed up and pulling out of the gate. Tiden has been a friend, driver and one man security team for many years. He runs a very tight schedule and it and a lot depends on his very aggressive driving habits. Our trip to Gros Morne was accomplished in 16 minutes. I have never made it in less than 30 before.  Most of the road is very bumpy bedrock and old lava flow. By the time we reached town I could feel the bones in my neck as they compressed and were jarred together. I cannot even imagine what this was doing to Denise. She has a collar that she wears when traveling but I don’t think it was much help.

On our way out of town we picked up another passenger that needed a ride to Port au Prince. He sat in the back with me and through limited communication told us he greatly admired the “project at Buchan Richard”, The FrJim Bretl Agriculture Center. As we traveled the man answered his phone and handed it to me. Not knowing what to expect I took it and discovered Sr Pat calling, she had not been able to reach me on my phone. I have had trouble with my phone since I bought it with the charger and understanding the system used for buying and using minutes. She had been talking to one of the community leaders named Marcelle and wanted me to talk to him. He is very involved in Caritos which facilitates the project of groups working together in the area. He is also the president of the Peasant Society of Riviere Mancelle. He works with the agronomist that the Sisters employ and is very excited about the new agriculture center. She wanted me to explain the vision and different aspects of the program to him so that he can relay this to the others in the area. She told me that all of the people in the whole area, including the priest of the surrounding parishes are very enthusiastic about what we are doing. I asked her if Marcelle could be speak English, she said no, but that I should encourage him to learn when he visited the United States in the near future. I told her the best thing would be for me to put the information in an email that could be translated and forwarded to him. I hung up the phone still somewhat confused. I shared the conversation with Denise, and a light dawned on her face as she realized that our fellow traveler was Marcelle. We had met him several years ago when we installed our first solar oven. He was with a group of interested citizens who wanted to see if solar ovens would work for opening a cassava bread bakery.  With Denise’s limited creole and our dictionary we were able share a little our common desires.

As we proceed down the highway toward Gonaives a chicken flew up on the hood of the vehicle and was wedged under the windshield wiper on the driver’s side, Tiden was unfazed and the chicken took it in stride and we proceeded at a healthy speed and drove another ½ mile before the chicken slipped off. I think that this falls into the “why did the chicken cross the road “jokes.

When we arrived in Gonaives we headed directly to the Bishops house. Denise wanted to personal hand deliver the letter she had prepared of introduction of us and our projects. There is no mail service in Haiti and a personal delivery is treated with respect. At the Bishops house we were greeted by the Bishops assistant, Fr Normil, he told us that the Bishop was busy and could not see us. Denise explained that our intention was not to see the Bishop but only to deliver the letter and asked if he would deliver it for us. Fr Normil read the letter through several times and questioned us in a little more detail. Denise told him that she had met the Bishop when he first became Bishop. They had stayed at the rectory in Gros Morne at the same time and had a lengthy conversation. Then FrNormil asked her if she was a personal friend of the Bishop and she replied no, they had just me the one time. At this point he reread the letter and asked us if we could wait for 45 minutes. We told him it was up to our driver Tiden. He looked at Tiden and asked him. Evidently Tiden said no and FrNormil asked if we could wait five minutes. We said yes and he disappeared into the house. He returned shortly and apologized but the Bishop had left for confirmation in the mountains. He told us he would make sure that the Bishop would get our letter and that the Bishop would email. Then FrNormil gave us his personal cell phone number and instructed to call him at either 11am or 9pm and he would make sure we could talk to the Bishop. He then told us he would arrange a face to face in April when we return to Haiti. We were very surprised at this response; because of past dealings that FrJadotte and SrJackie have had with him has portrayed him as very inaccessible. We are very encouraged and see the hand of the Holy Spirit moving amongst us.

We left for Port au Prince, stopping briefly in St Mark for carry out lunch. The road from Gonaives to Port au Prince is first class, paved with concrete drainage ditches on both sides of the road. It even has traffic lines painted with double yellow lines where necessary. This is amusing as most drivers, and especially Tiden, completely ignore them. The remainder of the journey went very smoothly and we arrived at Matthew 25 in record time.

There have been some changes at Matthew 25 since our visit last November. Sr Mary Finneck who has been in charge for many years has moved on. Matthew 25 is now run by Haitians with American volunteers. Our visit was unusual as normally there are several groups staying. This time Denise and I were the only guest. There were two American volunteers and because there were just two of us they took the day off to do shopping and sightseeing. They returned for supper and we had a wonderful visit. The time we spend at Matthew 25 is always full of meeting new people and hearing and sharing stories of faith.

We left for the airport at 11:00 am to catch our 1:30 flight. We had only two checked bags and we were able to negotiate through the airport without the help of the men who are constantly trying to help so that they can get a tip. Many times we have many bags and this is very helpful, but just as often the men are almost aggressive and are argumentative among themselves as they fight for our bags. When they force themselves upon us, I tip poorly and they argue with me and are scornful. It felt like a victory for both Denise and I to circumvent this situation. One small step for us.

The rest of our journey home was uneventful and after a five hour layover in Miami, we were in Nashville by 10:30 and home by midnight. We will continue this blog during the coming days and share about the behind the scenes work it takes to make the project in Haiti become a reality.

Thank you everybody and God Bless. Mesi Anpil

Bob