Great day today, although hot. The morning began with some excitement. Carol, who is the President of the Board overseeing the ministry is here with us this week. We heard her scream and run out of the storage room with the food, and then jump up on a chair. She realized that a rat was in the room. Our brave guys, Aaron and Andy ran in the room with a couple other guys hanging out here with machetes and sticks to do a little hunting. They even brought the cat in the room with them. They saw the rodent a few times and tried to wack it, to no avail. So today they went and bough a rat trap. Andy was pretty excited because he got to give it a trial run, and snapped a plastic spoon in half. It was a Tim Allen moment for him.
The day also got started with an interesting meal, breakfast spaghetti. Noodles, hot dogs, with some olive oil. Breakfast of champions!
We spent the morning scraping a ceiling and then putting a coat of paint on. This is one of our jobs, and we got a good head start on it. But it was hot. After lunch we had to clear the area because the girls from the orphanage use that room to eat and do some afternoon stuff. So we did a few other odd jobs and hung out today. Erin worked on sorting boxes of flip flops that had been donated for the girls here.
One of the projects they have going on involves building a concrete patio. Actually, they are using 12 inch square concrete tile slabs that they have made. As they made them the let the girls step in the forming concrete so they would have a slab with their footprint and then write their name. To get it level they are pouring a really fine gravel over larger rocks that they have placed. The ministry has hired a couple of local guys to scoop and sift the gravel, put it in a wheel barrow, transport it to this patio, and then pour and level it. These guys are working hard through the heat of the day, about 7-8 hours. Their wages for this work is $5 American per day. Yep, read that right, 5 bucks. And that is actually more than double the normal wage of $2 American per day. I got to thinking about it and realized that with the cash Andy and I brought, I could put close to 100 Haitians to work for a day. We are so blessed, and we don’t even know it. I spend $5 on snacks and a couple drinks for me and the kids at Quick Trip without batting an eye. Another reminder to be ever thankful for the blessings we have.
We are getting to know the girls. I wish all of you could be here to experience the joy in their eyes and the hope that they have. The Gospel works! And I am realizing that if we are really to believe the Gospel, it will give us a passion and burden for the poor and hurting in this world. For us this week an orphanage in Haiti is an expression of the love of Jesus that is deep and beautiful. God bless.
