Friday, February 19, 2010
Today we left from Salt Lake City at 1:30 pm headed to Las Vegas to catch our flight out tomorrow. We arrived in Las Vegas around 9pm. We stayed the night at the house of a family member of Kent, who is one of the workers going with us to Haiti. At the last minute we realized that we might be short 3 airline tickets. We need to be at the airport by 4:00 am to catch our 6:00 am flight to Miami.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
At 2:30 am this morning, I found myself wide awake and not being able to fall back asleep so I got up and went for a jog. (On the plane to Miami) our plane leaves Miami at 5:10 pm and arrived in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at 8:30 pm local time. Then we get on a bus and take a 10-12 hour bus ride from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
It is 3:00 am and we are at the border for Haiti. It is very dark and the border guards are not letting us through to Haiti. It is a very unsettling feeling. We will have to sit here at the border for 2 hours. I can hear dogs barking, and I am getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and everyone is speaking a language that I do not comprehend. Finally, our driver takes $50 and bribes the border patrol guard. They are letting us through, but no one else behind us.
It is 4:40 am and we finally arrive at the orphanage. It was a very rough ride and we were not able to sleep. There are more mosquitoes. We are here at the orphanage looking at the location where we will build the block to provide protection and there are not materials yet. We spend our time getting things prepped and set up for Monday. It is Sunday so the orphans were singing and reading scriptures. I can’t understand them at all because they speak Creole. After we got all of things set up for tomorrow, we played with the orphans for the better part of the day. Then we went and toured the areas that were most devastated by the earthquake. Nothing can describe the devastation. It is so surreal. After seeing this first hand, the only way this can ever be repaired is with the hand of God. The destruction has changed or taken the lives of so many people. We can be proud of our country back home and all of the religions who give of their time and talents and taking direction from our Heavenly Father.
It is 7:00 pm and sleep has not been on our agenda until now. I am going to bed and try to get some rest so we can get to work tomorrow.
Monday, February 22, 2010
It is 7:00 am and I am ready to work. Unfortunately this is Haiti, after a devastating earthquake and things are not moving at the pace that I am used to working back home. The military arrived this morning and helped us tear down some of the buildings and remove the block. We are still waiting on materials, and we need some gas for our cut off saw. The military captain who in charge is also their Chaplin asked if I would like to ride with him and his driver to get some gas. It was a military HumVee that we were going to ride in and there was not a moment of hesitation as I jumped in with them. On the ride the captain told me of his tour in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
It is 8:00 pm and the concrete has finally showed up. We poured footing until 10:00 pm. We needed to get the footings poured before we could build the block wall and so we needed to work till it was done. The Haitians were not happy with us working in the dark like that. Their work days usually stop at 4:00 pm. Its midnight now and we are planning to start up again at 6:30 am tomorrow.
We are sleeping in a motel to try and get some good sleep for tomorrow. Our room is on the second floor. We can feel aftershocks and one shook the motel for 30 seconds straight. I can honestly say that I am as frightened as I have ever been in my entire life. The roof and ceilings of all the buildings are made of concrete and that could cause quite a headache if it were to fall. I am sharing a room with a friend Kelley. He and I were both nervous. OK, I was very nervous after we felt the aftershocks. Yesterday I bribed the owner of the block and sand plant to bring us some sand last night at 10:00pm so that we could begin laying block early this morning without delay. I gave him a new trowel that I brought. I am not sure if the new trowel is what made him do it or if he is just a good man. There is probably a little bit of both reasons.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Today was a tough day. It was 95 degrees and 100 percent humidity. There is not enough water to drink and it feels like we are dehydrating at a very fast pace. These orphans are the most beautiful children. And they sincerely love us without even knowing us. They are so happy for the interaction even though we don’t speak the same language. When we hold them and play with them we feel a special bond. I only wish I could bring them and this feeling home with me, but they don’t let us take the children home with us. I will shed many tears when it is time to go because we will be leaving these beautiful children in surrounding that are not even third world status. We had a very good day for our efforts.
I am reminded of a scripture that I would like to share in 1 Peter 4:11 “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever, Amen”
It is now 11:00 pm and I best get some shut eye so we can have another productive day tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 23, 2010
It is 5:45 am. We had some cornflakes and we are ready to get to work. But first we must tease Matt and Dick, two other workers who are here with us. We are ready to work and there is not concrete on site yet. They were supposed to be here at 7:00 am, oops I forgot we are in Haiti and they have a different pace than what I am used to back home. Also the man that owns the mixer for out mortar had it pad locked and he is not here to unlock it. I have to keep reminding myself that things are done at a different pace here in Haiti.
Oh, he finally arrives to unlock the mixer and we are off to the races. I forgot to mention somewhere that I teased Matt again. Anyway, we are moving at a good pace and in full production mode. Nothing is going to stop us. Oops, I forgot we are in Haiti and its 95 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Our testosterone was flowing and we figured that we were tough and can work in any weather, regardless. Hey, I am a marathon runner, this can’t be any worse. Yeah right. I’m actually feeling like a heat stroked, hallucinating fool. Oh, and the tough guy with all the testosterone, where did all that go? Next thing I knew, we were all in ambulances headed to the nearest hospital.
Actually none of that was true. It was hot and everyone else except for me was suffering. I guess the first liar didn’t have a chance, but it sure makes for some good conversation though.
All in all, we had a good day and got a lot accomplished. When we stopped for lunch, I was carrying around one of the sweet little ones, the whole time fighting off the tears. I was planning to save my tears for when I returned home. I’m afraid Mr. Tough Guy ain’t so tough.
It is now 8:08 pm local time and it is time for bed. (Hope can be contagious.)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
I am wishing a Happy Anniversary to my sweet, lovely, wonderful, beautiful bride. Today is our 32nd wedding anniversary and I am missing it. Wow, how has she put up with me for so long? I will never know, but I am grateful for her and for her understanding to let me be here in Haiti. She realizes that these are God’s children and they need our help right now.
It has been an incredible miracle to witness. They have been able to feed all 60 of these orphan children and now 11 hungry men on the meager supplies that they have. It reminds me of how the Savior fed 5000 with a few fish and loaves of bread.
Well, I couldn't sleep at all last night. I kept on getting Charlie horses all up and down my legs that kept me awake. I'm sure everyone else slept like babies though. I have worked on more construction sites than I would like to admit with some very tough men. However, I have never seen men work so hard and keep giving till it hurts and then still give some more. This is amazing.
I have literally been aching to go for a run all week long since I have been here. We have been told that it is not recommended because of the current circumstances. I met a young man here named Moses and we became fast friends. He was actually our translator while we were here. Anyway, he said that he would go on a run with me and I was very happy.
As we began our run through the untamed streets, I started to ask Moses about his life. He told me that when he was young his parents died, and he was put in an orphanage. I asked him how old he was and he said, “I’m 28”. I have a wife and a 16-month old child. I asked him, “Where do you live”? He replied, “I now live in a tent. Everything I had was destroyed in the earthquake.” He continued, “I have not family and most of my friends were killed in the earthquake.” I forgot to mention that regardless of all of this tragedy he has experienced, he never stopped smiling as he was talking.
As we continued on through the streets, I began to feel some uneasiness about my surroundings. There were many people on the streets and they were all Haitians. I asked Moses, all of them were getting closer and closer to us. There were a lot of words being spoken and Moses was responding to them in their language. Come to find out they were asking him where I was from. He then told me that he was telling them that I was from Brazil. I asked him why and then suddenly it all became clear to me as huge beads of sweat began dripping from all of my pores. And these were not because I was running in the heat either. He continued with his reply and just as I was thinking, “don’t say it”, he finished by saying that if he told them I was an American that they would automatically think that I had lots of money with me and rob me. That was all I needed to hear. Suddenly my energy and desire increased and even though I knew I probably couldn’t outrun them on their motorcycles, I was picking my path and was ready to give them a run for their money. No pun intended. We eventually made it back without further incident and I think that I lost 10 pounds during that run.
Moses continued to tell me about his life. He said that he would get a ride to the orphanage each day. He taught himself English and this was very helpful as this allowed us to communicate with all the native Haitians that were there around us. He did this without any expectation or receiving any wages, even though there is no work to be found in Haiti right now. They report that the country of Haiti currently suffers from 85 percent unemployment. And needless to say, they have a very backwards government who is offering little or no relief. (Jeez, if I keep up this writing, I may have a novel by the time we are done here.)
Last night someone was trying to break into one of our rooms at the motel. It was the room that Kent, Shane, and Dick were sleeping in. It happened about 2:30 am. I have no idea, but I have a feeling that it might happen again tonight. Actually, someone did try to climb in to Travis and Adams room through the window, but Travis scared off the perpetrator with his high pitched yelp.
We are off to the races again, but today we were all coming in last place. We worked hard, but also took a lot of breaks to play with the little ones. Matt left for a while, about 5 hours, and when he came back he smelled like a Big Mac. I wonder just how long the flight is to Miami and back. It has been a very long week and we have grown attached to the people here, especially the little orphans. But we miss our families back home very much. Mitch ended up crying for most of the day, and told us all that it was just something stuck in his eye. Yeah right, he is just a big baby and he’s homesick. He and Todd had a group hug and then Tom joined in. That’s right, Mr. Harley man, joined in on the group hug. I gave them all a group hug as well and then said it is time to buck up. We can’t let Mr. Big Mac see anyone cry. Well it's bed time and I've got a 2:30 am appointment.
Friday, February 26, 2010
It is 5:00 am and I started my exercise routing. I got about 2 and a half sit ups done and realized that that was 2 too many. I missed my 2:30 appointment but it was not my fault. I think someone tied me to the bed because I struggled for about 10 minutes to get out of bed. It really felt like I was unable to break the chains that were holding down my arms and legs. If I had to guess, I would say that they each weighed about 200 pounds. I feel much better now and I can almost lift my head off the pillow.
We have only 2 days left to finish the wall we are building. I hope we get some more block this morning. As it stands, we only have enough for about 3 hours of work. We are waiting for our “tap, tap” which means our ride. We have about a half an hour before he arrives so we decided to go for a jog down by the ocean. It was beautiful. The sand was sparkling in the morning sun, the smell of sea water rushed through us as we were lulled in by the sound of the waves rushing up on the beach. This all makes for a good story, but we actually have not seen the ocean or a beach since we have been here. I actually stood in place and did 3,253 jumping jacks. Well that’s not true either. I am trying to put a little nonsense in this even though the work we are doing here is not nonsense. It is very tough and grueling and we are making the best of it. (tears)
Well the day is finally done and up until today I'm sure some of the guys here working with us thought that we were not going to be able to finish the task of building this wall around this orphanage. I testify to everyone that the Lords hand is involved in all that we are doing, (big tears). And when Saturday comes, no earthquake, rain, or any other obstacle is going to stop us from finishing this wall and keeping these children safe from outside intruders. (I’m not even crossing my fingers. Steven! Save some corn for me!)
I know that everyone’s prayers and support is what is keeping us going. I know that we would all be lost and not be able to continue without all of our families and loved ones back home. We are closing in. I can see the end coming around the corner. Heads up everybody and hands on. This marathon is for these children. I realize that it is only a start, but it's a great start. Ok it's about time for bed. Melanie I want you to know that Tom, oops, I mean Carlos will be home soon.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works? Can faith save him?
It’s the final countdown, the last day, the end, kick it in the butt day. Whatever you wanna call it, it is time to give it your all or… never mind; it is just time to give it your all.
We almost had another break-in last night at Kent, Shane, and Dick’s room. It must have been part of some kind of a spiritual voodoo curse. Yeah that’s it. I think we heard the culprit this time and they were saying, “e soli oly mo, e soli oly mo, e soli oly mo.” Ok everyone, brace yourselves, I actually know the meaning of this. (You adults may want to shield your children’s eyes from this or send them in to the other room). Ok, here I go. Actually, I’m not quite sure that I should tell you this. Oh what the heck. It means “all your grandbabies will be born naked.” Ok, let the younger ones back in the room. (I know, I know, I need to get back on my medication.)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Its 2:30 am. You can't depend on the rooster here in Haiti. From dark to light there are very strange noises and crazy sounds. We are told and in my experience here this week, these are common. What a hectic and chaotic place. We were informed that there was a massive earthquake in Chile. After witnessing the devastation here in Haiti, our thoughts and prayers go out to all the people of Chile. If they need our help over there, I know where we can find a pretty good group of men.
I'm sure while we were here that we all pushed ourselves further than our bodies were meant to be pushed, except for Kelley. He is actually built for it. Although he is 6 feet 6 inches tall and 245 pounds, Big John…yeah Big Bad John with a size 15 shoe, he never snores. But last night he snored.
Adam and Travis are in the room next to us and Adam is also about the size of Kelley. He was really good with the children. One of the little girls cut her head and Adam and Travis bandaged her up. Then Adam sat and held her in his arms, (tears).
Travis, he’s a great kid, ok a great man. I guess that tells you just how old I am. , he was so good with the children. He was very witty and had a great sense of humor. We abused him every day by taking advantage of his strength.
The next room was Todd and Mitch’s. Todd is a work horse. Poor guy though, he is as short as I am. Mitch was a “mud making foo”. That means “crazy” in Creole. You need to get up pretty early to keep up with him. I am willing to guess that inside he is a big teddy bear and tears up very easy. He’s a very good man.
The next room, which was somewhere around the corner, was shared by Kent, Shane, and Dick.
Kent is a quiet guy. He got us a backhoe to the site and went to town with his backhoe operating talents. Then he surprised us all when we put a trowel in his hand and he became a journeyman mason. He is a great guy. Dick is from Tooele so enough said. Just kidding, this man has a heart made of gold. I saw tears fill his eyes every time he had a child close to him. Shane, well he had to put up with both Kent and Dick the entire time… just kidding. He worked his butt off, true story. If we are late for the plane it's because we went back to the orphanage to find his butt. He never stopped, just kept plugging away.
The next room upstairs somewhere was Matt and Tom’s. Matt's a great guy and he tried to keep us all organized and productive during out short time in Haiti. I promise I never teased him, okay maybe once. Thanks to him, I had this amazing opportunity to help out here in Haiti and use my rusty old mason skills. Tom is someone you have got to see in action. He tries to stay away from the glory and limelight. He and I worked side by side most of the time. He would never stop. Pound for pound he is the hardest working guy you will ever meet. I think I saw him actually eating nails for breakfast. It was a pleasure to work with him.
Well when it was all said and done, we were just 2 hours short of finishing the wall, ok maybe 3. I knew we could do it, but they wanted us to quit. It was our last night there and they wanted to show
their appreciation to us for all of our work. I learned that it is best you don't go against the grain. I practically had to pull the guys away because they didn’t want to stop with the end so close in sight. Like I said, these guys are all animals.
When we finally all got together, the people we helped sang some songs to us and danced some and then they fed us a feast that was fit for kings, it was excellent. Today will head to the airport and return home. We are going about 4 hours early and crossing our fingers that all works out. Honey, start dinner cuz daddy's coming home!
May God continue to bless these people. You find that they are incredible people as you begin to love them and understand them. It was a new found appreciation for how much we are blessed in our lives. If you could picture your worst case scenario in life and multiply that by 2 then you start to get the point. We are all blessed beyond belief. We just may not realize it all the time. May we thank God each day for the blessings and the stewardship over the things that he provides in our lives. James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified. And not by faith only.We are truly blessed. God bless the little children.
