Well, finally I am back to writing again. Sorry it has taken me so long. There has been a lot going on and sometimes, having an engineer’s mind, I don’t always know what to write. But, I will be back again posting at least once a week. There are a lot of pictures I have to show you as well of different communities and project sites. Here is a little bit about what has been going on the last couple of months:
In early June, I went with a team to a small community up in the mountains called Sobier. This was the first time one of our teams had gone to Sobier, so we had to camp in tents and use latrines. We did some medical assessments while we were there and tried to determine the greatest needs in the community. Hunger and malnutrition were major issues and as was access to a good water source. Everyday, family members hike down the mountain to the water source and then back up. It takes them about three hours. I did this hike one day and was amazed that these families did this everyday! It was a difficult hike and I couldn’t imagine carrying water back! Later in the month of June, unfortunately, our guest house manager here, Ruth, passed away. There has been a lot to do in trying to coordinate everything in her absence. Two of our dear co-workers also departed for the U.S. – Sarah and Bill, as their contracts were complete. They are wonderful people and it is hard not having them around anymore.
At the end of June, I visited Haiti Artisans for Peace International (HAPI) in Mizak. HAPI is another methodist mission project here in Haiti providing for the community of Mizak. My pastor from when I was a youth was there with a group from her Michigan conference and I wanted to visit with her and see the work of HAPI. How great it was to see her after so many years! We thought it was quite funny that we hadn’t seen each other for quite some time and then we met up in Haiti!
July has been just as busy. I experienced my first tropical storm/hurricane – Chantal. While we prepared for the storm and I was worried since I hadn’t been through something like that before; it turned out to be not much of anything for us here in Haiti, especially in the Petionville area. We were quite glad for that. In mid-July, I traveled to the Dominican Republic to renew my visa here in Haiti. It was interesting to see the difference between the two countries that share the same island. I was so excited to see a McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and Burger King – just because I haven’t seen these types of things for three months! Later in the month we saw the departure of our Finance Director followed later in the week by the departure of Tom and his wife Wendy. Below are a few pictures from the celebration of Tom’s time here in Haiti. Tom has been the Program Coordinator here for the last three years. I miss all of these people dearly. I am taking over for Tom for the next year, and I have big shoes to fill. In addition to doing the work that Tom was doing and running the program, I’ll be doing a little of what our Finance Director was doing and a little of what Bill and Sarah were doing. Wow, I think it is going to be a busy year!
A year in Haiti 