Today was an intense day of work. It began by cleaning out a 40' storage shed behind the school. Normally, that is not too bad, but the Haitian heat (even in January!) made it difficult. There were all kinds of tools and supplies and builiding materials in it. Long, tough, hard work. Then we made the packets and bags for the next cholera campaign. We must have packed close to 1,000 bags and 10,000 flyers. We will bring that information into rural Haiti on Sunday, educating people on how to use Clorox to keep the water clean and not get sick. Then we have soap for them to use to wash their hands. It will be interesting seeing this in action, since I don't speak Creole and my French is very bad! (It has been a LONG time since my last French class in my second year of college!)
The living arrangements here have been fantastic! We have little "pods" that each have three rooms that house up to four people each. Each room has its own private shower and toilet. The showers are COLD, but it feel really good after a long, hard day of working! The food is awesome, and the people that come through here are fantastic to meet and greet.
Today, we also walked around Terrier Rouge, the town near where we are staying. The people are very friendly and willing to smile and wave to us. The language barrier is a problem for real conversation, but we can manage small phrases in French. The area is not wealthy by any stretch, but the people live in better homes than other parts of the country. They have concrete walls where some areas have only wood and mud huts. Dr. Gary Fleming played soccer with a couple of little boys in the street, and they loved it! He also saw a little a little girl he has seen since she was 4 weeks old. She is around 2 or so now. Her mom sought him out to thank him for all the care he has shown to her daughter over the years. He invited her to come by the clinic to have her girl checked up by him.
Unfortunately, today, I also broke my computer, and now it will not turn on. I popped a small wire on the power button, but I cannot fix it right now. I do not know how often (or if at all!) I will be able to continue to update the blog. And I apologize for no pictures, but the internet connection here is slow, so I was asked not to upload pictures.
I hope this is not my last blog entry for this trip, but if it is, I have had a wonderful time so far on this trip! Coming to experience a different culture and different way of life is amazing. Please continue to leave comments and I will do my best to be able to respond to them.
And thank you for your support of this trip and and of the idea of a youth international mission trip in 2012! May God continue to bless you in all you do!
Peace,
Adrian Martin
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