Day 4, part 1.

Wow, what a day.  After a trip to the local hardware store to fix the pick handle that I broke on Thursday we went back to Bethel.  Most of the crew went back to VBS but Marseille, Bob, Jude and I went after the dirt landing with a vengeance.  This time it was personal for me because Bob put us all to shame on Thursday as we wilted from the heat.  Between the morning and afternoon we were able to clear 3 times as much as we had completed Thursday afternoon.  It was personal to me that we go back to Bethel and take full advantage of Bob’s time and direction and we sure did that.  It’s exhausting work using a pick axe, shovels and a hand-made rock sifter to get this area from rocks to pure top soil.  By the time we were done with the second half of the day we were completely spent.  Bob then took us on a road ride to Du Tous, basically another piece of property that was most likely purchased by the original Baptist missionaries.  They are completely repaving the road and so all of the heavy equipment is being stored at the Church Complex by the beach.  Without sounding too spoiled the beach at Du Tous was 1,000% cleaner than those areas within Cap-Haitian.  We still have much to do there though as the construction crew has treated the beach like their personal dumping group.  It’s a beautiful beach and so tomorrow we’re going back to clean up all of the mess and enjoy a little ocean time.  It was wonderful walking into the ocean to wash off the ½ inch of silt clinging to my sweaty legs.  I then spent time talking with Bob and watching the craps maneuver their way across the rocky shore as the tide rolled in.  On our way back we found ourselves trapped in a traffic jam along the major road back to the housing complex.  As we moved along we discovered that part of the reason for the delay was that a building had collapsed down one of the major side streets.  No word on injuries or the extent of the damage but it looked like a complete building failure.  Once we got ‘home’ we were once again served a fantastic meal by the staff here and Thanks be to God collected the laundry that we submitted this morning.  Devotions were great and everyone is exhausted from doing the Lord’s work.  I want to come back and pour my heart, body and soul into the work here in Haiti.  What a great thing to experience with my daughter.  Thanks for everyone’s support, prayers and encouragement!  

-Russ Ward (First Baptist Ypsilanti).