The Final Chapter

Hello Everyone!
Sorry for not updating the blog for the last couple of days! The internet in Haiti decided to not support blogspot.com for some reason. I will get down to what went on in those final days cherished in that beautiful country.

Day #8
Cassie woke up feeling sick, so she didn't eat breakfast or come to the depot with us. While us women/girls sorted through the cockroach infested boxes and bins, we were joined by another creature. A GIANT spider! It was about the size of the palm of my hand. So gross! Feeling rather brave, I decided to poke it. Luckily, it had a billion legs to run the opposite direction when I touched it lol. Not only did a spider accompany us, but a hen decided to join the club as well. We'll just put it this way...we were never lonely lol.
After sorting through a bunch of boxes and the men sifted sand, we headed back to the guest house for lunch. There is nothing quite like the taste of freshly squeezed, fresh grapefruit juice. Yum!
Some of us went to tour a nearby school. I was not one of those members...so I can't share what went on there. Sorry. I joined the group back at the depot to sort out some more bins. I needed some time to think and rest my sore feet lol. Anyways, we worked until about 5pm and then called it a day.
The boy living next door to the guest house, Joseph, took Jenn, my mom, Carson, and I to the university soccer field. Carson had fun playing with a little group of boys his age playing frisbee. On the walk back to the guest house, Jenn was given a bunch of flowers and leaves by a cute little boy lol.
We ate a dinner of cookies, cinnamon buns, and hot chocolate that the wonderful cooks prepared for us. Carson was more than pleased lol. We ended the evening with playing cards and visiting.

Day #9
Everyone started the day off with a delicious breakfast of fresh pineapple, papaya, bananas and porridge. The thought of 'This is our final day' (insert sad face here lol) dwelled in the back of our minds the entire day, but we made it count. Cassie was feeling better now so we headed off to the clinic to work in the depot and sift sand. We sorted through more supplies and labelled them while Jenn took inventory. Cliff joined us to help sort through some boxes. He was lucky enough (or not haha) to get a box filled with creepy crawly cockroaches. They scattered and we all had fun squishing them lol. Pretty quickly after that, a little chick came in and ate all of the dead and dying cockroaches off the cement. Sadly, that entertained quite a few of us. On that note, we headed back for lunch. After lunch, we worked in the depot more. My mother was the chosen candidate to have a rat run across her feet while she disturbed it's supply box. That rat knew how to clear a room and make the toughest people, squeal like little girls =)! We finished as much as possible in there. Out of 6 walls of stacked supplies, we managed to sort through 5 1/4. Everything is now labelled, sorted, and written down. Hopefully it helps. Once we finished up in the depot and said good-bye to the dark room we had worked in for the past week, we headed off to help at the Kids Club again. While all the kids were off doing the activities, my parents and I snuck off to climb the mountain again. We met Terence and Carson on the top and travelled a bit further along the top with them. On the way back down, I decided to take my own path instead of going back the same way we came up. My parents decided it was a good idea to follow me (not sure what made them think that haha). We got almost lost a few times and met a guy who helped us find out way back to the familiar path again where we met up with Carson and Terence and walked the rest of the way back with. I managed to get stung by something on that little journey too. Nice work. Even with a sore leg, it was the perfect way to end the trip. There is nothing like standing on a mountain top with the wind in your face and looking down over a God's creation. Such a beautiful sight. In the evening, we ate dinner and then packed our bags for our departure back to the freezer (aka Canada) in the morning.

Day #10
We awoke at 6am, got ready, packed last minute items, and then joined as a group for breakfast one final time. The cooks were amazing and we are all so grateful for the meals they provided for us. After double checking our luggage and making sure all was packed, we piled into the truck and van and headed off to CAP Haitian to fly out to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We made it through customs and said good-bye to Janelle and Cal. We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience Haiti. We can't thank you enough.
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale safe and sound. My parents rented a Dodge Charger to head to Miami the next morning with. We all spent the day either at the beach or shopping. We got back late to the hotel and headed to bed after sorting through luggage.

Day #11
We started the day off with a yummy breakfast, and then either headed to the pool or off to go shopping. At 12:30pm, we made it out of the hotel and headed off to the airport. We did a little shopping after clearing customs and then boarded our plane to Chicago. Once in Chicago, we did a little more shopping and then were off to Edmonton. Special thanks to Ali and Vera for making a special trip to take us all home. We are so blessed!! Everyone arrived home safe and sound after an amazing journey and experience. We all have many stories and pictures to show and tell. Take care!

Day #6 & 7

Hello from Haiti!

Yesterday, we went about our normal routine until lunch. Us women/girls went to help out at the Kids Club again. We sang songs, read a story, and played some games with the kids. Jordie is feeling better and was back in the program lol. In the evening, we had the opportunity to look through and buy some souveniors to take back home with us. Then we ate a delicious dinner and visited until it was time to call it a day. It was my dad's turn to entertain Carson (haha) so my dad ended up with painted fingernails and Carson had a painted face and a backhoe painted on his arm lol. Pictures to show later!

Today, we got as dressed up as this humidity allows, and headed off to church for 9:30am. We all crammed onto little benches that would comfortably seat maybe 4 people per bench, with 6 of us. It was a hot couple of hours haha. We could recognize a couple of songs that were in Creole, but it was difficult to sing it in English with about 500 people around you, singing it in Creole or French lol. It was amazing to see the size of the large congregation.
After church, we all headed back to the guest house to change and get ready to head off to the beach. We all managed to pile onto and into a 5-seater truck. At the beach, we ate a very large/delicious meal of either our choice of chicken or fish. With our tummies full, the board of directors from the clinic, gave us a special thanks for the work done in Haiti and the partenership we share. We are equally as thankful.

On that note, we all headed into the water and dodged the oncoming large waves. After a while in the water, we headed back to the shore to dry off. Then, it was back into/onto the truck for the trip back to the guest house. We are currently ending the day by eating popcorn, playing some card games, and visiting. Our prayers are with those back in Breton with the loss of Layne and those involved in the car accident.

Day #5

Sorry for the terrible layout...

Yesterday, was an interesting day. We ate breakfast together and then resumed our places at the clinic. Jordie isn't feeling well, so Cassie, Carson, and I all stayed back with Jordie and made bracelets. My Mom followed Dr. Fred around while he did his routine of diagnosing patients. Everyone returned to the guest house for lunch. After lunch, we took a truck into Limbe to visit a museum and orphanage. 5 of us sat in the front of the truck, while the rest of us got to sit in the box of the truck for the bumpy ride. When we arrived at the museum, there was a small group of school kids there on a field trip. We walked through the small museum and indulged on the interesting facts and history of this beautiful country. Then, it was off to the orphanage. All 30 of the kids could speak English, so that was nice!! We got to listen to all of them sing some familiar tunes and watch them play like one big happy family. The youngest child there was a little boy who was 14 months old. His mother died of Cholera and his older sister (18) couldn't take care of him. Such a cutie! The oldest, was a 14 year old girl who got to the orphanage after the earthquake. Very sad. Despite all that they have been through, they all had bright smiles on their faces and were excited to see us. After playing with the kids and handing out 'Chiclets', we were on our way back to the guest house. Again, I got to ride in the back of the truck. I figured out that it is a lot less bumpy if you stand up. Bucket list kind of thing I guess lol. We chewed on sugarcane as we made our journey back to the house. Let's just say that the driving in Haiti...is...interesting lol. We ate dinner when we got back, and then visited for a while before heading to bed.

Day #4

Yesterday, we had a yummy breakfast and headed back to the clinic to help out. Cassie, Carson, Jordie, and I, all stayed back and prepared for the Kids Club that we would attend and help out with later in the afternoon. At the clinic, in the stock room (depot), the women were not only accompanied by cockroaches...but a rat as well. The roof on that the men are helping build, is coming along quickly.
Everyone returned to the guest house and enjoyed a nice lunch. Then it was back to the clinic. After a few more hours of work, everyone called it a day and came back to the house. The Kids Club took place later that afternoon, so we took our drawings, games, song lyrics, and story, over to the kids. They enjoyed singing the song in English and caught on very quickly. In the courtyard, all the kids joined us in a game of duck-duck-goose and a relay race. There was a lot of laughter as the kids raced around. When all the games were finished, most of the kids stayed around to visit with us 'blan' or 'white/foreigners'. The kids here are soo much fun. In the evening, all the kids returned home and we ate a delicious dinner of Haitian pizza. We visited for a while and then headed to bed. Haiti is such a beautiful country =)

Day #2 and 3

Sorry for not updating yesterday. We had a long day and never had access to the internet in the evening.

Missed Day
We all went to work at the clinic yesterday. The men worked on building a roof and made concrete. The women and us girls, worked in the supply room. We went through, organized, and labelled a lot of stuff. We were not alone in that room...we had plenty of cockroaches to keep us company and keep us on our toes lol. Around noon, we took a break and ate a delicious lunch. Then, we headed back out to the clinic to resume our places. After a long day, we ate dinner, played with the local children, took a Criole lesson, and decided to try out the face paint on each other. Jenn, Jordie, Cassie, my Mom, and I, all painted silly faces and some small pictures on each other. At this point, everything was funny...so we decided to head to bed lol.


Today
When we woke up, we ate a delicious breakfast and headed out to the clinic. Today was the day they vaccinated babies at the clinic, so Jordie and I got to hold lots of beautiful dark babies while their mother's waited in line. Jordie also gave the babies some Vitamin A. We also worked on the supply room and the men continued their work on the roof.
After lunch, we all headed back to work. Cassie and I played with the kids for a bit. When everyone made it back from the clinic, we decided to take a hike up the mountain/hill behind the guest house. Very steep!! We were accompanied by a billion children who were more than happy to pull us up the hill; sometimes it wasnt much help. Haiti is a beautiful country. We all had a wonderful day and are about to head to bed. =)

Hello From Haiti!

Hello from Haiti!!!

We arrived safetly in Haiti and have had a very long day. We woke up this morning at around 3am and were on a plane at 6:30am. SO happy to finally be here!!!!

After settling in at the guest house, we headed out to meet and play with the local kids. Immediately, we were all swarmed by a bunch of excited children and hauled off, our hands in theirs.

The local girls had fun playing with Jordan and Cassidy's hair.

We had two yummy meals and are now headed off to bed after a long day!!!

Ready To Go!!

With all of the excitement of the quickly-approaching trip to Haiti, comes stress and a lot of last minute preparation. We are all eager to get on the plane and make the journey down to Haiti, despite sleep-depreviation and scurrying around. =)

Here is the schedule for our flights: (Feb.19-March.1)

Bargs', Swan's, and I are all travelling together.

Departure: 6:40am

Arrival: (Houston, TX) 11:55am

We have a short wait and then are up in the air again.

Departure: 1:35pm

Arrival: (Ft Lauderdale, FL) 5:00pm

My parents travel to Winnipeg at 6:30am on Sunday (Feb.19) and arrive there around 10:00am. They connect to Montreal and arrive there at 1:30pm. They depart from there at 3:30pm to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and arrive there at 7:15pm.

We all spend a bit of time there and then head out again on Monday morning.

Departure: 6:30am

Arrival: (CAP) 9:00am

Schedule for flights back home

Same people are flying together.

Departure: (Wednesday, Feb.29) 10:00am

Arrival: (Ft Lauderdale, FL) 12:30pm

We have some time there again and then head out Thursday (March.1)

Departure: 3:50pm

Arrival: (Chicago) 6:25pm

We have a short wait there and are up in the air again.

Departure: 8:10pm

Arrival: (Edmonton) 11:10pm

My parents fly with us to Ft Lauderdale, FL and then head to Miami and fly out at 2:45pm to Toronto, ON and arrive there at 6:00pm. From Toronto, they depart at 9:15pm and arrive in Edmonton at 11:15pm. 

We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers =)