Last Work Day in Haiti - Thursday Night Blog

--Dick Pry

Hello from Haiti. We finished up our work today and are pretty tired. I have slept well here but I can feel the fatigue creeping in. Our final task this morning was to “paint the latrine” that we helped build. We were told we were going to dig the latrine but luckily saw that the Haitian workers had already dug the hole when we showed up on Monday. We helped the skilled laborers to haul block,mix cement and sifted limestone to make the cement- - but no digging by we Americans required!!!

We arrived this morning to see all of the block walls up and the latrine just about done. The only task left was to apply the Caribbean Green color to the walls. We put almost as much paint on ourselves as we did the latrine but by lunchtime the masterpiece was done. Both Dan and I turned around and encountered our little helper Jackson’s head with our rollers. He had two nice streaks down his head!!! The corrugated steel door was put on and it was ready for use. No idea who used it first but I am sure it was greatly appreciated.

As with every mission trip, the real joy is seeing the appreciation in the faces of the ones you visit. From the children who come up and sit on your lap to the aged elderly gentlemen who was hauling cement- - - they all smile and express their gratitude.

I choose to totally disconnect from the typical American life during these trips- - - and that is what I do. I don’t think about work, I don’t care about the news-I don’t text or even think about e mail. I just do what God has called us to do- - - to help those less fortunate.

I led the devotion last night and it was about shedding your baggage- - - to see what really is important in the big picture. Once you come on one of our amazing Beyond the Walls trips- - - you will grasp the phenomenal work that our campaign does to help the less fortunate- - - - - from Coatesville to Philadelphia to Haiti to South Africa.

Thank you Steve Morton for your vision for this wonderful mission of HUMC that we call “Beyond the Walls!  What a blessing!!!!!!!—

Here you see the blue Samaritan Purse temporary emergency structures that were built in 2010.  Families have been living in these tents for more than five years.  Right next door you see the new construction of a cinder-block home to replace the tents.  Hopewell has funded one of the cinder-block homes that is under construction.

Carey is a small-child magnet.  Here is one of many children that found her way onto Carey's lap this week. 

Our work and our week could not be accomplished without the assistance of Village Champions, who advocate and set priorities for the people of their village and translators whose Creole-to-English skills enable us to Communicate with villagers.  The two translators in the back row on the right are deaf and serve as Village Champions for the deaf community that live in the village of Leveque.

Impromptu worship in the small church adjacent to one of our roof-repair work sites.  Haitian prayer is always preceded by one or two songs to set the mood.  Our Village Champions initiated this celebration and villagers joined us.

Hopewell's Latrine Team.  If you need a latrine built we now possess expertise within our own congregation.

Prayer with a Leveque home owner.