Monday morning July 21, 2008

Good morning from Haiti. The sun is up, I have fixed the internet connection, I have heard from my grand daughter, and life is good. The air is still and the satellite picture shows no storms in our area so it will be another hot and humid day in Haiti. It will be just another day of doing what we came here to do. I want to repeat that I am very impressed with the member of this team. They all work together well and work very hard, and they are all getting along well. It is hard to remember that we have really only known some of the team members for a little over 1 week as every seems very comfortable with each other.
Yesterday started off with Bruce leading a prayer service out on the west balcony. Jon Wagner has managed to get the very old guitar to sound brand new with new guitar strings and some TLC. So, future teams, please take note that we have a working guitar-Hello Josh Bradshaw!! After the prayer service we had a great pancake and bacon breakfast. A special thank you to Dan, our cook and general do what ever needs done person. He has kept this team well fed and happy. Thanks Dan Steiner!!!!! One of the benefits of having a second pharmacist is that I get to do the dishes. On most missions, I get booted out of that job by some one or another. I have managed to do the dishes now twice so far and I enjoy the opportunity.

As we relaxed after our breakfast, Emiel, the lobster man, came to the clinic with a huge lobster. I hope to insert a picture right here, if it works. If it does not work, I have posted it on the Picasa web album. The tail, after Emiel prepared it, weighed 987 Grams on the pharmacy scale. It went with us to be cooked at the beach and it was very tasty. Note-the picture did not upload. I'll try again later.....

I am sure that many of you notice that in my haste to communicate that I often make a few grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. Lynn Garber is not here to tease me so Jamie has undertaken the role after I failed to correctly name her as the provider of the screaming baby in a previous blog. I have corrected that mistake but I’ll bet she will find some more to tease me with.
The time after breakfast and beach departure seemed to drag so when 1 PM arrived we were all prepared to go. The ride to Ti Moulage was the usual one however, I feel like there is less traffic on the roads. With the price of fuel reported to be near the $10.00 per gallon I can understand why there is less traffic. The beach was much smaller this trip with the water less that 20-30 yards from our “beach resort”. Initially it was filled with families, then a lot of little boys and near the time to leave, by a group from an orphanage. The restaurants were filled with Haitians and there were no UN personnel in sight. That was an unusual occurrence as in past trips they were the ones on the beach and in the restaurants. We had lots of merchandise to select from. My wife’s favorite merchant, Joseph, was looking all over for her so she would not steal his art by taking a photograph or two. He finally came over and asked me if she was on this trip. Mind you, that photograph issue was now 18 months ago. Perhaps I have a memorable face-NOT!
The waves were the strongest I have ever seen and every one is reporting sand in places on their bodies that have never been exposed to sand before. I know, too much information is reported sometimes. We had our usual feast of fish, the large lobster, pickly & tomatoes, beans and rice and fried plantains. It was as tasty as ever. Our team managed to boost the local economy with their purchases of art, bowls, statues, and paintings. Some of them will be a challenge to protect for the ride back to Peoria.

Near the end of our beach time, I spotted a Blanc by the name of Drex. He and his wife run an orphanage nearby and are the people who brought us the baby that was born last year in the latrine by the name of Christala Belle (I may have spelled her name wrong as I have seen it written several different ways). Drex reported that the baby is doing well so I gathered some of the team who had cared for her last year and lead them over to visit with Drex. Drex will bring the baby to the clinic today along with one of the orphans that may need medical attention. Again, I refer you to the earlier blogs on my site for a more detailed account of that story.

Speaking of stories, I was asked to report on a budding romance between MT and a local man. I do not think that a marriage proposal has been issued like Princess Diana received on the March mission but there is still a few more days left on this trip. Trina-do not start worrying-YET!

MT was busy last night on Facebook. She and I are trying to teach Gary a few internet skills. MT found out that Chris Robinson and I both have a Facebook web page so now we are all connected. I was able to look on my page and view the pictures of my grand daughter’s birthday pool party at my house yesterday. It was almost like being there, so thank you, Cori. Gary’s progress on the computer is coming along well, so far. I do not expect that I will have him fully trained. He did send an email to Lori so I will turn over future training to her.

Breakfast is over and this has taken me much longer to write this because where I sit is the middle of Grand Central Station. And, I am such a fast typist- Ha! So, I’ll post this and get to work.