Days 76 & 77 (11/29 – 11/30)

Tuesday – Today is John’s last day. People were coming in to the office all day to say their goodbyes. He’s made a lot of friends in his 7 months in Haiti. In between the goodbyes he was desperately trying to teach Mario everything he knew.  

In the afternoon Tom and I went with Johnny Cherubin, one of our drivers, to look at his home site. Johnny’s home in Port-au-Prince was completely destroyed in the earthquake and he and his wife and 3 children lived in a tent for over a year until they were able to find a small rental house. In the interim the City decided that they were going to build a road right through his property and bought the lot from him. Johnny took the money and bought a lot up on the mountain behind Petionville. However, he has no money to rebuild. That’s where my program will step in. The lot is very small (see slide show #19), as are most lots in and around Port-au-Prince, but is a diamond in the rough. When the house is finished he will have a beautiful view of the city.

Madame Ruth, the Guest House Manager, went all out with a farewell dinner for John. It was an incredible spread complete with a cake (see slide show). There were no teams here, so it was just our Guest House family – a fitting goodbye.

Wednesday – Today is the official end of Hurricane Season. Haiti was lucky this year. There was just one hurricane that came over the island, but it was rather benign as hurricanes go. It did, however, create havoc on the East Coast of the U.S.

We bid Bon Voyage to John and welcomed Alina Saltedo, the GBGM (General Board of Global Ministry) auditor, who has come down for a few days to help train Mario in his new job. We also welcomed our first team in three days and Sarah back from her R & R in the Dominican. Life at the Guest House is returning to normal.