Days 89 – 91 (12/12 – 14)

Monday – We were up early and had another great Les Cayes Guest House breakfast; then started our long drive back to Petionville. We drove for about an hour along the Caribbean coast; another hour over the mountains; then another hour along the Atlantic coast to Mellier, where we stopped to check on the progress of our projects there. The ride was testament to the fact that Haiti truly is a beautiful country. The eye appeal decreases proportionately the closer you get to Port au Prince on the hour and a half trek back to Petionville.

We arrived back at the Petionville Guest House at around 3:00 PM and spent the remainder of the day catching up on emails and issues that accumulated while we were gone and tried to get prepared for a couple of important meetings tomorrow. We all slept well after 3 long days on the road.

Tuesday – This will be my last full day in-country before heading home for Christmas. The meetings today will be in many ways the culmination of my last 3 months in Haiti. The first meeting at 9:00 AM was a meeting that I had been working and praying for – for 10 months and was the primary reason I returned to Haiti. It was the first ever introduction class for better building standards in Haiti. (See slideshow #23) We had 27 Engineers and Site Bosses (Contractors) in attendance. I asked Head Engineer Roger Laplanche and Engineer Derly Charles to present the material so that the information was coming from Haitians to Haitians. They did an excellent job and every participant was very attentive and eager to learn. I sat there nodding my head with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. I am certain that all Methodist projects in Haiti will now be built to a much higher, 7.0 earthquake resistant standard. Amen.

The meeting in the afternoon was a meeting of the Haiti Joint Leadership Team. This team consists of the top people from UMCOR, UMVIM and EMH and was a year-end review of progress made in 2011 and an overview of plans for 2012 for the partnership of these three organizations. I was asked to present a report on the Haiti Home Assistance Program and the Guest House Renovation Project. Both of which were positively received. I was impressed with how much had been accomplished by UMCOR/UMVIM in 2011. These are truly hard-working, talented and dedicated people and I’m very proud to be working with them. The bottleneck for moving these programs forward in 2012 seems to be the EMH (Haiti Methodist Church). Since we are in Haiti at their request and working on their projects, they have the final say on projects and as I have said many times, Haitians have a very difficult time making timely decisions. It is probably the biggest frustration we have. However, the overall outcome of the meeting was positive.

It was another eventful day and as I was packing for my return in the morning I was filled with pride for 2011 and great hope for 2012.

Tuesday – I had time this morning, before leaving for the airport, to say my good-byes to the staff and wish them all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - I even got a call from Pastor Paul (EMH President) thanking me for my service to the church and to Haiti.

As the planes’ wheels lifted off of the tarmac and I was homeward bound for the 3^rd time this year, I realized that each time I leave, I leave a bigger chunk of my heart in Haiti.