Haiti "Herky Perky" Trip, October 11, 2012

Prayer Partners of the Day: Allison Fleig & Becky Keller

The last two nights have been nearly sleepless. With no fans, it feels much like sleeping in an oven. So as not to sound too whiny, I am thankful for sweat and purification of my pores!

Along with clean water, many of our
systems double as cell phone
charging stations. 

We drove to Cap-Haitien today. In all honesty, I was a bit nervous about going back to Limbe and Cap Haitien. The last time I was there, I became very ill and it was a place I never dreamt of returning. The road was fairly well paved, and we arrived in Limbe at the Jela School. The greeting was warm, and though I had not visited since August 2010, many of the teachers remembered my name. How is that possible?

While yesterday was a day of successes and excellent evaluations, we hit our first bump in the road today. Troubleshooting and maintenance commenced, and after only a couple of hours, the system was running like it was brand new.

You do the HERKY PERKY! The HERKY PERKY!

On our way to Cap Haitien, we stopped by Balan. This was a fairly new installation, completed in May by a team from Pulaski, TN. We were amazed at the building and the beautiful system. This site houses many orphans, who were all eagerly awaiting our arrival.

You may have noticed the title of this trip -- the Haiti "Herky Perky" Trip. The teachers and leaders asked us to join the children and sing and dance with them. Of course, we were happy to oblige! We were dancing right along to the hokey pokey, putting our left feet in and our left feet out...and doing the herky perky! Yes, our Haitian host could not quite pronounce "hokey pokey" and instead the song became the herky perky! And thus, our hearts were filled with joy and our faces forever shaped into smiles!

Pere Noe's Church,
Cap Haitien

Upon arriving in Cap Haitien, we dropped our bags at my auntie's house and took off to Pere Noe's Episcopal Church in downtown. On our way, we drove past the most beautiful toilet in all of Haiti, one I bonded with on the trip in August 2010! The fellas began to joke that I must know where all of the good toilets in Haiti are! Perhaps there's an app for that?? :)

The electricity was out at our host house, which meant another night in an oven. The roof was much cooler, and Pastor Moses and I sat for quite a long time as he told me the story of his calling and his life in Haiti and the US. The rain was cool and the breeze was perfect. How often do we sit outside with our friends at home and ask to hear their stories? Now that I have adjusted to Haiti Standard Time, I am reminded of why I love this country and culture so much... It is good to relax and simply be.

Still reveling in the beautiful day of yesterday. How thankful I am for these smiles.