October Haiti Trip, Day 6

Prayer Partners of the Day - Rollin & Linda Wycoff


They always say to never drive in Haiti after dark. This is because there are no street lights. Rarely do cars have headlights, and often trucks are stalled around the corner or up the hill, and without light, you cannot see them until you're in their trunk! Today we did not keep track of time well and left La Hatte a bit too late, which put us on the road after dark. ...But let me back up and start from the beginning.

We started the day in Cherette, playing with the children and waiting for the teachers to arrive. They had asked us to come at 8:00am, so naturally they arrived at 9:30am. My little girls were all around me, fascinated by my blonde hair, as always. I really must look like an alien to them! They helped us paint the banner with their handprints, and thankfully the pastor came out to help us control the crowd! Otherwise, we may have been covered in paint in a matter of seconds!

Our wonderful class at Cherette

Soon after, the teachers arrived, and we had a wonderful class review. Our time together came to an abrupt end, as our ride drove up, and we were rushed off to La Hatte. On the road, we ran into Pierre from Global Orphan Project. Carla, Jocelin & I switched over to his car, which promptly got stuck in the mud...in the middle of the market place. Thankfully, the community members were laughing so much at our Americans being covered in mud they didn't have time to be mad about disrupting their buying and selling.

In La Hatte, we had 25 teachers and community leaders come to our class. It was joy-filled and fabulous. They were a little more energy-filled than our calm, collected teachers in Cherette. Following our three-hour class, I really needed to go to the bathroom... This can be an adventure for a woman... And I begged Jocelin and Lucson to take me somewhere with a real bathroom! They took me down the road a piece to another Global Orphan Project, Casa Major, which houses 181 orphans. (Can you even begin to imagine the good GO is doing to care for this huge amount of children??) It was during this drive we first noticed the Kia was having a wheel bearings issue...

Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Back at La Hatte, a crowd had gathered to watch the work. The team was pulling out the old well casing, and replacing it with PVC and electrical wire for the submersible pump. The Pastor again was right in the middle of the action, getting dirty, and setting a hard-working example for his community. I was amazed. It was also during this time I met his beautiful daughter, Dorothy. I fell in love within two and a half seconds! There really should be a law against being that CUTE!

The work was going so well, so productive, we did not notice what time it was getting to be. Hence, we were on the road in Haiti after dark. Thankfully, we were surrounded in prayer by our partners, and we arrived at the hotel in one piece.

With Jocelin, "Papa" to so many
Haitian children

At dinner, I sat with the Haitian men - Salien, Frantzou, Jocelin, and Lucson. They are such a riot and hearing their stories makes me want to be a better servant and
model their actions. We talked futbol, Real Madrid versus Barcelona, Messi versus Ronaldo. It made me realize we really are just one community under God. We may live in different places, but we are united by hearts and actions by the love of our Lord.

Today, I am also thankful for Rollin & Linda. I had the honor and privilege of serving alongside them in August, and I am thankful to now call them friends. What a blessing they are to all those they encounter, and their servant hearts are steadfast and constantly giving. Rollin is in Magnolia giving a presentation to Presbytery on Solar Under The Sun! He's traveled long and hard with the solar trailer in tow, and so we pray for him as he travels and tells of the good work God has entrusted to us.