Day 2 - Out and About

Our first full day in Haiti was a good one, and brought many new experiences for our team. We started off with a challenge since we were mixed up on the time. We had been told that Haiti was an hour behind us this time of year, but after arriving at what we thought was 6:30 am to do upper room, we realized it was actually 7:30 as Ms. Jessie came around ringing the breakfast bell. So we ate and then had upper room while waiting on our ride. The passage we covered was Ephesians 3:14-19. Mark Peyton led the study. The passage discusses Paul's prayer to God to strengthen our inner person. Paul discussed four ways for this to happen: that Christ would dwell in our hearts and feel welcome there; that we be rested and grounded in love; that we would have knowledge of the love of Christ; and that we would be filled with the fullness of God.The next challenge came while waiting on our ride. I stepped in the room to talk with Pastor Odvin about some of the plans for the week and my temporary tooth cap popped off. Not good!!! Luckily I had brought some temporary cement just in case that happened. The bad thing is that I don't know if it will hold until we get back - I'm praying it does!!! Edmond came to pick us up and take us to Sherrie's. Seventeen out of the total 19 went over for the day. When we arrived the children greeted us with big hugs and lots of smiles. Sherrie took some of us around to point out projects that needed to be done and others played with the children. One of the men from the other group here with us is a plumber, which is a blessing because a couple of big projects that Sherrie needed done require someone with plumbing expertise. Some of our team members made some attachments with some of the kids. Vidlon, a boy around the age of 3-4, really took up with Leonora as she did with him. Several of us held kids while they napped. There is nothing else in the world like holding one of these children against your chest while they sleep. I always enjoy spending time at Sherrie's and seeing the kids. It is great to see them every few months and see how they have grown. When the time came to head back to the guest house, Sherrie was going to bring us back in two groups since she had to use the small truck. Our first group loaded up and then we realized that we had a flat tire. There was a spare under the truck and Leonora and I both took a turn trying to figure out how to get the spare loose. We couldn't figure it out so Arnie used a hand pump to blow the tire up. Well that took a while! But we finally got back. Dinner and changing clothes for church was fast and furious. We split into 3 teams and went to three different churches. We were all back by around 9 pm and ready for showers and sleep!