The last day

We have been blessed with a day of smooth sailing today—no real problems to speak of. As I write, at 9:40 p.m. using in-flight wifi, we are on the last leg of our journey, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Detroit.

This morning we arose leisurely; some of us up early, and some opting to sleep in a bit more today. At 9:30 we enjoyed a meal Mary Jane had prepared for us so we wouldn't have to try to eat at the airport, and this meal featured "Haitian pizza" — a very good creation with lots of vegetables as toppings. Then we made our way down to the church, where the van was packed, with our driver Felix, and said emotional goodbye to the children who were surrounding us with smiles, shy waves, and lots of high fives and fist bumps.

We took a group photo (enlisting the assistance of a Haitian man so that we could all get in the picture) in the bright sunshine that had it well up into the eighties at 10 a.m., and joined hands in a circle to pray, and then said our difficult farewells to Mary Jane and Andris. By 10:20 we were beginning to roll ... very slowly for the first few bumpy miles down the hill to the city, and then with increasing speed and good progress. We arrived at the airport a bit before noon, in plenty of time for our 3:30 flight, even with the need to go through the departure protocol of customs. We got down to our gate with plenty of time, and sat down to wait.

Soon we were boarding our plane, and then beginning to roll towards a smooth and timely takeoff. The flight to Atlanta was flawless, and we managed to get through the airport there (including incoming customs) and most of us found time for a stop at the food court, too. Then it was time to board our connecting flight to Detroit, which was delayed slightly beyond the original schedule.

Somehow, two members of our party—Eric and Mari Veenstra—got onto a different flight than the rest of us. They should be following not too far behind, however.

We come back with gratitude for the hospitality of our Haitian hosts, rejoicing in the glory of God as we have been privileged to see it in a foreign land, and thankful that we could play a part this week in serving Him. As J.S. Bach signed his compositions, Soli Deo gloria—to God alone be the glory!

Wednesday night

We have had a good day here, on our last full day in Haiti. It has been hot, though—the consensus seems to be that it has felt like the hottest day we've had here.

This morning after Chapel and Flag, the guys went to the roof site, while the girls went to do activities with the kids. First, however, they joined them in recess, where Emily had a blast with them jumping rope.

Marissa and Katie did yoga with them outdoors, as shown in the following photos (notice yoga master Mark, squatting at the left in the first picture), and Mari did origami in the classroom.

We had what Mary Jane called a "typical Haitian lunch"—vegetables over rice, and were also given the opportunity to drink the water/milk from fresh coconuts. Opinions were mixed about the desirability of that experience.

After lunch, everyone went down to check out the offerings of a man who came around to sell souvenirs, down by the church. Then at 2:00, gifts were distributed to the children from their sponsors.

The work on Jake's roof site went well today, with all the tin sheeting going on by early evening. However, as Tom noted, this never would have happened without the assistance of Megen, the welding teacher at the school, and Jonel. Mark noted the steady pace at which the Haitians work—never fast, he said, but they just keep going all day. The pictures here show Megen beginning to hammer the first sheet of tin into place this morning; Mary Jane and Jake observing the progress of the work in the afternoon; some creative engineering to allow for a large tree that extended through the edge of the roof; and an evening view just as the work was finishing up.

Before dinner, we gathered on the front steps for a group photo. With the sunlight quickly fading, it is not a very high-quality photo, but across the back from left to right are Jake, Tom, Sveta (part of the mission who has become a good friend of ours this week), Matt, Eric, and Allen; across the front from left to right are Katie, Marissa, Mari, and Emily. Mark, sadly, was absent, behind the lens of his camera.

Tonight we had a nice dinner of tuna salad sandwiches, Haitian potato salad, freshly made sweet potato pudding, and Haitian candy (a sort of chocolate/caramel mix over coconut).

Tomorrow will be a short day here at the mission. I heard Mark say something about us leaving for the airport at 10:00, even though our flight isn't until around 3:30—this will leave us plenty of time for unexpected travel delays on the way to the airport, as well as time to navigate customs.

Tuesday night

It is now 7:25, and we have been sitting around conversing as darkness as descended, but they just fired up the generator a couple of minutes ago, so we get catapulted back into the twenty-first century.

Late this afternoon and into early evening, Mary Jane led us through a lengthy and richly textured Easter Bible study. It was meaningful to hear people reveal their thought processes in their comments and opinions.

One more full day ahead of us, and then Thursday we'll finish up and our flight leaves at 3:25. So, I hope we'll all get good rest tonight to prepare for the final push.

Tuesday afternoon

We've been working at a variety of tasks in different settings this afternoon. I feel mildly guilty, having gotten by rather comfortably, sitting inside and doing data entry for the spreadsheet Mark wants me to create (height, weight, waist, and shoe size for several hundred children) while others are toiling in the heat.

Specifically, Jake and Tom are making good progress on the roof. Now that all the trusses are in place, they are putting on the pieces of lumber that cross the trusses, and to which the tin sheeting will be attached starting tomorrow. When I asked what these cross pieces are called, I was told "lats or slats—I'm not really sure which we're calling them." Anyway, here is a picture showing Tom up on the ladder, and Jake overseeing the process to be sure his dad does it right.

Haitian grace

I'm finding it to be a very great blessing when we join hands in a circle and say grace before each meal. We rotate the duty of praying, and even the mute guy has been given a turn, as the team has gotten pretty good (of necessity) at deciphering what often seems like an unintelligible jumble of unarticulated sound.

Tuesday morning

This morning, we enjoyed an early heavenly breakfast of grapefruit juice, eggs cooked "to order" by Mark (though everyone seemed to want scrambled), fresh baked banana muffins, and slices of fresh mango. Oh, my! I had never had mango before, but this certainly won't be the last time - though Mary Jane warned us that it's impossible to find them in the states that are as good as those down here.

Then we filed down for chapel. I love hearing the children sing, with such enthusiasm, and actually a surprising amount of musical sophistication. I said that my wife, Michelle, is an elementary music teacher, and I sure wish she could hear their singing!

After chapel was Flag ceremony again, and then Mark set up his photography area again, to bring the children through. Today, more helpers were enlisted to record the data, in order to make the process flow a little better. In the photos below, Jake is measuring heights while Tom is measuring weights; then, Katie, Matt, Mari, and Eric are all lined up and ready to go into action, as Mark awaits the day's first student with his camera.

After spending a short time observing the photography, I came up to the guesthouse to input data and begin creating the spreadsheet that Mark asked me for. That process went smoothly; with Mary Jane in and out, I was able to visit with her, and when she was gone I listened to music—the appropriate song "This Good Day" by Fernando Ortega, set on repeat.

This good day, it is a gift from you.
The world is spinning in its place because You made it to.
I lift my voice to sing a song of praise on this good day.

Now the guys have gone down to work on the roof—they had come up for a short break after today's photography was finished.

Monday night

We had a very quiet, low-key late afternoon and early evening today, with people looking for work projects and ways to fill the time. After a later-than-usual supper, now people are cleaning up and getting ready to wind down. And my heart is rejoicing because the Detroit Tigers won their Opening Day contest today!