day 2

Day 2

We were given our days task;  “go to the storage shed and check out the supplies that have arrived for the house we’re setting up, and begin getting the house ready”.  Sounds easy right?  Well…  we got ready to go and started to wait.  As we waited for the driver to arrive, we got word that there were riots near the airport, and perhaps we should wait awhile to leave.  (Well, we couldn’t go anywhere anyways, so we waited)   When the driver finally did arrive, the truck had run over something and he had just changed a flat tire.  OK, so much for plan A.  Now we had to find two new tires (the spare was bald and needed replacing too).  That sounds easy enough, but in a city that was just destroyed and has no commerce it was a definite challenge!!  We couldn’t believe our eyes as we drove around Port au Prince.  It was like a scene from a sci-fi disaster movie.  Collapsed buildings and rubble were everywhere. People just sat on the trash and destruction, like they were used to it already.  I guess that’s the reality of their lives now one month after the quake.  What we saw was so sad.  People are still digging through the rubble trying to put pieces of their homes back together.  Almost everyone still sleeps outside, afraid of the continuing tremors.  (There was one around 1:30 this afternoon, but we were in the truck and didn’t feel a thing J )  After about an hour of searching, we finally found someone who had two tires to replace our old ones.  We sat along the side of the road while they changed the tires for us and were back on our way.

We arrived at the storage shed only to find out that the guy who had the key was in the city somewhere and wouldn’t be back for hours.  OK, how about plan C?  We need the generator in the storage shed to try to get the well to work at the house.  There is a well, but we don’t know if it will work since the quake.  So, we went to Christianville and asked if we could borrow a generator for a couple of hours.  They agreed but didn’t have gasoline to run it.  So, plan D?  We had to go find gasoline.  Oh, but we needed a tank to put it in.  J So, off to our driver’s house where we borrowed a small tank to put the gas in.  We made it back to the house around 3:00.  (We were told to be back at the hotel before dark, so we didn’t have a lot of time.)  Our team got the generator hooked up and started the well.  And we had water!!!  It was dirty, but very wet.  Then the guy with the key showed up, and we were able to get to the rest of the supplies that had been sent from the Dominican Republic.  What a blessing.  We are pretty well stocked with kitchen and household supplies. (We even found a live tarantula waiting for us!)  It felt so great to finally accomplish something and get the house closer to livable.

 Just when we were ready to head back to the hotel (about an hour drive in traffic and rubble) we got word that the refrigerator and stove that our teammate Brian had ordered was finally being delivered.  So we decided to wait and receive our appliances.  One step closer...  The plan is that we will move into the house tomorrow.  It will feel good to get out of the hotel.    (There are 8 of us sleeping in a suite in a half star hotel with one bathroom)

Tomorrow morning around 9:00 we will be going to meet with a group of 20-30 pastors and help do some crisis response training for them.  Please be praying.  We said “whatever Lord”   and we’re just hanging on for the ride.  It’s been fun so far.  We’ll keep you posted.  Thanks for holding us up in prayer.  We feel it.  We made it back to the hotel way past dark, but never felt afraid.  God is so good.

Your partners in Haiti,
Mike and LInda