We went to a Creole speaking church Sunday morning enjoying praise music in Creole and even though there was a language difference the positive energy in the church was evident.  The church was at an orphanage and we got to interact with the sweet children who sat around and with us playing throughout the service while some sat quietly listening. It made me feel even more connected to the culture and enhanced the desire to adopt a Haitian child as there are many who could use homes.   It was sad to leave them especially when one of the very friendly little girls through a tantrum when we said goodbye.  We spent the earlier part of afternoon at the Hope Alive Guesthouse and had plaintains with picklies for lunch.   Myself, Wilio and Katie went for a long walk around the neighborhood first to Grace Village at an attempt to get medications, when we couldn’t do that we decided to explore other areas.  We walked down to a beach hotel called the Lambi Hotel, about 20 or so minutes away by the main road. It was a popular beach, but it was not the traditional sand and ocean I was used to at a beach.  The beach was in the south of Haiti where I heard the beaches aren’t as nice as those in the north.   We stopped and got some homemade pineapple icecream on the way there from a icecream stand which was tasty.  It was a small beach, we had to pay to get in.  There was loud Haitian music playing and an area for activities where people played sports and tables where people sat eating and drinking.   There was dancing and lots of Caribbean style music, locals were there and I did not see any people who looked liked visitors.  Seemed like a common place to go on the weekends, it was cool to get a taste of at least part of the authentic experience of living in Haiti.

I was eventually picked up later that day by a driver and Cary Roberts, one of the team leaders from the Haiti Outreach Ministries medical, construction and mental health team called Diakanos from Canada that I planned to work with that week in Port au Prince.  Cary wanted to make sure we made it back by dark as it was Carnival time when a lot of partying occurs.  Fights and other problems can erupt jeopardizing security and leading to unsafe conditions quickly.  We spent the evening getting acquinted at Walls Guesthouse with a team of providers, Pastor Leon (founder of Haiti Outreach Ministries) and his wife and others who would help with construction and building.  I even reunited with some old acquaintances a nurse from Seattle and Larry Roberts, (founder of Servants Gifts, an outreach organization with a group house in Haiti), friends who happened to be staying at the same place.    It was a refreshing start to prepare for the next week which will be spent in a clinic at Cite Soleil, an underserved, impoverished and historically unsafe community, known as a large slum.   The community has been victimized by crime, inequity and is vulnerable, I really anticipated serving there.

Last night I arrived in Haiti.  It was a challenging endeavor getting to Haiti- thankful for safe travels.  I was blessed with an upgrade to first class which allowed me 3 free bags and I only paid $100 for extra bag.  What a faithful God we serve.  I spent all that time worrying about transport costs then got a great deal since He worked it out which was such a relief.  I was able to get all of the medications transported, both through my friend who brought a couple of bags earlier in the week and on this flight.  It was very welcoming to have Haitian men singing songs with big smiles as we got off of the bus that we caught from the plane.  However, it was disheartening on arrival after all of that work put into getting medications to have bags confiscated in customs which led to a lot of frustration and it was upsetting.  I did not have the necessary paperwork for getting medications in country. They told me to get a letter from the health ministry to get all the medications approved.  I am working on that and realizing it is another test of my faith.  Above all things I must trust God in every aspect.  He led me to Haiti and He will see it through to ensure meds get to places needed for the people that they are intended to help.  I was exhausted, after about a 2-hour ride, from Port-au-Prince to guest house in Mariani, just past Carrefour.   The drivers took me on a ride to the store enroute to the guesthouse.  The roads were very rocky and after going up and down many unpaved and very bumpy hills we arrived.  We drove through Grace Village which is where my friend from Portland who brought two bags medications for me was staying at.  I later learned that there were two Grace Villages in two totally different locations which is why we were not able to connect initially.  I enjoyed staying at Hope Alive Guesthouse- that evening was spent connecting with some of the Haitian staff, Renaud and Wilio, and with Leslee and Katie.  We had dinner prepared by the cooks.  That night we sat on the porch of the guesthouse talking until late.  We later went to bed, some of the staff preferred to sleep on the roof and it was hot inside.  I slept okay, although hot with no AC or fan, in a room in the clinic area upstairs.  Being under a mosquito net was uncomfortable and stuffy, not something I’d done before in Haiti.