Day 7

Today was an amazing day!  It started out a little slow.  The kids and Nicole went to Marc and Lisa's house to do school work.  Pat and I walked with them to ensure they made it safely.  

While we were at Lisa's house we had the opportunity to fix her sink in the bathroom.  Pat who was a plumber for a year had never seen a drain that bad. But  when you see how most of the Haitians live, having an clean sink drain is not high on the list and I'm note sure they would know how to clean it.  We ended up coming back and changing the sink taps too.

Todays temperature was close to 40 so the walk home was a "sweatty experience" which is about all the experiences here in Haiti.

This afternoon we went to a community up in the mountains called Tapillon to do a rice distribution.  We piled 30 50lb bags of rice with the first crew in small Ford Ranger for the ride up to the mountain where there is a childrens church called Tapillon. The plan was to encourage folks who had tents set up to dismantle them and move back into their homes.  Many of the tents were not lived in; they call these camps Zombie Cities.   They are tents set up with no one living in them, but when foreign aid organizations see them, they receive aid.  This is one of Haitis largest challenges.  The "hand out" mentality rather than a HAND UP!

Once we arrived there were @ 300 people at this church waiting for Lisa to explain what Haiti Arise and Crossroads were doing.  The crowd was retless; many looked distraught.   There were young and very old all waiting for directions.  We set up at the top of the mountain and started dividing the rice bags into smaller portions of 2 large coffee cans each of rice .  While half of the team was portioning the rice I ( Charles) was able to watch while the more than 150 kids aged 3 to 10 recite bible verses from memory.  It was amazing, they recited John 1:1-14. Then John 3:16-17. 

We distributed to the children first, then to those who had tickets which were given based on if you lived in a tent at Tapillon.  The whole process went relatively well, with many people recieving much needed rice. It was a really great time to see how we all worked together.  Getting to know each other a little more each day. 

Crossroads will be leaving shortly and greatly missed by our family. Especially Mr Richards contortion showcase that he entertains our kids with nightly ( even the adults participate). We will also miss Mr Pats calm and humourous personality,Mr Mikes photographing talents and  know how, Mr Simons jovial spirit, Mr Keith "getter r done" ethic  and Mr Lennick quiet but strong presence. Anica and I will miss the ladies Venta, Nelda, Kendra, Darlene and Katrina ( last blog I said Katilyn...that the other triplet ooops). They were a blessing to both of us to include us in many of their projects and always keeping a positive attitude.

At the time of writing this at 10:30 it is 30C and pouring rain.  Just when I thought I couldn't sweat anymore, the humidity is now 100% so it feel like 42C.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.  Life is going well in Haiti.

P.S.  While Nicole and I were doing the rice distribution the kids stayed at the compound and played on the new monkey bars we had built yesterday.  They loved it!!