Haiti G.O. Team Feb 2017 Day 6

Hello!

Today, we laid the concrete floor for the house. We passed the concrete in buckets for a few hours. After we finished, the only thing left is to put the roof on! This building has gone up very quickly!

While we passed buckets of concrete (beton), we spent even more time talking with Haitians around the worksite. It was really fun spending more time conversing and getting to know the people in the community! A few of us had trouble remembering how to say 'concrete' in Creole, so to remember it better we said 'betahohuh!' (Imagine saying 'croissant' in a thick French accent). All the Haitians thought that was hilarious!

Afterwards, we ate another amazing lunch at the cafeteria. We are slowly making our way through the different drinks they have to offer. We are more than half way through the trip and all of us are completely embracing Haitian culture (well, at least the cuisine...). 

Post-lunch, the team split up. Tom and Caleb worked on the STEP building while everyone else (Tim, James, Alvin, Tracy, Peter, Nicolaos, Samantha and Carlie) went to a nearby elementary school to play soccer with the community. 

The game was really good, but the conversations were even better. Everyone spent a lot of time interacting with the kids and adults. Tracy sat with one woman for close to 2 hours, talking the entire time. They were teaching each other Creole and English words. Peter (we have started calling him Petè), as always, played goalie. Carlie talked smack to the other team, and everyone else just played the game. Once the game ended, the ball was presented by Samantha to the Headmaster of the school. It was a great experience. 

Wawa came over for dinner and shared about his life and vision for STEP. His ministry and passion for the work of Christ is inspiring. Wawa could not stay for very long, and we wanted to sit with him and talk more, but we very much enjoyed the time we had. 

Wawa had a few specific prayer requests:

  • That the STEP students would be changed by the example of Christ in making disciples and serving the poorest people on the earth. The school can only teach them so much. Wawa wants the students to take what they learn to heart and implement it in their own lives. 
  • Financial provision for the campus, students and the house-building ministry. 
  • For safety. Haiti is a dangerous place, even for Haitians. 
  • For good health. 
  • For ourselves (the team). We are partners with him in this ministry and play an important role, he said. 

Thank you for your prayers and blessings!

Blessings,
The Haiti G.O. Team

jean robert
The man waving is Jean Robert. He works with Mason Young on the STEP campus.

day 6 team selfie