Summer Haiti Mission Trip ~ Day 5

Prayer Partners of the Day - Barb Black & Sarah Anderson

By 10:00am we were back at our site, ready for a full day. You may be thinking, "Gosh Ashley, you must have slept in!" No, no, we were  up at 5:30am for prayer and breakfast (fresh avocado & bananas!). Then we journeyed into Leogane for ice and a mop, and then back to Decouze. You may now be thinking, "How far did you have to travel? Leogane is that far?" Again, no, no, just a few miles down the road from the monastery is Leogane, and then 28 miles up the mountain back to Decouze. As we all know by now, you can't get anywhere quickly in Haiti, even if you're just a few miles down the road.

Bondlo + Men Pwop = Ko An Sante

I walked with Fre. Alabre to the church and school today. Alabre doesn't speak much English, so he taught the hygiene education class on his own! I smiled and watched! He was animated, excited, and had clearly taught the lessons before. There were 75+/- adult and children, and all were very engaged. Our highlight was making the banner at the end. Translated it says, "Good Water + Clean Hands = Healthy Bodies." At first, no one wanted to come up and put their hands in paint, but Alabre & I guilted them into it by doing so ourselves! The banner turned out beautiful, and Father Guy loved it. He said he would hang it on the water building.

The operator training by Bertone went flawlessly, as always. Chuck stayed back at the monastery today to work on a grant proposal. I've missed him & his witty humor!

Ancy called a bit ago. I also miss him, knowing he's just a town away. I will look forward to the next trip in August when he will be with us everyday! By the way, I'll be returning to Haiti in August as part of a team which will install two solar powered water systems, a solar system for a newly built school, and a solar system for a single-family home. That home happens to be Ancy's mother's home! It will be quite the week, as we hope to accomplish all of this from August 1-8.  Solar Under The Sun will be breaking new ground, and it's very exciting to be a part of it!

Ashley & Fre. Alabre

Back to the present... We dedicated the system and signed the board this afternoon. After a really late lunch, we said our goodbyes to Father Guy and packed up our tools. So, our big work is finished, and we are off to other sites tomorrow to do a bit of repair work on a pump and visit with our many friends from the March installations. It should be smooth sailing from here on out. Has there ever been such a carefree/quick installation? Hmmm...

Thank you to our two HUMCprayer warriors today! Your prayers sustained us and invigorated us throughout the day!

Peace be with you!