We had some travel delays because of bad weather, but ended up getting to Fort Lauderdale around 1:00 a.m. The team was able to sleep a little bit in the airport before catching the 4:00 a.m. flight to Miami, then a flight into Port-au-Prince. After an uncomfortable hour’s ride, we arrived at Jacob’s Well at 3:30 p.m. Sunday!
The “Take Down Team” is, as of Monday 3:15 p.m., about 30 minutes from arrival at Jacob’s Well. Today the team divided into multiple teams, painting cabins, getting the equipment separated, and setting up for opening day activities tomorrow. We were also working with the Haitians practicing skits in English and Creole for tomorrows storytelling session, focusing on the gospels and the story of Jesus walking on the water to his disciples. The highlight of the day is the fact that the sun rises at 4:30 a.m., and that we went to bed around 10:00 p.m. to the sound of voodoo drums in the distance.
We did have a great, big soccer game between the Haitians and our team, which was a great ice breaker, with their kids easily outrunning ours even though they were barefoot. We had an amazing worship session with our team singing in English and the Haitians singing in Creole. One of the more saddening things that we have seen are the Haitian kids, hungry from lack of food, hanging on the fences waiting to get in. But the great news is that camp starts tomorrow and we are going to be able to feed them!
They don’t have much here; they truly live the simple life. During our one-hour trip in the back of an open-air truck to Jacob’s Well, we saw poverty that none of us thought possible in the western hemisphere. Everyone on the team is healthy and very happy despite the fact that it’s quite hot here, with the temps in the 90s and the humidity hovering around 80%. We are losing weight just being here and have to drink a gallon a day to try to stay hydrated. We are lucky to have a great chef from a resort here in Haiti so we are eating well. Everyone here is very excited about opening day tomorrow! Kids get here at 9:00 a.m.! We are understaffed but everyone is confident and knows that God will provide. As we teach the story tomorrow of Jesus walking on water to meet his disciples, we are trying to meet the kids where they are.
Already we can see that our team is changing from the inside out! All they want to do is pursue and love people. We are sleeping in the most amazing spot! Our colony of tents is on top of a mountain ridge with a 360° view of northern Haiti, including views of rivers and rainforests.
More updates soon!
