Well our trip has come to an end!
We had a very productive time in Jacmel, and completed 8 homes in the time we were there. Our Haitian crew also did an incredible job, and managed to paint and pour the floors in all the homes we had framed by the time we needed to leave.
On Saturday the women were all able to volunteer at His Hands and Feet Orphanage and help Dr. Ken Pierce and his wife look after some of the 56 children there. It is a very well run and funded organization, and the kids were well fed, cared for and loved.
At lunch on Saturday, as I was sitting at the table in the hotel restaurant, my chair suddenly collapsed. As the entire group burst into laughter, the waitress, with a big smile on her face told me, "You big fat!" Only in Haiti! Life is always interesting here.
Saturday evening we went to Hotel Cap Lamandou for dinner. This is a beautiful hotel in Jacmel that was recently purchased by Comfort Inn, the first major hotel chain to invest in Haiti. This is hopefully a sign of things to come. We all enjoyed excellent burgers and fries for dinner, our first since leaving the States.
Sunday morning we were invited to a neighboring Protestant church by one of the Haitians. We followed him in the morning to the Apostolic Church of Cay Jacmel and worshiped with them for an hour or so. The service started at 6 AM and ended around 11:30, so we didn't stay for the entire service. It was a Creole service, but they were very helpful and gave us French hymnbooks so we could sing along with them. Later, we had a time of Bible study together about the mercy seat and the tabernacle, and how it represents Jesus Christ and the work of salvation. It was a very good Sunday.
On Monday morning we were all up early and ready to leave by 7. Because we couldn’t fit all of us on one flight, the Beeke’s and Joyce stayed in Jacmel till noon, when they were picked up by tap tap, brought to the airport, and flown back to PAP by Jason.
AJ and I were able to fly as copilot with Jason and John, another MAF pilot, on several flights to Hinche, Pignon, and La Gonave. It was very neat to see the southern part of Haiti from the air, and be able to fly into the more remote villages. At La Gonave, one little boy who had never seen a white person, screamed in terror every time we came close.
Coming back to the rubble and devastation in PAP was hard to take after the beauty in Jacmel. The difference between the two is incredible. While there is poverty in both areas, the natural beauty of Jacmel seems to make it less extreme.
We are looking forward to seeing our children and being home again, but not looking forward to the cold weather!
Chris & Joyce
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