An International Adventure

Family and Friends,

MISSION TEAM UPDATE....

Just got a call from Pam and the team did make it into Port at about 7AM this morning. Unfortunately, however, the luggage did not come through, so as of noon they are still waiting. Bummer. We hope to get a call any minute that it is all worked out and they are on their way. Please pray.

AN INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE...

On Monday I (Cory) went with Adrien to Les Cayes to get some supplies and bulk groceries for the entire Mission Haiti compound and for the upcoming teams. As you know our car still isn't working, so we always need to coordinate with Adrien to get a ride to the city to do the shopping. He is very gracious.

Adrien had already been planning to make a trip to town to do some work at his other home there. He and his siblings from the US own a nice home in Ti-Rivier and a very nice home in Les Cayes. The home in Cayes is normally rented out for a hefty sum. For the last couple of years it was rented out to Doctors without Borders, an international organization who ran the Cholera clinics in the area as well as other projects. After they left a couple of months ago, Adrien rented it out to nine Russian pilots working for the United Nations.

The requests for this current rental agreement were somewhat demanding. Each room had to have its own air conditioning unit, and several other creature comforts in the bargain. In exchange Adrien asked for $3000/month, a price they readily accepted. However, a problem came up the other day when some of the soldiers were staying up drinking late into the night. They were making a lot of noise, and two local thugs hopped over the wall and held three of them at gunpoint. After getting some computers and money, the thugs left. You can only assume the Haitians had no idea that these Russians probably had bigger weapons somewhere on the property. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

So the leader of the group called Adrien and asked him to install razor wire around the perimeter of the compound so no one could hop over the wall anymore. The leader placed the blame for the incident on the soldiers who made themselves a target by making so much noise at night and getting drunk. So Adrien was off the hook for any lack of security. Our plan was to visit the property and see if the razor wire had already been installed by the contractor Adrien hired to do the work.

I was a little bit excited to meet some Russian UN troops, just for the sake of experiencing something new. Adrien had mentioned that some of them knew a little English. Then Dan Elliot, the other missionary in the village, called and asked Adrien if he could pick up some guests who were arriving on a bus in Les Cayes. After a little bit of searching we were able to find them. The group consisted of two women and one man, all natives of the UK. After carting them around with us as we picked up the needed supplies, Adrien didn't want to make them wait while he visited his home and decided just to head back to the village and return again the next day. So I didn't get to meet the Russians, but got some Brits instead. I thought about naming this blog post, “Switching from Vodka to Scotch”, but then thought better of it.

On the way home I had make a quick stop at a little grocery store and asked if the guests wanted something to drink. The man declined, one woman asked for a Coke, and the other said, “A bit of sparkling water, if you please.” I wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, much less whether or not I could find it in a store in Haiti. In the end I bought her a club soda. She said, “thanks, that's lovely”, so I took that as a good sign. The man offered me money and I replied, “Not at all.”

They described their work for us for the remainder of the journey. Their main purpose is to test water and give people containers and chemicals for treating it before drinking. Interesting stuff. Dan had invited them to come to the village and make some suggestions concerning the main water source used by most people here. They did that and later visited our new orphanage to check out our new well. That was nice of them. I thought about offering them some “tea and biscuits” but then realized we didn't have any. They played with the kids for awhile and then headed on their way. Nice people.

May You Meet Some Interesting People on Your Adventure!

-The Grimm Family Adventurers