Haiti Trip, January 7, 2013

Is there anything more beautiful than a Carolina Blue sky in Haiti?

Prayer Partner of the Day: Carrie Delisio

The alarm went off at 4:30am. Yes, there were roosters crowing. Yes, there were goats baa-ing. Yes, I should be used to it by now. But anytime the alarm goes off that early, it is just unnatural! 

Thankfully, God had a surprise in store. I walked out onto the rooftop balcony while it was still pitch-dark. The stars were the brightest and the most magnificent I have ever seen in my life. Within minutes, the stars began to fade, and the sun slowly crept up over the mountains. The beauty was overwhelming and awe-inspiring. It only seemed natural to say the rosary while driving to Jacmel. 

Meg & Sister Eno are beasts!

The ride to Jacmel goes from the north shore of Haiti to the south shore over mountains which are incredibly beautiful. Seeing the sun come up at 3400 feet made the day that much more special. The trip takes about 90 minutes and we showed up at the Spiritian Sisters just in time for breakfast. We had a board to put up, two tanks to mount on the roof, electrical to attach and a well pump to drop, so the day was full. As Bob said, this is really the time you find out how well the team is going to work together and we could not have been blessed with a better group. 

With so many hands on deck, organization of parts was especially needed. I sat with the boxes on the porch and opened up a "shop"! Of course, when it came time to drill concrete, I was first in line! We had a roof crew, a building crew, and the shop, and all worked flawlessly. The only hitch was that there was no generator on site as there had been when Bob did the site visit back in July. The good news was they now had city power, but the bad news was it did not come on until noon. This didn’t matter as we didn’t need the electricity until late in the afternoon. By 4pm we were ready to begin testing, turned the well pump on and water began to flow. Five minutes later, however, it stopped. Same thing happened again. Turns out, we had packed the wrong pump - a 240V instead of a 120V. Yikes! Rewiring will be first on the list the next day. 

And he calls me the 5-year old!

Sister Eno was pleased with the first day's progress. Our intent was to come back the next day and finish, but we only had Bill and Meg one and a half more days and so we decided to do the DuFort install while we had the most people power. This was God’s plan all along because when Bob spoke to Sister Eno, she then told him Thursday was better for her because she worked Tuesday and Wednesday. Because Haitians are so polite, she would not have told us that unless Bob had asked her directly. 

Check out that amazing board!

Now, we just had to get back to the monastery before dark. Driving in Haiti is scary enough; driving in Haiti in the dark is downright dangerous. We made it safely, and after a quick dinner, Bill, Meg and I had a LEGO party! This started with dear Intern Sean years ago, and at Solar Schools and Haiti trips since, LEGOs are the perfect way to unwind and reflect on the day. Well, LEGOs and Prestige! 

After a bit of star gazing on the roof, it was time for bed. God is indeed good. Carrie Delisio, Dutch, your prayers made this day complete. Y yooo!

We saw the sunrise and the sunset today. God is a beautiful painter!