Today we had a crazy adventure to the poorest school of them all. It was a 30 minute drive up a dried up river gorge. You can only get to this school if it hasn't rained for a while. The truck went thru an unbelievable bumpy road, I thought we were going to get stuck or tip several times. At points the river bank was 100 feet high and just a couple feet wider than the truck. It was hard to hold on in the back of the truck because the river bank was lined with cactus and thorn bushes that would scrap your hands/arms if you didn't watch out.
At the top of the mountain is was a hot desert, no trees for shade but the kids
were the most friendly of all the kids we have met yet and they stuck by our
side from the moment we got off the truck until we had to leave. This was the
last of the schools and our official job to get 3000 kids pictures taken and
the school registrations verified for the new year is now
complete.
I'm so excited, tomorrow the group we are with, Mission Possible, has agreed to
take us the orphanage at Gonvais that the 500 club in "the county"
supports. The kids are sick there and we are taking clean water and a nurse to
help train them on how to isolate and stop the spread.
Nathan, thanks for your email, I love to hear from you and I can't wait to see
you. Have a great time with Nolan and please be good, that's a very nice thing
that Mr Conley is doing letting you sleep over so please be good and make me
proud of you. Jacob, you too! I really missed party night tonight with you but
it's the weekend so that will go by quick and I'll be home before you know
it!
Hi Chloe, have a great play tomorrow with Gracie and the girls.
Hi Sweetheart, ya Christmas wow hard to believe it's coming up. I'm not sure I
should do your shopping here? People selling old junk along side the road and
burning garbage everywhere. They won't let us go the market but when we were
driving by I think I saw some of my old favourite shirts that you donated so
I'm hoping to get a chance to buy then back. Can't wait to go to Peterborough
and get into the Christmas mode as soon as I'm back.
Amazing day, today we drove about 10 minutes down an old bumpy road then the truck dropped us off and we hiked for another 10 minutes up a steep mountain to a village school to Degeance, what an unbelievable to experience. The classrooms were separate little huts with tin roofs and woven grass sides that the kids could peek at us thru.
We were able to get 300 kids registered for school and their pictures taken before lunch. We got to travel with 2 of the children to visit their homes. The first home was made of cement and it was about the size of our bathroom. Inside there was 2 rooms and 9 people lived there. They all slept on rags on the floor. It seems sad but they are happy. The kids get a meal of crushed up beans and rice everyday. It's all they get for the whole day and they love to come to school. The school teaches them math and literacy but also about Jesus and the hope that gives them is really all they have but it's all they need. The kids at the Mission Possible schools are clean, healthy and happy.
Day 3 Mountain School at Degence:
Mission Centre:
MPCA School
It’s very hot here, it was soo sunny today that one girl on our team had sun stroke(not Emily). … and we worked sooo hard. We were up until midnight sorting and writing out name cards for over 1,200 kids. This morning they woke us at 6am and we got straight to work travelling about a 10 minutes in the back of an old truck.
Today we finished early enough that we got back to MissionPossible just in time that I could jump in the ocean for a cool down swim. Tonight we had Haitian food for dinner. Beans and rice, chicken legs, fried plantain, fried bread fruit, hot sauce, beet salad. It was actually all very good.
After dinner Pastor Herve gave his testimony. I won't ever be able to do it justice but this man is amazing. He has lived a very tough life. His father left his mother when she was pregnant with Herve. A child in Haiti without a father has very little hope. When Herve's mother found another man, they had 4 other children and Herve was treated very poorly. He was the oldest but got to eat only if there was food left over. He wasn't welcome in his own home and eventually had to go live with his uncle. His uncle put Herve in school and started taking him to church but life was difficult. One day Herve was riding on the back of a truck and decided to try end his miserable life…just as he was about to jump, he felt the spirit of God whisper to him not to jump so he didn't. After Herve heard God's voice he began to find purpose. His uncle taught him to drive and Herve got a job driving for Mission Possible. Herve felt a strong calling to evangelism and asked Mission Possible if he could start sharing Jesus at the school. They agreed that Herve could do evangelism 1 day each week. Several came to know Christ and Herve ask if he could do more evangelism, they said no, you are our driver and we need you to drive! A week later Herve came back and said God was calling him into evangelism and if he couldn't do that fulltime he had to quit and he did! (They said he was crazy, a job in Haiti is very hard to find). Herve lead an evangelistic crusade in St. Marc, 185 many came to Christ and instantly Herve had his church! In 2006, Mission Possible brought Pastor Herve to Ohio and hired him as their Director in 2006. His vision to see evangelism and a church in every school has already been accomplished. His discipleship program in each school thru his bible school students is a visionary program based on biblical teaching of Jesus that is building the Kingdom in Haiti and is a recipe to change Haiti at the grass roots.
We’re doing great, going to a remote school tomorrow in the mountains that we have to hike too!
So far so good! I left home at 2:40am and got Steve at 3am sharp, Emily at 3:20 and Scott at 3:35. We went Shannonville route then flew down the 401 stopping just before Cornwall at 6am at a service centre for Timmy's.
We did good thru
Montreal and arrived about an hour early at 7:30 making the check-in smooth and
stress-free! Flight was great, we're about to land, 15minutes early, I better
put away my laptop.
We have arrived safely at the Mission Possible compound!!! We arrived just after dark, all is great! What an adventure already. Meeting lots of people here, the "boys” from 3 different teams are sharing a cabin with bunkbeds.
Nathan, I hope you had a great day, I’m so glad I brought your necklace to wear, it’s helps me think of you!
Jacob, I’ve got your skateboard right hear, I’ll try practice so I can do some tricks like you!
Chloe, I’m so glad I brought your heart, nothing could have been better to help me remember you than the heart you gave me, I will hold it often.
Jenny, I love you, I’m doing great and I hope you are doing great too!
Love Dad