Day 2: Up the Mountain

We slept like babies last night. Since there are 10 bunks in our room and only 3 of us, we doubled up mattresses. It's no sleep number, but for us it was bliss.

We woke up a touch late, but right on island time. Ate some quick breakfast and then toured around the bible college. It's a very nice facility. We met the Haitian National Coordinator for NCM, Wally Pierre. Soon we loaded up in our favorite SUV and headed off into the countryside.

I should say that yesterday we had a very nice driver with a very cool mustache. He got us where we needed to go in a timely manner, but never really pushed the envelope. You'd think of him as a chauffeur. Today, however, we upgraded to NASCAR. Still a very nice guy, but he flew everywhere and took turns and drove down roads we probably wouldn't have even considered. I'm pretty sure we fishtailed several times. It was awesome.

We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant apparently owned by a Nazarene Haitian. We all had crepes filled with ham, cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard, and spicy sauce. They were pretty tasty. Then it was back to the car.

We headed out northeast again on one of the main roads, then randomly turned off onto a side road. That road soon became gravel, which soon became rock. We went up and up and up and up. Along the road we saw some amazing scenery of Haiti; it really is a beautiful country. We also encountered a makeshift toll system. Some local boys had placed rocks along the road which they happily moved when the car showed up, but then expected a tip. Clever boys, very clever. It did give Jonathan an opportunity to "admire the view."

2 hours later, we arrive at this spot on the road. We walk about 100 yards down this narrow path to what we find out is the house of the pastor of the Nazarene church in that area.

We'd all agree this qualified as the middle of nowhere. They had a small shed, a cistern, and a 3 room house - one of which they used to store beans harvested from the local farm.

There was a mother hen with all her chicks under her. She liked Jonathan. We thought his shirt was appropriate.

We headed back to the car, but now the pastor got in as well. So the driver and pastor are up front and we now have 4 in the back. Very cozy. It wasn't far to the garden. Jonathan and Matt decided to set up the interview equipment while LeeAllie and I followed Jean Sourel up into the garden. WE wanted him to just go a little ways in and "work" a little for some b-roll. HE wanted to show up the best views from the mountain, which happened to be at the top. Oh, and it started pouring about halfway to the top. So 45 minutes later, we emerge from the garden, soaked (though I less than LeeAllie - thank you rain jacket), but ready for an interview. Here's the setup.

We had some translation problems, so the interview was a little challenging. (We couldn't fit a translator in the car - good call on that Matt - so the plan was to call him from the location. But he had his phone off. So we did our best.) We got some good stuff, nevertheless.

So the people in this region don't have a good source of water. Their only option is to walk down a very steep and narrow mountain trail to the spring, fill up their jugs, then make the hike back - carrying the water. Jean lead the way while the rest of us followed him. It was quite an experience. We finally got to the bottom and got some shots.

Then we headed back up. Going up was probably the most exercise I've gotten in quite a while. I had dried out from the earlier rain, but was soaked again from sweat. However, I will say those $100 hiking shoes were an excellent investment. The locals made some fun of me, but hey - that's what mission trips are all about.

We loaded back in the car and headed off down the mountain. We had to stop once to help move rocks out of the road so we could pass, then once to tip some locals who helped us across the creek running through the road.

We headed back into Port au Prince and stopped at a grocery store. LeeAllie had the cart and the checkbook while us three bachelors picked out things we liked and threw them in the cart. Don't worry Elaine, Kathy, and Wendy, we're gonna eat pretty well the next few days. She even made us buy veggies.

We took some "shortcuts" thanks to our NASCAR guy. (Honestly the only time we really got nervous was when he played chicken with oncoming traffic, but that apparently is the Haitian way. Also, the one traffic light we "stopped" at was really more of a suggestion than a law, as evidenced by the fact he ran it while a police car was passing us.) We got back here to home base, cooked our frozen pizzas, got our internet fix, and are updating you.

So until tomorrow, pase bon nwi.