Day 5, Part 2.

This mission has been very different for me this year.  I am used to heading to a worksite for the day and putting in some hard labor.  However, we split the day between VBS and “light” construction at Bethany.  The times that I would have been at Bethany have actually been spent installing water filters with the Haiti Clean Water team.  We planned to do the VBS in the afternoons to be out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, but it didn’t turn out like that.  So while most of the team toiled in the sun, I brought 3 team members each afternoon out to install the filters.  Installing the filters is a fantastic opportunity, a real need, and I’m enjoying the work with Isreal, Duvway, and Zili.  It was cool trekking up, literally up, and bouncing along, in a TapTap, roads that rival MI roads to visit people in their homes and giving them the gift of clean water.  I was able to visit homes in both the city and the country.

We got to visit DuCroix this morning.  Bob said we would be cleaning the beach and that there should be time to swim a little for those who want to.  We also had to be back for the last day of filter installations.  I was concerned about the timing.  BUT OMG, the road to DuCroix is amazing now.  It took 20 minutes to get to the camp.  Before it would be 45-60 minutes one way.  I couldn’t believe it.  So smooth, with water culverts to divert the rains.  It is still crazy to me.  The cruise lines are paying for the road from the port to Cap-Haitien.  The church is earning a little money from them by letting them stage some of the equipment at the camp.  It is a win-win between the nice road and a little bit of funding to maintain the property.  When I heard this, I was pretty excited.

Anyway, that is enough from me for now.  Thanks for reading our experiences and praying over us.

-Vince