FOHO and further updates

Hello again, to all my faithful readers!

Now that the technology is working again, I can update you all on what has been happening!

Sunday morning the group of missionaries from Ohio, left for home.. They were an extremely good group of people! Every single one of them was more then willing to do any sort of work and I never heard any of them complain a single time. I had the pleasure of getting to know several of them well.. I had several really cool, deep conversations with a few of them. They quickly accepted me as part of the group, and we all got along, and worked together really well! Even though most of them battled sickness throughout the week, they were always in good spirits, which made for a pleasant week. :)


From left to right.. Pastor Scott, Terry, Shauna, Me, Tony, Pastor Ted, Daniel, Butch, Andy, Lauretta, Jim, Lucian, and some random guy on the street.


On another note, as I have already mentioned I have been helping clear the rubble from the FOHO building that collapsed. This is what the site looked like right after the earthquake...


This is what the site looked like right after the earthquake...



This is what the site looks like now.. What you see here is the garage, and basement of what was a 4 story building.



Here is another angle from on top of the old FOHO building.




This is the old FOHO building which stood next to the 4 story building.. It lasted the earthquake, but will be demolished due to structural damage.


Tonight God has laid on my heart a burden of compassion. As I write, in this moment there are people right outside this house which I am staying, that are living in tents lined all along the street.

Here I am...

Comfortable.

Dry.

I am equipped with everything I need right here, all the while there they are trying to sleep under a tarp with a dirt floor and water running through their tent... How this fair? Simply because I was born in the US, I am given a life full of everything I want, whereas they have almost nothing.

I pray so fervently that God will bring good from this poverty!

On a more positive note, I had the pleasure of handing out some of our extra ready-to-eat meals to one of the families that live down the road from Me and Larry. Between the last two teams of Missionaries, we were left with more meals then we knew what to do with.. I know that our contribution is extremely minute against the starvation in Haiti, however generosity is contagious and I pray that each Haitian will excel further to look after his brother.

As my trip is winding down to a close, I am constantly reminding myself to live in the moment and soak up every sight, sound, smell and memory. I am continually reminding myself to appreciate every person I am in contact with; for I don't know if I will see any of these people again... But I hope that again I may be blessed enough to return to this country.

Lots of love!


-Elijah

Preval and work in the rubble.

Here is a brief lesson on some of the Politics here in Haiti..

Today all over the city of Port Au Prince there was what is called a "manifestation" which slowed traffic in many areas considerably. My understanding is that it was organized to protest their current president Preval. Among the graffiti in the city, which is nearly on every building, you often will see "aba Preval" painted on the wall. While Dinecia was here, she explained to me that this means something along the lines of "Preval we don't like you". I am not sure how harsh this rebuke is intended, but nonetheless it is written seemingly everywhere, to show Haiti's ever growing distaste for its leader.. When I spoke to the Haitian, Emery a while back he mentioned their leader Preval. He said a lot of people don't like him because he is a known alcoholic. But he said many other people don't like him because his political stance is ever-changing depending on who he is talking to..

To give you all an idea how much the general public dislikes their leader, he is already due to complete his term in office in January, but the purpose of todays protest/parade was to get him out of office early.

I decided today that I would like to work right alongside another group of Haitian workers,(whom were also hired FOHO)to help cleanup of the "new" FOHO building which collapsed in the earthquake. The building stood 4 stories tall and was just completed only a few years ago. It stood next to the "old" FOHO building, which still stands intact. Anyways, it was a little confusing at first working with a group of guys that you don't understand but I adapted as best as I could. They had me cutting the re-bar on the cement support columns, smashing cement with a sledgehammer, as well as shoveling the rubble into a dump truck. It is certainly a sobering thought to be amidst the rubble where four good people gave their lives for the Lord.

I eventually discovered that two of the Haitians spoke decent English, and have even been to Michigan on occasion. The wrest of the men communicated to me through hand motions and facial gestures. I learned that several of the men were in college and studying to become pastors. Everyone in the group had high spirits and were often making each other laugh. They were also very accepting and respectful to me. One man even told me that I did good work and that I was like Samson! Haha!

I will try to post more pictures of everything for you guys in the future.

Thank you all for the millionth time for all your continued prayers and support! I appreciate every last bit of it. But more then me, pray for the missionaries who just arrived. Pray for the Haitian workers. Pray for the poor and the homeless in this country. And pray that lives will be brought to the kingdom because of the work that is being done here, since that should be every Christian's ultimate goal!

Lots of love!


-Elijah-

Bondye ki gen bon kè (God is good)

Since I never got around to mentioning yesterdays events, I will try to cram the last two days together in this post as best as I can, though it would be impossible to talk about everything that has and is happening.

Yesterday morning we all woke up at 5:30Am to head down to the school that we have been working on. Because the sun rises much earlier here then in Michigan, it didn't seem very early at all! Anyways, I began by cutting re-bar for the windows, which are crosshatched instead of having brittle glass windows. After that I had the pleasure to talk to a very educated Haitian man by the name of Emery. He could speak 4 languages fairly fluently, which obviously includes English. He definitely impressed me with his knowledge of America, and American politics. He asked me questions such as what my thoughts were on President Obama, the War in Iraq, and why I agreed or disagreed with things happening in the government. We also spoke of racism, american rap music, soccer (or football), and the earthquake. He told me that he doesn't like to talk about the earthquake because it is something he will never forget, since he lost many friends. But he told me that he was in a school hallway when it struck, and that he was lucky that his parents survived.

After our long day of work we came back to relax. I spent some time and went out on the streets nearby where I am staying. I was able to take lots of pictures!

Today I woke at the same time, so we could go back and work another day at the school. I cut some more re-bar, and helped arc-weld the windows together. Also, a truckload of bricks arrived today to continue constructing the walls. I hauled them from the truck to where they were being stacked until I could no longer even grip the bricks. The heat today didn't seem as bad as yesterday (which was over 100)because there was a little breeze today.

It was also very strange, today while we were working, the city seemed overall quiet... But Suddenly, literally the entire town around us began to ROAR as people ran out from their tents. And I am certainly not embellishing when I say people were dancing down the roads. People cheered and yelled from everywhere around us. It sounded like a whooping cheer of a mighty army! I have never ever, ever, ever heard anything like it... Come to find out that it was because Argentina lost a game vs Germany in the world cup.. There is a great rivalry in Haiti. About 70 percent of the people here are MAJOR Brazil fans, while 30 percent are Argentina fans..

After we quit work around Noon today we came back here, and then headed out for a little sightseeing trip around Port Au Prince. I took almost 150 pictures.. So here are just a few of them...


This was the Presidential palace here in Port Au Prince



This was the biggest, and most beautiful cathedral in the city. It fell, but the cross still stands..



They were selling clothes, which they stacked in piles on the sidewalk.



This picture just doesn't do justice to how terrible the slums are here. The streets are lined with trash and feces. The people have constructed whole cities out of tin sheets and sticks and tarp.




One of the thousands of buildings in Haiti that still remain in rubble..




We drove to the top of the mountain overlooking Port Au Prince.. Amazing view! In the top left corner you can see the Caribbean sea.




Here is most of the team, minus Larry, with a few female soldiers from Nepal.. All standing in front of the amazing view of the city.