I’m not sure quite what I was expecting from Haiti but I definitely was not expecting to feel instantly at home here. However, everything from the smell of burning trash to the flat roofs and tile floors of the villa where we will be staying this month to cows grazing on the side of the roads makes me feel like I’m back in Morocco and puts me right at ease.
We were blessed with amazingly smooth travels to Haiti- we made our connecting flight in JFK without a problem, all our bags made it and we found our contact at the airport in Port-au-Prince easily. We loaded up into the back of a truck and began the long, dusty trip to the YWAM base- a big villa in a quiet neighborhood, about 30 minutes from the heart of the city. The YWAM base here is divided up into 2 houses: the Mayagate house where the base director and most of the staff live, and the Bellville house- our house- home to 4 American and 3 Haitian staff.
Our daily schedule is full but fun! We get up with the sun at 5:30 AM to have a quiet time followed by breakfast at 6:30. At 7:15, we have worship and at 8:15 we clean the house. From 9 to 12:30, we do ministry. So far, we’ve taken a prayer tour of the city, played with kids in the tent city down the road, and dug foundations for a house. Today we’ll be visiting an orphanage. During the afternoons, we either have more ministry or we have the afternoon off.
We don’t have city electricity most of the time, so during the day, we just don’t use it! Surprisingly, I have found it is perfectly possible to live quite comfortably without electricity. We make coffee by pouring hot water over grounds, we take showers using a bucket and cup and the Haitian sun provides all the light we need. At night, we run a generator, giving us access to internet, so I’ll be on Skype and Facebook most night for a short time, if any of you want to chat with me!
Well, I’ve been on this computer for far too long now so I’ll sign off. Please keep praying for good health and protection for our team! Dorothea is currently wrestling with “Haitian happiness” (aka Diarhea), so please keep her in your prayers.
Love you all!
I felt really at home in Haiti, too. You can read about my experience here. Your electricity situation sounds about like what we had there.
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