Haiti Day 1 & 2 (June 14 & 15)

Day 1 - Team arrived safely in Port au Prince. Kudos to the supply and logistics teams, the dressmakers, and all of the support team. What a blessing and smooth operation! Everyone is healthy and in good spirits. Very friendly people. Especially folks at the airport who wanted to help...Pastor Brian McDaniel rescued us and all bags were "carefully" loaded into and onto the inadequate space available in/on the vehicles. We then mounted the bags (yes, the bags!) and made the bumpy and circuitous trek to the compound. Adventure. Tough to keep a low profile. The compound is up in the hills, with a great view of the ocean to the West. Good breeze. Very friendly Haitian Bible Students made us feel welcomed. The team was billeted nicely but many chose to sleep on the roof where a nice cool breeze blew nonstop. Thanks for your prayers and please keep'em coming. 

 Day 2 - Most were up in time for the 7:00am service that started around 8:00am--such is Haitian Standard Time. While Pastor John led worship on the roof, Pastor Brian taught in the courtyard. We then came together and heard a beautiful chorus by some of the locals. They were singing and praising wonderfully. Once complete we were on our way to another church in the area. We were on foot and with escort, and made our way about a mile up hills of rocky roads and alley ways where dwellings were made mostly of cinder block and corrugated tin. Children's toy cars looked as if they originated from the garbage heap. No wheels. But the children smiled and still had a joy about them. We heard worship as we rounded a corner. Great to hear and somehow very appropriate among the poor surroundings. The Hope of a Nation. We were welcomed to the service and afterward many of last year's Bible students rekindled friendships with last year's teammates. We retraced our steps back to the compound, many of us walking hand in hand with a Haitian child, and once back we had lunch, black beans and rice with succulent mango and some other dish that was quite good. We did a little VBS planning and some did a quick trip to the orphanage to help plan for later visits this week. All-in-all a full day. The World Cup is a big deal here as we can hear the radios, the cheers, and the car horns in the near distance. I did a non-scientific survey and found a 50/50 split between Argentina and Brazilian fans (sample size- 6). No clue who is winning. Tomorrow VBS begins and we're all very excited about whatever God has planned for the kids and adults as well as for the Bible Training Center students to be taught by John and Jim. Feel free to comment and we'll try to answer any questions you might have. Keep the prayers coming.