Day 23

I'm so tired I've slept through breakfast and morning devotions the last 3 days.  Went to ProHuerta for our agriculture meeting at 9am and the guy is actually coming tomorrow.  Rescheduled.

Saw our Paraguayan friends in a caravan heading to the border as 6 of them leave on break for 5 days today.  It was fun to see them waving like maniacs to get our attention.

Realized we forgot the printer to copy ID cards at the camp today.  Oops.  Turned around and drove all the way back to the compound - about 25 minutes each way from where we were.

Went to the village to pick up the President to take him with us to the camp to interview the last of the families.  He wasn't there even though we called him 15 minutes before we arrived and he said he would be around.  Took Ruth instead.

Drove the back way.  Floyd started making a noise.  I got out down a back road to see a pipe dragging.  Lord have mercy on us is all I could think!  Johnbern and I tied it up until we could get it to a "garage" that wasn't in a garage.  Used my shoelaces to tie it up.  Hey - you have to improvise in Haiti.  Just needed to be welded back together - 250 goudes or $6.50 US.  Not bad!  We think it rotted at the seam from all the saltwater we have been driving through at the border.

Back on our way to the camp at Lilavois 6.  Less tents than when I first visited.  I wonder if people are around because they knew we were coming or if they are actually living here.  Interviewed 4, only taking 1.  We asked them to show us the tent they have been living in at the camp.  One lady showed us one with nothing in it, the others couldn't show us because their tent didn't exist, and one lady was legitimately living there - we only took her.  Ask President about other people who were around washing clothes, bathing, and getting water.  He said they are bad people and will cause problems at the new village.  We told him we wanted to give everyone a chance and interview them anyways because we knew he just wanted to only take his friends.  He didn't like that.  We started walking around to realize almost none of these people were actually living there.  After 2 hours of lies, we decided we were done for the day.  By this time it was 2:15pm.  The President and I went back and forth because I saw a lot of people from the village there.  I kept asking him why people would travel so far in a taptap to visit people in a place when they just said they didn't like the people.  He didn't have a good answer.

On our way out we drove 4 of the guys from our village to the street to get a taptap back to the village. Saw Ernst (one of the guys that ACTED said had a "good" house) at a car place.  Showed me his tent.  Asked him where his girlfriend and 2 daughters are.  He said they were at the village today even though yesterday we told him he had to move out.  Apparently he moved them in yesterday afternoon even though he has had almost 6 weeks to move them in.  I decided I was too tired to battle for the truth any longer.

Dropped the guys off in Clercine and JB took Laurel and I to a nearby restaurant for lunch.  It was Laurel's first time in a restaurant in Haiti and she has been here since March!  Upstairs was a very nice salon for women and downstairs was a barbershop. It was cool to see.

At the barbershop.

Toward Victory Compassion base, made phone calls and stopped at the HELP clinic that Johnbern's sister was at.  Apparently his mom left the medicines we bought for his sister there instead if taking them to give to his sister for her to get better.  I don't understand.  Johnbern hasn't talked about the situation much since Monday.  Today he told us his other sister took the sick sister to a private hospital.  Ok, fine.  I'm proud of Johnbern for saying enough is enough - I'm sure it wasn't easy for him.  No one was there, waited a few minutes and headed "home".

As soon as we got in Johnbern went to take a nap and Laurel and I ended up talking in the car for over an hour.  She is so fun and I love talking to her about what we are doing and the books we've read.  I think we are learning a lot from each other.

Dinner, shower, and bed.  Lots of meetings tomorrow.

Day 22

To land this a.m. to meet with the President and Pastor about ACTED houses.  Finally touched base with both of them.  Overall good conversation and they understood.

Visited HELP to help with last minute details before the Inauguration.

Back to VC compound to have lunch and get ready as the dress code is "sexy chic".  Found a car wash.  250g to wash outside and inside.  Took JB back to make lunch for us, Mary and the kitchen helper.

Laurel and I took the van to the car wash across the street.  Sat outside with the guys.  Laurel knows a little more creole than I, so she practiced - then the guy started talking to us in English.

Back to the compound for lunch and the 3 of us got ready.  Supposed to start at 2pm, we got there at 2:40pm and it still hadn't begun.

School had tables with fancy linens and a sound system.  Viva Rio was getting warmed up in one of the classrooms.  The desks from USAID had just arrived and were being unloaded.

We sat with the others and Dr B introduced us to his doctor friends and others from the US.  Viva Rio did their karate/dance performance, then the Dr. spoke and someone explained the biodigester.

Fed us from a beautiful buffet.  Saw Eduard, our old security.  He was dressed in his best! Khakis and a white, long sleeve button up - he even shaved!

Sat with some of the HELP workers.  Got up to take some pictures and Miss Coutard asked me to help her serve food to the kids.  The simple process turned into a madhouse because kids would wipe their faces and then ask for another plate.  It got to the point that kids were yelling at me and pulling my clothes, so Johnbern made me quit.

A dance party with the kids came next.  Some of our villagers helped Dr Br with preparation of the land, so he let them eat and dance with us.  They were very funny.

Ended at 4pm, left about 5:30pm.  On the way back to the compound we listened to Kirk Franklin- continuing our dancing and singing from earlier.

Dinner of BBQ chicken.  Sat with the Hoffman family.  Talked with Sandra, Quinten, and John afterwards. Called Mom and bed.

Day 21

Happy Independence Day!

I woke up today to the Americans in the group singing the National Anthem before breakfast.  The Hoffman Family (Andy and Erin with their 4 girls - Hannah 13, Audrey 11, Ellie 7, and Ava 3) are all wearing American Flag shirts today.  They are the Camp Directors and Erin's sister Laurel will be hanging with JB and I since Kendra is gone.

Headed to the village to talk to the President and Pastor about the decisions ACTED made about the plywood homes. Out of our 25 families, 6 are No's and 1 is being investigated further. They were helping Dr Brutus clear land since the Inauguration of the school is tomorrow.

Talked with Brutus for awhile. Met a few of his friends who were watching our villagers work. Aye.

Headed to ProHuerta to see their agricultural project - people who have used their gardening methods no longer suffer from anemia and other illnesses.  After we told him our whole village suffered from anemia, the project manager was excited to get us connected with more information.  He gave us a tour of his personal garden and we set an appointment for Wednesday morning to meet with another representative.  He was sure to clarify 9am Haitian time, NOT American time.  That basically means we shouldn't be on-time, but adopt Latin American culture and take it easy.

Into town to pick up money from Lubens - Kendra's former truck driver.  He is repaying some of the loan today.  Stopped for Haitian food off the street on the way and ate it at JB's Dad's work.  His Dad runs the security at the police academy in Woodfair.  The area was fenced in and looked like a park on a college campus with trees and green grass.  We ate rice, bean sauce, and beef from our styrofoam containers as we listened to music from Laurel's iPod.

Back on the road and up the mountain toward Petionville.  On the way we stopped at JB's Grandma's to see his other smaller sisters.  It is the house he lived in from when he was born to about 8 years old.  Only stayed for 5 minutes and one of his little sisters got upset when he went to leave.  He really does a lot for them.

Met Lubens for the money.  Stopped at the grocery store for items for s'mores and possibly firecrackers of some kind.  Since Petionville is the rich area - they have amazing American-like grocery stores.  Stopped at 3 - only got s'mores supplies.  Johnbern didn't bring any clothes for Dr Brutus' school inauguration tomorrow, so we dropped him off on the street to go shopping.  After much negotiating, he came down to tell us what he got.  He knew the price would be better for him if we weren't around. Smart!

Back down the mountain - stopped at one last store and got small firecrackers fit the 4th of July party.

At the base we had burgers, potato salad, and baked beans.  Dessert of s'mores and we lit the firecrackers.  Not that cool, but made noise like a firework.

John told Johnbern about the clothes people from teams had left behind.  He said JB could go through and keep any he wanted.  He found a few shirts, flip flops, and a hat.  I think he liked getting a few things, even if they weren't his style.  Who doesn't like new clothes?

Talked with everyone in the kitchen over s'mores.  Bed later than I wanted, but it was a fun night.

Day 20

Enjoyed last night at Paraguayan base.  They threw Kendra a Going Away Party in conjunction with a birthday.  The Colonel invite us and all the Majors and Captains - about 20 people around the table.  I sat between Kendra and the Colonel (or Commander - the highest rank here anyways).  After dinner and ice cream, they broke out Spanish karaoke.  Wow!  Right before we left they conned me into singing the Backstreet Boys' song - Quit Playin' Games with my Heart in English.  How many people can say they sang karaoke with the Paraguayan military on their base in Haiti?

With today being Kendra's last day, we ate breakfast with everyone at Victory Compassion so that she could say her goodbyes.

Straight to the airport to drop Kendra off. Quick goodbye.

Johnbern wanted to watch Brazil play soccer, so we went to La Maison restaurant to have lunch and watch the game.  Then, we went up the mountain to visit his Dad.  His Dad was excited to give me a tour of his small home that he and Johnbern built together.

Afterwards, we visited his sister Marie Danie at the hospital.  This is our second visit.  We spent the rest of the day driving her around to different places to try to find treatment.  A very difficult situation that I would love to share if you are interested.