Haiti Journal, February 27, 2012

Richard, the boy I couldn't wait to see...

Prayer Partners of the Day - Sean Devolites & Carrie Delisio

Last night I went to bed EARLY! So early, in fact, that when Brother Olizard came knocking on my door at 8:30pm to bring me juice, I was already asleep. The night resulted in 10 blissful hours of sleep, and now my body is rejuvenated and ready to go...and what an awesome day it was! The ice cold shower had me skipping to breakfast, were Jean Charles and I chatted away.

Taking readings with Darenda & Ancy

The team from Pennsylvania arrived around 11:00am, which allowed me plenty of time to catch up on reading and email. It was so good to see Ancy and a new group of folks. With the exception of one, each were "Haiti Rookies!"

The drive to Les Cayes was uneventful, and with much daylight before us, we made two unscheduled stops along the way. The first was down the road to Cherette. This was the site of an installation last October, and I was eagerly awaiting a hug from my favorite group of kids at the orphanage. Unfortunately, most of the kids were away in Aquin, and I was so very disappointed to not see my little Richard. He really stole my heart last year, and I couldn't wait to get my arms around him! Fortunately, even though we arrived unannounced, we found the water and solar system in perfect working order. The operator had quite the cell phone charging station underway, and within minutes the Pastor had heard we were there and he drove up. We took many readings from the system and had a nice long chat with the leaders. It was during this visit I truly realized the importance of our work in Haiti... The Pastor told us six months ago, many of his children in the orphanage were very sick with diarrhea, dysentery, and other water-bourne illnesses. Since the clean water system installation, each of the children has been drinking clean water and not one has been sick. Wow. Just wow.

La Hatte, Global Orphan Project

The second stop was to La Hatte, the site of the second installation from last October. (These were two Global Orphan Project sites.) On the road in, the Pastor passed us on his motorcycle. He was very happy to see us and sped along to alert those at the site. Though the pressure from the filters was a little off on the water system, the solar system put out exceptional readings and most everything was in order. Again, the cleanliness of the building and the operation as a whole gave me much hope and optimism that our systems were operating well and being used properly.

Hosanna House, Les Cayes

Because of a communication gaffe with the Hosanna House, we were on our own for dinner. Ancy put in a call to Frantzou, one of our friends in Les Cayes, who put in an order at a local restaurant in town - La Cayenne. Shrimp and conch was on the menu, as was Prestige! After making our way through the maze in downtown Les Cayes, we arrived at Hosanna House, ready to put our feet up for the evening. What a great day, with a full schedule on the horizon!

Indeed, we attract a crowd wherever we go!