Days 193 -196 (05/10 – 13)

Thursday – We just had 1 team to get out to their site in Petit Goave this morning. Then Tom and I had to get ready for a meeting that Pastor Paul had called about the church in Mellier. Mellier has been our longest running, largest and most costly project in Haiti. It has been a prime example of how not to run a construction project. The Haiti Response Plan doctrine is to let the Haitians manage these projects, but I must say that a committee of ministers is not the most qualified group to run construction projects. Pastor Paul has finally recognized this and wants to put a stop to the cost overruns. I have been advocating from the beginning that Eng. Laplanche should be the final authority and finally was able to get agreement. We also were able to agree on some design changes and cuts that will help bring the overall cost down - all in all a much better outcome than I had anticipated.

After the meeting I went over my Staff Annex design changes with Roger and he agreed that it was a better solution and will redraw the plans. This was followed by a 2 hour Skype conference call among Jim Gulley in Colorado, Mellisa Crutchfield and Thodleen Dessources in New York and Lauren James and I in Petionville. Ah – the wonders of modern technology. The topic was grant extensions and new contracts for the EMH Housing Project. This is one pilot project that has truly been a learning experience for everyone involved. The good news is that houses are being built – 7 completed, 13 under construction and 20 more to start by June 1^st. I spent the remainder of the day working on the new contracts.

Friday – Another no team morning. But Spana arrived early to take me to the US Embassy for my appointment to get my passport renewed. I was not looking forward to the exercise. My phone call experiences with the Embassy had been less than satisfying. I had been told different things by different people regarding the procedure and requirements. But – believe it or not – it was painless. I was in and out in 40 minutes. They even let me keep my old passport to travel on next week to Orlando instead of having to issue an emergency passport. We were back to the Guest House by noon.

After lunch I was standing in the patio with a cup of coffee when a gunshot rang out right outside our gate to the alley. Both dogs came screaming around the corner of the patio running in the opposite direction. Great guard dogs. Eric and I ran to the gate to lock it and saw a half a dozen Haitian National Policemen in flak jackets wrestling a guy down the alley to their truck. Apparently there had been a fight that involved someone being cut with a broken bottle and when the police tried to arrest the perpetrator, he took off down the alley and one of the policemen fired a warning shot in the air. It stopped the guy, but one has to wonder where that bullet came down in a city of 3 million people.

The rest of the afternoon was spent going over the land ownership documents, plans and estimates that the staff had given me for their new homes. Monday I will start working with them one on one to get everything in place so that they can begin construction on their homes.

Saturday – Today is my mother’s 98^th birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! I’m sorry I’m not there to help you celebrate.

We had one team return from La Tremblay late yesterday and got them off to the airport this morning to start their journey home. I spent most of the rest of my day working on a contract resolution issue with one of our EMH Housing Project contractors. Issues that in the US would be cut and dry from a legal standpoint, become very difficult in Haiti where normal rules of law don’t exist or don’t apply. Couple this with the moral issues of being a Christian non-profit and working with a Christian non-profit contractor and you have a very interesting negotiating condition. The reality is that although we understand and appreciate altruistic intent, we have a fiscal responsibility to properly manage donated funds and finding that compromise position can be a difficult journey. Fortunately, we were finally able to reach an agreement that pleased no one but resolved the issue. I guess that is what compromise is all about.

Sunday – Happy Mothers’ Day to all mothers (especially mine) and Happy Birthday to me. Yep, today I celebrate the 40^th anniversary of my 29^th birthday. YIKES! How did I get so old? I thank the Good Lord that I still feel like I’m 29 and am able to be here in Haiti doing His work. Every day is a blessing and I thank my family for “giving me up” and allowing me to serve in this way. I love and miss you all.

Sarah and I went with Tom to the church in Thomassin where he was preaching this morning. During the service, Sarah and I did a duet on “How Great Thou Art” - one of my favorite hymns. I ooohed the harmony while Sarah sang the verses in Creole. Then we sang the choruses in English. Tom accompanied on the guitar and the organist joined in along the way and by the end the whole congregation was singing.  It was a lot of fun but I realized how rusty my voice has gotten from lack of singing. I miss my barbershop. After church we went to the Hotel Karibe for lunch and a few hours around the pool. Lauren James from UMCOR joined us. Except for missing friends and family, not a bad birthday.