Haiti Trip, Sunday, March 24

Prayer Partner of the Day: Claire Sparks

We woke up early, early this morning to ensure we made it to the airport on time! The team would arrive at 9:20am! We waited and waited for Ronald, and though every other driver in Haiti is always on "Haiti Standard Time," Ronald is always early! We knew there must be a problem. Sure enough, he finally arrived with a look of desperation... It's Palm Sunday! People all over Haiti come to Leogane each year on Palm Sunday for the "Rah Rah." Thousands of people had been up all night singing, drinking, partying, and celebrating in the streets, and the crowd was finally starting to break up. Once we got into the truck and got back in to Leogane we knew it was going to be a long sit. And sit we did!

Long story short, by the grace of God, and Ronald's fantastic driving abilities, we made it to the airport with time to spare. The Green Valley UMC team arrived from Vegas with excitement and energy!

We had a lovely drive to Gonaives, making stops in Montrouis and a bit further down the road. We even found ice cream, which, of course, made me happy. The first stop in town was at the Philadelphia "Village de Vie" orphanage. We were overwhelmed with joy to see the kids and our work crew already hard at work. Charles had the trench from the well to the building dug and Valdes was on top of the truck and adjusting the solar panels. We unloaded all of the equipment at the building, said our goodbyes, and headed to Pere Max Accime's house, where we will stay the week.

Everyone seems genuinely excited to be staying in tents for the week, though a couple of fellas drew the unlucky straws and will be sleeping indoors, where it's a wee bit hot. Once everyone got set up, we sat around the tree with a lovely breeze and gave a "cheers" to the coldest Prestige I've ever tasted! Tom pulled out the fanciest Operator's Manual I've ever seen, and Carol led us in a sweet devotion.

Surely...this will be a wonderful, Spirit-filled week! Early to bed! Early to rise!