Mission to Haiti – March 27, 2011
Please accept our apology, as it has been 4 weeks since our last message. It is primarily because our Internet has been intermittent to non-existent for most of the time because of bandwidth problems.
Much has gone on since we last wrote. We, of course, were in the Dominican Republic for 12 days for a little rest and relaxation and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Dorothy took advantage of the availability of some special treats, pedicure, manicure, massage, and a haircut while John must have read four or five books while resting under the palm trees out of the sun. It sounds like Dorothy didn’t sit in the shade and read but she did, too. We saw so many people, Europeans especially, who were determined to go home with a tan and managed to get themselves crispy crittered within a day or two of arrival. We also had more food than you can possibly imagine, so we “manje, manje”(ate and ate some more).
We arrived home in Saccenville just in time to get the house back in shape in anticipation of the arrival of 6 houseguests for a two-week period. We understand that there was a minor earthquake in our absence that caused the dust to rise into the air, and with an accompanying wind, put a layer of black dust on everything. Our houseguests are Bryan and Leslie from Jackson, Mississippi and their 4 children, Jacob, Benjamin, Sara and Elizabeth. Bryan is the Rector of the Emmaus Biblical Seminary and he is currently fundraising to bring he and his family to Haiti. The children are home schooled in Mississippi and their schooling is continuing while they are here. It has been a pleasure to meet them all and be reminded how busy it was with children around, and also remember that Grandma and Grandpa can give them back to their parents.
The house that we live in now is the “Rector’s House” and Bryan and Leslie will move into this house once they arrive to stay, but for the time being they are guests in their own house while we make meals, do laundry and some cleaning. Ideally, they would like to see another house built on this property that would be designed specifically for the purpose of housing visitors.
We had planned on telling you all about the excitement around the run-off election last Sunday, March 20th and would, but there is little to tell at the time of writing. From what we hear there were few difficulties on the actual day of the election, traffic was at a minimum because of restrictions on vehicular travel, and it was so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. We had lots of old-fashioned “loudspeaker on a truck” advertisements for each candidate and a couple of night of very loud music into the night just before the election. John received many telephone messages asking him to vote for either one of the candidates.
The big news a day before the election was, of course, the return of former President Aristide to Port-au-Prince. We thought that it might precipitate some demonstrations from his supporters and while there were several hundred people at the airport to meet him, all went very peacefully. When all is said and done it is still felt that the entertainer Michel (Mickey) Martelly will be the winner when all the ballots are counted. According to news reports we should have the preliminary results on March 31 and the final results by April 16th.
The good news this week is that a work team from Wellington County led by Albert Nykamp arrived on Monday to work on the new pharmacy for the medical clinic at the Vaudreuil compound. The money for this project was raised at the dinner/auction that HEARTS and Men for Missions organized in 2007 at the Elora Community Centre. It has taken this long to get things underway because funds for the new AIDS clinic were time sensitive and had to be accessed sooner rather than later so the pharmacy was put on the backburner until the time was right. The earthquake in January 2010 meant a further delay until now. The team consists of Albert, his wife and daughter, and at least a dozen men of varying ages. The cement pad had been poured so the construction will consist mostly of block work while the team is here. We are looking forward to having supper with the team next week before they leave for home. 
We have been following a Lenten devotion that was available at the church a few years ago called, Your Nail. Some of you may remember it. The focus on every page of reading is from Colossians 2:13b-15. “He has forgiven you all your sins: Christ has utterly wiped out the damning evidence of broken laws and commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it over His own head on the Cross. And then, having disarmed all the powers ranged against us, He exposed them…shattered, empty, and defeated…in His final glorious triumphant act”. We hope that you will, along with us, remember why Christ was nailed to the cross. He died for you and me and we caused His death.
Please continue to pray for strength for us during this next very, very busy period.
Please pray for the 600 children in our schools as they prepare to start their 3rd trimester the first of April.
