We're done for another year!

Here's a picture of the whole team‎ for this year, including our Haitian friends. (Sandra's missing from the picture as she worked at the medical clinic today.) 26 sections of the wall were completed, 6 rows high. Those sections will now be capped and 5 more rows will be added. I hope to soon have an idea as to how far the Haitians can continue to work until the funds raised by Highview, Trinity and Grandview are used up for this year. We'll let you know on the blog in the near future. For now, we're all so grateful and richly blessed for the opportunity to serve the people here, our friends. We are privileged to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a place that so desperately needs hope. Tomorrow we head to Puerta Plata Village and then late Sat night we'll be home!!! Please be praying for our safe return.

Ready to go!

Here's the team ready to go Wed morning. All smiles as we get ready for another big day. Carrying mortar and block ‎to the top of the property is our job for the day. 

This is where the mortar goes‏

At the end of the chain gang was the top of the property where we were pouring the cap for the next layers of block.

Up The Hill

Today was about getting mortar up the hill to the top of the property. A chain gang was formed to do the job. We were reminded of a couple things today: 1) that it's really hot here and 2) you can have a lot of fun doing hard work!

SAPOTE

Good morning from Haiti. Had a beautiful time yesterday worshiping with our friends in Hinche and Sapate. This is a picture inside the school we built. Notice the beautiful floor they're standing on. Took 6 years to get that done. The picture from left to right is myself, Brian, Jean Anil, principal at the school, (when we built it there were 250 children. Now there are over 450!), Patrick, Tim, Jean Michone, a teacher we met in 2008, Pr. Gaston's son (sorry, can't remember how to spell his name), Naomi and Pr. Gaston. (He originally gifted the property across the path from his house so the school could be built). Colin took the picture.

Hello from Haiti

Here's a picture that shows about a third o the length of wall we're working on while we're here. And yes, that's a big hill we're climbing!! We're doing well. Lot's accomplished today.

Blocks and Mortar

"hello everyone from Haiti. We're off to a great start, although a little bit late. We had hoped to be at the site this morning ready to go but as often happens in Haiti things didn't go quite as planned. Truck broke down before we even left for the site. It meant working with a team from Saskatchewan who are gutting the home we had last year and rebuilding it. There's always work to do down here!! But after lunch, the truck was fixed and we headed to the site. Wow. So good to see our friends again. Big hugs and smiles. Just a beautiful time! And then off to see the work. Wow again!! The work that's been done since we last were here is much further along than we had hoped or dreamed. Footings are in place along the top of the property and all the way down the one side. We hadn't expected any of this work to be completed. Means we go right to work on the walls rather than digging trenches for the footings. Awesome. We started the work of carrying the blocks and mortar up the mountain at the back of the property. We're going to lose a few pounds!!! Here's some thoughts from the team from our first day on the site. Naomi (Grandview): joy of the kids as we drove by their homes on the way to and from the site. Patrick (Grandview): impressed with their eagerness to help in the work and encourage us. Marilyn (World Partners): good to see Pr. Abdon, who lives on the site, who took a day off work and also see his 15 month old son. Tim (Grandview): joy in helping in a tangible way. Michelle (Trinity): impressed with how much was accomplished in advance of us coming. Geoff (Trinity): how intriguing our work is to the community and what an opportunity it represents. Sandra (Trinity): the need seems overwhelming but if one person's life is impacted it's worth it. Colin (Highview): the joy of familiar faces. Brian (Highview); relationships. Relationships. What a blessing it is to serve in such a way that we get to build relationships with our friends in Haiti. That's it for now. We'll be in touch. Keep praying!"  

UPDATE

--Arrived safe in Dominican
--Pray for smooth travels across border tomorrow morning--Wednesday 7 a.m.

Building...

   “ We’re on our way again. For the build teams, this is our 7^th time heading down to Haiti. We’ve built a school, we’ve built homes and we are now building a wall. Most importantly we are building relationships. When we arrive this year, it will be to hugs from those we now call friends. I believe, more than anything else we do, we bring hope and God’s love to a people that struggle daily, in many ways, just to survive. God has blessed us with the opportunity to bless others.

                We leave on Tues, the 10^th. We fly from Toronto to the Dominican, staying overnight in Puerto Plata Village. Wed the 11^th, we start our journey into Haiti with a 3 hour drive to the border followed by a 20 minute flight over the mountains to Pignon. Another 20 minute drive and we’ll be at LaeJeune which will be our home until we leave Haiti on the 20^th and then head home from the Domincan on the 21st. The project this year is the continuation of the wall we started last year, which surrounds a property gifted to the AEM in Haiti. Ultimately, this property will house a home for displaced seniors, maybe a school and most likely rooms for visitors to the region.

                Please be praying for the team, our journey, our safety there and that we can be a rich blessing to the people we serve.

                The team this year includes; Brian Ogilvie and Colin Chandler from Highview, Michelle Schuit, Geoff and Sandra Moon from Trinity and Tim Huggins, Patrick and Naomi Lapierre from Grandview Baptist. And of course our leader and friend, Marilyn McIlroy from World Partners.”

Calm Borders

The Haiti team is getting excited as we prepare to leave on Nov 10^th to continue our work in the town of Pijon. We are continuing to build a wall around a property that will ultimately provide rooms for seniors who have been displaced, potentially a school and rooms for visitors to the area. We’re also excited for the opportunity to visit again with the friends we have made over the 6 precious trips to the Central Plateau of Haiti. Please be praying for calm borders and that the supplies we need for the project will arrive in time.