On Thursday we headed to the market with Janeil to check on how the supply and prices were on food post-hurricane. After lunch we headed to Ansefaleur to show them our church and school there and start a feeding program with that community. While we were there we visited the voo-doo temple. It was interesting going through this time because it wasn't very busy so we got to take our time and we had the pastor of our church with us and he explained everything to us in wonderful detail. On the way out we walked by this food stand and they had REALLY good chicken there, that I took the liberty of purchasing. IT WAS SOOO GOOD!!! Thursday night, since we still had no power was another early night.
Friday after breakfast we loaded up for a day in the far west. We started our trip by crossing what everyone called a high river. Several of us thought it wasn't the highest river we had every crossed but it was still to high for most trucks. Our first stop found us at La Baie, where we set up another feeding station. Several people stayed at that campus to organize a little after the flood, while the rest of us headed to Beau Champ to check out the market situation there and show our friends the Grants Ministry Campus. The road to Beau Champ was unbelievable, I mean I had not really understood why it was so hard for people to get to and from there due to the storm until I had actually seen it. The few creeks/rivers you have to cross to get there were SOO much bigger than they used to be and things I remembered seeing were not there anymore and new things had shown up. Once we were at the campus we got a chance to relax there for a while and see the progress they were having. The market to me, looked like it was doing ok, but to those who had been there before it was smaller than normal. I had a great time trying to find things to buy, it seemed that everything I wanted was unavailable. :( After the market all but two of us made our way to Salienes-Myette to see the progress on the new orphanage. Man does it look like it is going to be nice. Although, none of us expected to see what the storm had done to the Succoon church that the people of that area were using. It completely destroyed it, so hopefully we get the concrete church finished soon so that they will have a place to worship. We had a great time with the children while we were surveying the land. The kids and I shared some Kaneps, which for those of you who don't know, Kaneps are a seasonal Jelly covered acorn that is REALLY REALLY good. All of the sudden we found ourselves retreating because several horrifying rain clouds rolled in got us wet. On our return to the bay we got some really nice pictures or some of the destruction, and got the chance to talk to one of the other local missionaries in the area about how they were being effected by the weather. Same thing as we were hearing all over, hard to find what you need because of the road to Port-au-Prince being closed. Once back at the Bay we had a little lunch and then took a tour of the area and spent some time just hanging out at the bay until it looked like it was going to rain there too. What an unbelievable site it was to see what water could do to land.
Saturday was an on campus, relaxation day. We went to the market in the morning to see if the St. Louis market was post hurricane. It wasn't that much smaller than normal, there just wasn't as much produce or meat. After lunch, we went to the orphanage to show the Kids against Hunger crew, the orphanage as it is now. What a good time that was, it had been a while since I had seen the kids and they were excited to see some visitors.
The crew left early Sunday morning and then I spent the day relaxing and haven't been doing a whole lot since then. We are focusing now on getting ready for the October Medical teams.
The other two people that showed up were Frank and Chuck, who showed up Friday at about 10 in the morning and left Tuesday morning at 430 in the morning. They worked harder during that time period than anyone I have ever seen. They managed to fix 2 trucks, a dump truck, and our long flatbed, the bobcat, AND THE GENERATOR!!!! After a lot of worry and trial and error and winding up greasier, dirtier, and more frustrated than I have ever seen. It all ended in a VERY fulfilling trip for them, because of how much they managed to get accomplished.
Thank you all for prayers concerning the generator, they were very much needed and obviously very much listened to.
Talk to you all soon. Have a wonderful week.