The Team Arrived Safely!

Family and Friends,

Day 59 of our Adventure in Haiti!

The team of Sue, Richard, Heidi, and Rachel arrived safely yesterday with Kiki in the truck. They seemed to have a good, uneventful voyage down here and are ready to have a powerful mission trip. Interestingly, none of them seem to be staying the same amount of time. That makes this group unique. Heidi is staying for two weeks, Rachel for four weeks, Richard for six, and Sue indefinitely. Sue will go back to the states on a regular basis, but her long-term plan is to live and work here full time, mainly focusing on medical clinics. It will also be nice to have her here to help out in different ways with the Haitian kids, since she knows them all really well having run the orphanage for quite some time.


The word on the street is that the businesses in Les Cayes will be closed today and tomorrow in response to the murder of a prominent businessman on New Years Eve. The story is that this man, who owned and operated a gas station we normally use, and was also a pastor, would traditionally give out gifts to the poor at the end of the year. While he was doing that, someone walked up and demanded to be given something. The wealthy man reached into his pocket, but then the man who walked up pulled a gun and shot him. Sad. So the other businessmen in Cayes are observing a day of mourning and also protesting the low level of protection from Police by not opening their shops.

This puts us in an interesting position because we need food for this team, our family, and the staff and children in the orphanage. We also need wood for Richard who is planning various projects while he is here...but we'll find ways to get by with what we have, as usual.  That is something you have to be able to do here...no quick 9PM runs to the grocery store. 

One other fun thing Lynn thought we should write about is our daily Bible lesson with the other kids in the compound, which is led by Patchouko.  We all gather around in a circle from 4-5pm and sing songs, do activities, and hear a Bible lesson, all in Creole.  This is a good regular time for us to learn the language, spend time with the other kids, and praise God.  We look forward to the time when we can understand every word that is said during the lesson and remember all of the songs for ourselves.

I better get back to the team and make sure they have everything they need.

Enjoy your adventure with Jesus today!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers