2 months!

WOW, can you believe that Nikki and I have been in Haiti for two months?  I find myself using my watch not for the time but to literally keep track of the days.  In a culture where time is not as important days seem to instantly turn into weeks. 

In two months it is amazing how much you can learn.  I have learned how to navigate the greater Cap-Haitian Area, which is much more difficult than it probably sounds.  The downtown area is numbered and lettered but everywhere else is just another unnamed road.  

I have learned how to entertain myself when I spend a lot of time at the airport.  The other day I was there and ended up waiting for around 4 hours for a group.  It was no big deal because I have a pass that allows me to hang out on the tarmac.  I have made friends with the guy that parks the planes.  The day I was there was pretty slow so we sat in the shade and talked for a couple of hours.  A U.S. National Guard Chinook helicopter landed while we were there so my friend and I went over and talked with the guys.  They were based out of Montana and working in Port au Prince.  We received a long tour of the Helicopter, but since there was no General present I will have to wait for my ride!

One of the first big projects I worked on here was installing new power Inverters.  One of the other staff members here has been working with a place in the Dominican and purchased us two new inverters batteries and all the necessary cables and connection hardware.  In addition we ran a wire to make our generator start automatically when the batteries run low.  It took several days of mounting stuff, making a table for the batteries, running wire and reading manuals but we managed to successfully install an amazing power system upgrade for COTP.  We now have power 24 hours a day and run the generator less.  We will hopefully be buying more batteries in the future which will allow us to run the generator even less!

Last week COTP had the privilege of having E-3, a church group from the Phoenix area spend the week with us.  They were primarily a work group that came down to help us with projects.  We were able to construct a pavilion for visitors to wait under, until our nurse is able to give them a consultation.  We also fixed up our ENTIRE perimeter fence which was overgrown with vines, and grass, and broke in several spots.  More importantly than all the work that was accomplished it was really nice for me to spend some time with other guys.  Thank you so much for all of your work!

There is no amount of training that could prepare a person for working in Haiti.  I find every day that I am so under qualified to be working here.  Everyday I encounter things and problems that I have never seen before.  I have a pretty long list of important projects that we have been slowly checking off.  I am continually praying for wisdom, knowledge, and strength for the things that I will encounter.