Like just about everyone, our hope for 2021 to be better than 2020 was high as the year began. Since this year began, we have seen some of both. With God all things are possible.
The US government is now requiring a negative covid test to enter the US. Haiti has been requesting negative tests for a while, but has begun requiring them for entry into Haiti. There is still a significant amount of concern regarding covid in Haiti, however so far Haiti has been spared the devastating effects that were predicted. A lot of prayers have been answered in this regard. As of the time I am writing this Haiti is reporting 12,722 cases with 251 deaths from covid since this began. This is a blessing, but we must remain vigilant in prayer.
The rats at our home have been brought under control (mostly), so I have turned my attention to the mice inside the house. You know you have a mouse problem when you catch 2 mice in 1 snap trap at the same time (I would post a picture, but it is a little too graphic). We have caught 12+ mice in the past 3 weeks, often times with no bait on the trap. We seem to have some mice that are too small to trigger the traps. We caught a mouse that was no bigger than a quarter (body size). We hope to have this under control soon.
I seem to be continually working on cars here. Mostly because parts are very difficult to find, or are extremely expensive. I buy brake pads for Linda's little pink car from Britain for about $20 a set, while those same pads are $200 here in Haiti. I want to buy local, but cannot justify 10 times the cost. For those that don't know Linda's car is a Suzuki Jimny. They are all around the world, but not in the US. We have made some upgrades to the suspension to handle the tough roads here. She has a bushing that has gone out and I cannot get a replacement. I have ordered the material to make a polyurethane bushing myself. I am learning how to do a lot of things myself, that I would not even consider in the US. In February I took all of the fuel injectors out of the Kia pick-up to clean them and put them back in.
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| Linda's car |
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| Kia's Fuel injector |
I was fortunate to go to Sonis (the village in Novelle Terrain) a few weeks ago. It was my first trip on the motorcycle trail that we have provided some supplies for. I can tell you that I am getting a little old to be on a motorcycle for 4 hours on a trail barely wide enough to walk on with 1000' drop offs on either side. Rosias (Mouse to some of you) hired motos to take us up there. We met up with the motos in Kenskoff at the moto "station". As we were getting ready to leave I noticed a group of other moto taxi drivers watching intently. I asked Rosias why the attention, these drivers see white people all the time? He said he told my driver that I may want to drive part of the time, so they were all waiting to see me drive the moto with the driver as my passenger. So, I traded places with the driver and we started up the mountain from Kenskoff to Sonis. These are small (150cc) street bikes, not designed for this type of use. After about 30-45 minutes, I decided to let the driver drive. Probably not the best idea, as he was in his early 20's and then it became a race to Sonis with the driver for Rosias. I survived the ride, but was sore for a while. While out there, I was able to attend church and take some measurements from the spring to the village for the water supply. I was given a tour of the school, and we discussed some options for next school year.
Linda has been very busy with Counseling, Dog training, Training for her next competition, and Gymnastics. Both of our dogs participated in the first Society Canine Haitian (SCH) competition in February. Cristof is still very young, but placed third in German Shepherds. Django did well, placing first in the Terrier group and receiving the hardest hit award for attacking (video attached). We are confident for the next competition to have Cristof place better and hope Django can bring home the best in show.
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| Cristof |
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| Django |
Linda has a bodybuilding competition in early May. She is constantly modifying her diet to be ready at the right time. I don't like to see her stress over one pound here or two pounds there, but she enjoys it, so we encourage her. She has reached the point where people see her and say to me, "Don't mess with her". My usual response is that I just need to be able to run faster than her.
Gymnastics is also getting better. With Covid and security issues, she lost quite a few students. Most have started returning and new students are starting as well. She has also started teaching gymnastics at a local school for their after school program. There are a few students that show great potential. This is a much needed outlet for kids here. Linda has also been approached about doing gymnastics with the Haiti Special Olympics. This is something Linda has done in the past and she loves it. Please pray with us that the details can be worked out.
The general situation in Haiti continues to be unstable. Two weeks ago there was a SWAT team ambushed by a gang. Many police officers were killed and brutally displayed as trophies. The gang also "acquired" an armored vehicle in the ambush. They were attempting to raid an area suspected of housing kidnapping victims, but the gang knew they were coming. This was shocking even by Haiti standards. The kidnappings continue and have actually increased. We are not as big a target for kidnapping as a well known Haitian, but there is still considerable risk. I am glad that Linda has Django or Cristof with her in the car. This is not perfect, but it is a good deterrent.
We feel so blessed to be here and pray that we are making a difference. We pray that we can help make Haiti better in 2021 than 2020. Please consider signing up for our newsletter notification and prayerfully consider supporting our efforts in Haiti.
God Bless
