A very productive day!

The container is now completely unloaded... even the 6 drums of cement that were transported into storage containers.... bucket, by bucket, by bucket, by bucket, by bucket... yes, I had some hands-on experiences with it and my husband will likely have nightmares... I wasn't pretty... cement dust + sweat = cement... everywhere it touches!!!



The team has finished constructing the 2 new tents:



The inside of the kids new dinning hall:



The "boys side" of the guest house:



The picnic tables (for the dining hall) and the bunk beds (for the guesthouse) are well on their way:



Here's the future location of the tool shed:



The team is working very hard but are in good spirits as the fruits of their labor are already ripening.

The crew hard at work

Here's the crew:

















They've gotten so much done since the container arrived! Everything has been unloaded & found a home, new electrical lines have been laid, the floor for the guest house & kitchen/dining room have been laid and the tents are well on their way.

This team is packed with "construction professionals" but I love the way they've included the locals (even the kids!!) in their work... they're teaching skills and building relationships that will last a lifetime.















Now for the more important part of this blog.... messages for home!

~ Happy 22nd Anniversary Sylvia!
~ Happy Birthday Jacob!

Darcy's container has arrived!

The container arrived late last night and we are unpacking it this morning! The team has lots of help and they're ready to get building!!!

A day of destruction

We expected Darcy's container to arrive today but the trucking company has been delayed... we are hoping/expecting it to arrive tomorrow.

The team spent the day helping the local work crew bring down the rest of the damaged school. The local crew brought down the remainder of the top floor last week but it crushed one of the classrooms underneath. Darcy's team cut the iron in the roof so that they can save the 2nd classroom and bring down the 1st classroom completely. It was a long and hot day in the sun!

A true "Heart to Heart" attitude

Jason and Brigit have moved on to the second leg of their trip now... hope you're having fun at Double Harvest!!

They brought a special present for the kids at H2H that I wanted to share with you...

Seyi Esan, a grade 1 boy from Acacia Academy did a school project for the 100th day of school - he made an acacia tree out of 100 pennies. He then asked that his 100 pennies be donated to Haiti after hearing about the earthquake - some of the teachers at the school added to his donation and we used the money to buy Tampico drinks for the kids. It was a real treat for them... especially when they heard that a boy younger than most of them had bought the drinks for them.

Here's Brigit giving Luc the money and showing him the newspaper article of Seyi's act of kindness.



And here's Louson enjoying his drink... thanks Seyi!!



Darcy and his team are expecting their container of supplies to arrive this evening or tomorrow morning... they have big building plans so I should have some exciting updates for you over the next 2 weeks!

Darcy's team has arrived

Darcy and his team arrived Sunday and they jumped right into things.

They cleared the ground in preparation for their building projects... they even "relocated" the tarantulas that had made the rubble their home:









Their container of building supplies is scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon.

After a long working day we took a quick dip in the ocean at Tyno Beach. It was my first time visiting the beach since the earthquake and I was shocked to see the damage done to the area... this is what is left of the hotel where Renel & I were married in October.

Jason & Brigit have arrived

Jason and Brigit (from Oak Brook Church) arrived this morning. After a tour of PauP and a quick visit with the kids we whisked them off to Lavanj.



The church was damaged by the earthquake but the frame is still standing:





Pastor Luc took advantage of the trip to distribute some more of the flour:






This is their first trip to H2H but they're already very much at home... Jason has even learned to play marbles Haitian style!

A long week in PauP

We have had 3 long days in Port-au-Prince this week trying to get the paperwork to receive 2 containers that are waiting at the DR border... we made good progress today and have an appointment next week to pick up the final approval documents.

It still shocks me to see the state of PauP... there are multi-storey buildings hanging at 45 degree angles... people selling market items on top of rubble... bodies still trapped under collapsed buildings... people trying to repair buildings that should be condemned... tent cities that make Merritt Mountain Music Festival look like a 5 star hotel (some of you will know exactly what I mean!!).

Here are some very poor quality pictures that I took from the truck:









It's going to be a very long process to clean up PauP... it's hard for me to even comprehend how they're going to do it. I really hope there is a plan to decentralize it when they reconstruct it. Nothing happens in Haiti that isn't filtered through PauP and that creates a bottleneck that is almost impassable.

On a more positive note... tomorrow is the start of a new season for H2H... no, not rainy season - that started last month... the season of TEAMS!!! Our calendar is full for the next 3 months; medical, construction, distribution, ESL, teaching seminars, the list goes on & on. As our guest house complex was destroyed completely we have built a temporary guesthouse and it's quite impressive... considering our current situation that is.



I know many of you are already praying for me on a daily basis (thank you!!) - please keep it up as I'll need some extra energy going into these next few months... especially as I'm still recovering from malaria.

Some things to celebrate!

Pastor Luc dedicated Baby Theo Joe on Sunday.



The H2H school officially opened today! The classes are meeting under the "church tent"... a bit crowded & noisy but it's great to see a bit of normal returning.





And what is more normal than kids playing on the playground at recess!



And on a personal note... Renel and I moved back into our house several weeks ago (although we have had to run out a few times for aftershocks... which isn't fun at 2am) and today we hooked up the gas stove... rice & beans, without the smell of charcoal, has never tasted better!