Arrived in Haiti

Robert and i arrived in Cap Haitien late Sunday afternoon. Our plane was delayed out of Ft. Lauderdale because the airline is having difficulty obtaining fuel. One of our bags didn't make it with us, so we will have to try to track that down (always an adventure). Chi Chi met us at the airport. Other than looking very thin, he seems healthy and certainly happy to see us arrive in Haiti. Robert looked at several hotels which have declined in their cleanliness. It also seems that numerous people have moved to this city from Port au Prince because of the lack of sustainable living in PAP. We ended up coming to a beautiful hotel called Hotel Residencial which is owned by Robert's cousins. The are building a beautiful hotel on a mountain and we are happy to support their endeavors.

Madame generously allowed us to stay at her home last night and she has been preparing delicious Haitian cuisine to nourish our bodies.

The roads are terrible...I think the worst we have experienced in a long long time. We ventured to Robert's birthplace today, Grande Riviere du Nord. By asking many people, we discovered that one of his mother's sisters had passed away. By the grace of God and Goddess, we found one if his aunts. Her name is Wilite Celestin. She is blind and a bit confused, but after some coaxing, she realized that the son of her sister Cecile had come to see her. She lives in a less than humble structure and the neighbors provide food for her when they are able to share. We purchased enough food for her to be able to eat for about 6 months. She was so grateful as she sang to her Jesus and her deceased sister.

As we ventured back toward Cap Haitien, we stopped at Orphelina de Petite-Anse (an orphanage). We spent some time speaking with the director. He told us that they have about 64 children that they care for in meager surroundings. Once the children become 18,they are moved to a different location where they are still supported, but they learn life skills to eventually take care of themselves. Additionally, we were told that they have taken some children from Port-au-Prince and that they have about 3 to 5 requests to take additional children everyday. We made a donation to help this orphanage provide food and school for these kids.

We made a brief stop to visit our granddaughter Rose Berline Laneau. Oh she is a cutie pie and most certainly stole the heart of her grandfather. We gave her mama some money to buy milk and we will make a huge delivery of clothing later this week.

Our next stop was at another relative's family. They are struggling to make ends meet and have helped with our Tap Tap in the past, so we left them with some rice, oil, manteca, tomato sauce so they can feed their family for about one month.

Finally, as we were walking back to Madame's when we met some young hungry boys, so Robert gave them each some money to get something to eat. They kissed the money and sang "Merci Jesus".

Robert and I feel honored to be able to help people living a life of struggle. The gratitude extends to all ends of the universe...a Haitian tradition of giving with your left hand allows you to receive abundantly with your right hand. All of our family and friends in the USA will hopefully feel the light that we have surrounding us.

We will continue to try to make a post when we are able to access the internet. Photos will be posted later. Na we pita.