London Bridge

Day seven, the evening has come around again. The journey of this day has covered so much ground. Literally. We were up early and had the second coat painted on the front wall before 7:00 am. The starter was going on Rob’s truck, I had shipped one in last year, so I had Robinson dig it out and had a mechanic install it for 100 Haitian dollars (that’s 12 dollars American). We arranged for the rest of the material to be delivered for the other five benches, I picked up the varnish and another double throw generator switch that I installed at the house, little added bonus for our team and Robinson’s family. When the generator is running, there is power throughout the house now. No more extension cords, and dark showers, at least if there is gas. Had to add that because we just ran out! LOL But they are back with more so we will be powered back up in a moment. It will be nice for them to have all the lights in the house working whenever they really need it. I know it’s a luxury, but this family is giving so much all the time, being able to run the generator and have lights periodically will be nice. Although Rob doesn’t let them run it a lot in our absence. It’s hard to buy gas when you NEED food. We ran up the mountain this morning to see Marius and visit the mountain children. I drove Rob’s motorcycle with Krystle and DeVante as my passengers. It’s been a few years since my dirt biking days. But I settled in quite quickly. My first run with a passenger was the other day, I took Aresene over to get the plastic pipe for the line to the back of the property. He bundled it all together and came out with it on his shoulder, got on the back of the bike and turned me into a regular Haitian taxi. Driving in Haiti is an experience not quickly forgotten and not easily learned! But by tonight I drove Kelly down to the Deli Mart and brought my wife back! I’m getting the hang of this thing. This afternoon we made our way to DesDunes for our visit. It was very good on some level and profoundly sad on others. We visited both mom’s of Robins and Ynives. There were many tears and deep sadness. Risking love always means risking even greater loss. I suppose that is why so often people choose not to get involved, not to take the chance. But in my opinion and life observation I have come to the conclusion that is better to love and lose than to never have loved at all. We cherish our memories, and endeavor to make new ones with these left behind. The crowd of desperate children is overwhelming at times. On several occasions Rob would say, “Okay, time to move on!” And we would, but they would follow, as you can see in the pictures. Today is another striking moment for the new ones on our trip. As poor as the towns are, the poverty of the country people is even deeper and starker in contrast. When you first arrive, your senses are so bombarded that you cannot begin to fathom that there are levels to deep poverty. We arrived back in town and Kelly did his regular pizza and ice cream night. Although it turns out they did not have Pepperoni tonight. We played some games with the children here on the front porch again and it fell my lot teach them London Bridge. It got me to thinking, as we drive through the Haitian landscape we cross many bridges, but we came across one today that we could not cross. We got out and crossed to our destination by foot. That is the way it is in Haiti, sometimes there is not a way to do things conveniently, you end up having to do them the hard way, or they won’t get done at all. The picture posted here tonight tells so much. At first glance it’s just a woman in a orange skirt walking down a dirt road. But a deeper truth lies behind this picture, for this is Ynives mom, carrying the load of a world of grief for a fallen daughter and granddaughter. Walking back to a void, in a dark world of loss and despair. Having just had to say goodbye again to relationships that have changed, to the unknown of how she will carry her burden, down a dirty path of no escape. Suddenly your heart is taken, the volume of crushing you cannot fathom sweeps through you like a hurricane of category five magnitude. You mourn, you wonder, you weep. This trip has been as difficult a trip as we have ever made to Haiti. On a physical note, it has perhaps been the best, but on an emotional note, it has been heart rending. I certainly don’t mean to bring despair to our readers tonight, but in all fairness, this struggle is still very deep in this land. It is well deserving of your thought and prayers, and blessings far and wide. Tomorrow is our final day of labor, pray Godspeed for us to get done what we are trying to wrap up. Blessings always.

P.S. A special shout out to our commenter's, your gracious words have been a welcomed inspiration to our team. The team said to wake them up even if we get there late tonight!