Haiti 6-24-25

Hello again from Haiti. We are all doing well and working hard in the HOT weather. It is interesting that in Michigan we are always looking at the forecast to see what to wear and if it will rain. No one seems to talk about the weather in Haiti. It is usually hot and if it rains, it rains. They do not worry about such things.

We have had two more days of working on the ministry center. We have finished laying tile in the main room on the second floor. Approximately 1200 square feet. The girls this morning grouted another room that had been partially tiled by previous groups. We are still planning on getting one more room done with tile and hopefully grouting and putting on the baseboard (cut tiles approx 3” tall). We are still enjoying the wonderful meals. Excellent cooking! We even enjoyed the lunch on Monday which was rice and beans, beet salad, and fish. Here is a picture of my (Tim’s) plate. I was the lucky one and got the head!!



Here is a picture of where we eat lunch. It is a nice big tree on the property. The women cook here the entire morning to get ready for lunch.

Also on Monday, the entire work group got together for dinner and worked on learning some English/creole phrases. The girls did better than the adults. We all still had fun!


We ended the evening by playing SLAP. In order for the one Haitian to play along, the girls all played in Creole. It was fun to watch.



Here are a few more pictures of life around the ministry center and around Port-au-Prince. The next two pictures are of the girls screening cement to make the mortar for laying tile and then cleaning out the bin at the end of the day.

Here are two Haitian boys who either live on the property or are here all the time. They all enjoy having Linda play with them, splashing us with water, blowing bubbles, and just running around.



When we drive anywhere in Port-au-Prince, there are many interesting things to see. The ministry center is about ½ and hour away from the Vandam’s house, and we go right through some interesting areas. Here is a picture of a TAP-TAP, which is equivalent to our bus system. They are all painted up with all sorts of interesting artwork. I have not yet figured out how you know where they are going.


The next two pictures are typical scenes on the side of the road. Many people selling their wares. You also see everyone carrying large loads on their heads. The hills around town are full of houses stacked one on top of the other.

Finally we have a picture of Alexis showing the girls a math trick on an old fashioned chalkboard. He is a lot of fun.


We also did not have enough pictures of Katie, so here is one last parting shot. You should never leave your camera with a group of four high school girls.




Keep up the prayers. We are in excellent health and in good spirits in spite of the weather. We do get a good breeze which helps out a lot. Hopefully we can update at least one more time. We will be heading to Jacmel early Friday for the soccer camp. We are not sure if we will have internet access there.