Sunday and Wash day

In the first two pictures you see a little girl and boy dressed in their best white clothes walking past the water tower on their way to church on Sunday and some of the children in church on Sunday morning. Notice how clean and white their clothes are. Years ago when there were not so many women in the work place in the States, Monday used to be known as wash day. Since then many more women are in the workplace and the wash gets done in the evening whenever people find time. I am not sure when wash day is in the Village of Coupon located just north of Double Harvest but I know where it is. I have posted some pictures of the water tower at the edge of the village where people come to wash their clothes and their bodies and to draw water to take back to their homes. No electricity, no washing machines, no clothes dryers... well that is if you don't count the barbed wire clothes line and the sun. Also note the broom for sweeping. Not sure if it said Hoover or Electrolux on the handle.

Saturday's wedding

We had the privilege of photographing Pastor Garry and Lucette's wedding on Saturday. It took place in Port au Prince. There are a number of stories to tell from Saturday but I will just talk about the wedding for this post. The Haitian wedding was very much like one that takes place in the States with a few vairations. The ceremony began with a procession of a choir that sang several times during the ceremony. The groom escorted his mother to her seat. The bridal party made a long processional that took probably 10 minutes and they lined the isle on either side while the bride entered with her dad. The bride and groom sat across form each other at the front during the beginning of the ceremony with their godparents. Apparently godparents are very important in Haiti. After the marriage ceremony all the parents and godparents along with the bride and groom and the officials signed the marriage license and then greeted the couple before they came back down the isle. No kiss. The receiving line was wild and the reception was at a differnet location (more on that later) and was small and short with basically cake cutting and punch. It was very interesting and very hot and the language barrier made it even more challenging especiallt during the group photos. Here is a link to some of the pictures. http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/329045/

Photographing the mission and visiting neighboring villages

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n85UdDjMwCw&feature=autofbThe third grade class was alot of fun to photograph and I was able to video them singing. Early in the morning we went downstairs to the front of the clinic. The people were lined up waiting for the clinic to open. A local pastor gives a devotional every morning with an invitation to come to trust in Christ. During the day a large plasma screen monitor hung high over the clinic entrance plays the Jesus film and other




This morning we finished up photographing the children that were absent and some of the teachers. We then got to walk around the mission and see and photograph the many activities. We took some nice images of Dieusibon's children. He is the administrator of the school. We photographed the playground so the churches back in the States could see the results of their giving toward the project. The kids love it.
(Side note, this is Sunday when I am finally get to write this. One unintended consequence of such a nice playground is that some of the children need to be directed away from the playground into church. They love the playground). In the afternoon we drove to two villages that surround the mission. The mission has piped clean water from their well to both villages. The tap for the water is located at the church in the village.This seems to help the church in the eyes of the village. The one village also had a really big Voodoo church. At night we could stand on the deck at the back of the medical compound and here the drums and music from the voodoo ceremonies. This really is a land of contrasts.

Day 4 Thursday Hump day for school pictures

Well we made it. We got all 13 classes photographed. We had to complete 6 classes today plus the teachers and then get them printed. All went well. Still need to print but tonight we had the privilege to attend a midweek service at a home in the Village of Coupon. It is located at the north of the school. We had a midweek service in the yard of one of the church members. It was amazing. A mixture of chairs sitting on uneven gravel in this little alcove. The house in front of us a simple concrete structure. The one to our right a stick and mud house and the one further to our left was corrogated sheet metal. No electricity. No band. Just Haitian Christians with a few America and Canadian missionaries worshiping together. In the middle of the service a goat ran threw our meeting. Then a cat and a dog. Within a few yards was this pig who sang off key to all our songs. The out houses were just around the corner. As Todd Hershner would say, it was church. We finished after dark. It was a great time and I was struck by what can be done with so little. It was really an object lesson for me.

Day 3 Wednesday Photo Day 2

Photographing the children went much beter today and we were able to photograph 6 class (almost 200 children) and then return to to compound to eat and print. Didn't get to do much else. Worked until power out. Very produtive day. Here are some pictures from the day.

Day 2 Pictures of preschoolers and Fish farming

Day 2 started early with the power coming on at 6:00 a.m. That meant the fans were working and the air conditioning started (along with the water heater). Early morning gets quite warm in our room so the fan is refreshing. After that morning is like a hotel and I feel a little guilty. We got to the school at 8:00 and set up for the morning and then the rush began. I really wish I understood the language. The kids are so cute. We took pictures until 1:00 and went back to the compound for lunch and then worked on printing. After supper we waked down to the tilappia farm and got a tour from JP Exume who runs the project. Had to walk fast to get back to the compound at sunset with lightning over our shoulders. Worked on printing until power out at 9:00pm

Haiti Day 1

Our trip down to Haiti went very well. We left the house a little after 4 a.m. flew to N.Y. and arrived shortly after 8a.m., JFK Airport is monsterous. Flew to Haiti and arrived around 1p.m.,
It was quite a ride from the airport to the mission. All in all exciting. Set up this evening for tomorrows pictures. It's 9:00 p.m. now and going to bed. Long day today.. Will be a long day tomorrow. God is good. We are surrounded by wonderful people here. Thanks for your prayers. Bill & Melanie

Another view from Satellite

SatelliteView

Location

Another view

Location

Here is a location map of Double Harvest. It is east of Port au Prince Haiti

The Compound

This is the compound where we will be staying. The first floor is a medical clinic. The second floor is a dormitory style living area. We will have running water and electricity during the day until 6pm. The compound is located on 200 acre farm that also includes the school.