Day #2

Pastor Louisant of Barbancourt Baptist

Our gift from the church - breadfruit and fresh coconuts

Our 2nd day of missions was a true success. God nearly doubled the number of Haitian adults coming to hear the Word and to sing praises. 

We stopped for another bag of water on the way to Arcahaie - about $2 with a 20 GDS bill in change. Goudes is the currency here, but dollars are gladly accepted. 

We got to the site and it was decided that we would use the church sanctuary vs the small dormitory corridor. We had to help the older kids and teacher move the classroom outside - including chalkboard- that disturbed us a little. The Haitians thought little of that inconvenience. I did see the pastor - Louissant slip some coins to the teacher for the hassle. Amy checked on a sick woman near the church and confirmed she was taking antibiotics for her cough and fever. She's been on a cot outside a home all week. 

We asked for more English in the songs today and Pastor Dorcean helped us out with "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" and we wrapped up with a sweet "Jesus Loves Me" - I spotted a young girl in the courtyard outside the church singing along too. 

Amy and Ashley spook on Forgiveness - using Peter asking Jesus how many times he should forgive someone as the main Bible reference. Our small groups were much more interactive with stories of struggles and wrongs in relationships. 

Our small group time tends to be the "it's time to get to the meeting time" and our groups swelled again during this time. We handed out 63 packs of crackers and water during snack- none of the teams or Pastors, translators took a pack. That's a great turnout. 

After snack, we had another short time of worship lead by Jimmy and Pastor Dorcean. 

Amy and Shawna revisited the malaria lesson from Monday with a quick Q&A time. Then Stan, Jason and Lincoln talked about dental hygiene using a large jaw and toothbrush to talk about proper dental care. I think the dental floss was a novel concept based on facial expressions. 

After the dental hygiene class, we shifted to craft time and the ladies showed the groups how to make some cloth and bead brackets. That was a BIG hit. 

As the Hatitans left for the day, we handed out 75 bags that contained a toothbrush, sample toothpaste and a dental floss pack. We also have more replacements for the Alex's House team to use later in reinforcement. 

The church blessed us with some breadfruit (starch) and fresh coconut at the end of the day before we departed back to Alex's House. Our cool turned those into part of our supper meal. Breadfruit fried is most excellent with some ketchup and New Orleans cooks would be jealous of the coconut tart she prepared (with powdered sugar on top, of course) as dessert. The lasagna she made was almost, almost as good as your Mother's recipe. 8-)

The afternoon was spent doing yard work and projects around the York House guesthouse complex- Stan helped Jean Claude move landscaping rock and then he helped Jason/Jake/ Mark work on doors and a new gate on the stairs to the dining area to keep Rocky and Pepe out. The dogs were not thrilled with the new gate. 

The evening was spent getting to know Kendall- the missions coordinator for Alex's House. She retuned to Haiti yesterday after a quick trip home to Arkansas for a family funeral. We look forward to Kendall's direction and guidance tomorrow as we head back for Day #3. We also found out that we will be joining a BIG 4th anniversary celebration tomorrow for Alex's House as an organization in Haiti.