9:30 AM could not come soon enough…
Thought we would never say that, but after waking up at 4:30 AM for the past four days, our bodies had adjusted to the routine and woke us up ready to move some cinderblocks. But instead of the… Same cattle car. And same ride up the mountains. And the same beautiful scenery. It was the same bed. And same pillow. And same restful sleep.
It was another amazing breakfast this morning made by our house helpers. Pancakes again! (We get really excited for pancakes.) With some sausage and watermelon. And the highly caffeinated Rebo coffee we had relied on every morning.
Instead of our hats and work gloves, we put on some normal clothes and head out on our exploration around the mountains. As we drove up the windy, unpaved roads, the views were majestic. Different colored houses and terraced farmland lined the opposite side of the mountain.
Our first stop was the Baptist Mission, which Wallace and Eleanor Turnbull started in 1948. We explored the museum, amazed at all of the various items that had been found and collected.
After that we turned our attention to the gift shop. In search of presents for loved ones, we noticed that some of the items for sale were made by locals who were saving money for school and their families.
A few of the guys stopped to enjoy a Coca-cola at the gift shop snack bar and the views of the mountainside.
Along the streets, were hundreds of tents with different products for sale. We braved along the line of in-your-face vendors. We picked and chose what we wanted. Haggled the price. Haggled the price a little more. And left satisfied with how awesome our bartering skills were.
We drove a little further through the mountains to The Overlook where we relaxed for lunch. The view was breathtaking. The food was amazing. And the company was pretty awesome. The relationships we have built during this week as we worked alongside each other have become as strong as the walls we built for the church.
Each of us have been here for a specific reason, whether we knew it or not. God had a plan for each of us. He hand picked the crew. And guided us along our journey together here in Haiti. We can all truly thank God for what He has done. Nothing is impossible!
After we ate, we all stood at the balcony rail, gazing at Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area from so high up. We tried to pick out different things that we had seen along our cattle car route up to Zoranje.
There was the turn we take to go up the first mountain. We spotted the Olympic training center. And we found Relaxation Beach.
After lunch we drove back down through the mountains to a place near the guesthouse. It was called The Apparent Project, a non-profit artisan guild. It empowers and employs poverty-stricken Haitian parents. The store was a big house, with each room filled with different types of jewelry, clothing, bags and other beautifully made items. On the second floor, we were able to witness all of the workers putting together the products.
To round out our mission trip and Haiti experience, our house helpers made us a delicious goat dinner, which Paulo got to pick out! (Burgers on the grill for the less adventurous ones).
So how was the goat meat? It wasn’t baaaaaaaaad! Bad joke we know…
Tomorrow is our travel day as we depart from Port-Au-Prince nice and early. But don’t worry we are used to that… We will miss Team Haiti, Richard and Kelly Green our host missionaries, the house helpers, and everything that Haiti had offered us. But we are looking forward to returning home to our loved ones. What God has done will be forever implanted in our hearts.
Zoranje and the church people have become our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Through God we plan on building a well, a school, a hospital and an orphanage. We hope that everyone continues to pray for Operation: Hope and prays for future mission trips to be funded.
Bon soir from Haiti! And we will see everyone on Sunday!!
OPERATION HOPE - Haiti 