Days 171 – 175 (04/05 – 09)

Thursday – No teams this morning. We will be having a large team (15 from Haiti Partnership) coming in this afternoon. So, it’s another quiet day - another day of writing and sending out drafts of the next grant request. Everyone is very helpful and make suggestions for getting it to its’ final form. I think I’m on draft #6. When will it ever end?

Friday – Good Friday is a Holiday in Haiti. So, after we got our Haiti Partnership team packed up and on their way to Mellier, we were done for the day. Tom was still in Connecticut; Mario went to visit his cousin for the weekend; and Sarah and I took Eric’s daughter Jessica and her little friend Darvic up to the Hotel Ebolele for lunch and an afternoon around the pool. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Saturday – Today starts a 4 day window where we have no teams coming or going. I guess teams didn’t want to come to Haiti over Easter. Our next team doesn’t arrive until Wednesday afternoon. Sarah is taking advantage of the lull by taking off for Miami to spend a few days with her boyfriend (lucky girl). Guess what? There’s nobody here but me. It’s a rather strange feeling. I finished up some paperwork in the morning and spent the afternoon watching the 3^rd round of the Master’s golf tournament on my laptop. The slow internet speed down here makes the video stream start and stop a lot and it seemed like I never got to see the putts fall in the hole. But, I got to see enough really incredible golf to make it entertaining.

Easter Sunday - This morning I thought a lot about my friends at St. Marks in Sacramento – about how much I missed singing in the choir and listening to Pastor Allen’s sermons. I guess it’s part of price one pays for the privilege of doing God’s work far from home. I’m looking forward to seeing all of my friends and family in a week and a half when I go home for R&R.

After breakfast I changed into my Sunday best (kaki cargo pants and a Hawaiian shirt) and went to church right here on the Freres campus. The church was packed, as you would expect on Easter Sunday – about 400 people and I was the only white face in the crowd (and the most underdressed). But you know what? I didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable or out of place. This was God’s house and I was with my Haitian family – and they welcomed me like family, as they always do. It was a long service – even by Haitian standards – just over 3 hours. The strange thing was, I didn’t mind a bit. Even though it was hot; and all in Creole, naturally; and I still don’t have a good grasp on the language – I enjoyed it. Pastor Paul was officiating and it was the first time I had actually heard him preach. There was a baptism, a confirmation, communion and lots and lots of singing and when Haitians sing they can hear it clear up in Heaven. In this case – loud is good. After shaking Pasto Paul’s hand and wishing him a Happy Easter, I went back to the office and watched the final round of the Masters.

Monday – I’m still flying solo today although I do expect Mario to return sometime this afternoon. I got an email from Lauren James, the UMCOR/EMH liaison telling me that UMCOR wanted me to be their Shelter and Reconstruction representative at the UMCOR Haiti Partnership Conference in Orlando next month. This will be a conference for EMH officials, UMCOR/UMVIM representatives and major VIM partners from all over the US. The purpose will be to lay out a plan for the Haiti Relief Plan for the next 3 years. They want me to head a round table on reconstruction. I’m excited about the opportunity.