We set out bright and early in the day ... anxious to make the journey to Dessalines, 3+ hours north of Port au Prince.  It was a beautiful day for a drive and the scenery and sights certainly did not disappoint as we travelled.  Our first stop was in a very poor area of Port au Prince to see a future Compassion school site for the John Wesley church.  This will be such a blessing to the community as the kids currently meet in the dark damp basement of the church.  
As we continued on we passed through many villages with interesting sights, admiring the beautiful scenery along the ocean shores and taking a small detour through a banana plantation as the bridge was out in Arcahaie.  We arrived in Dessalines mid afternoon excited, and maybe just a little apprehensive, that we were finally here ... where God had called us to share in His ministry work. 
As Burt and I stood on the balcony overlooking the village we were reminded of how great and faithful our God is.  What started out many months ago as a stirring in our hearts, had now come to fruition after much  prayer, soul searching, studying God's word and working through the details.  Thank you to all who have been faithful to pray for us as we have walked this journey.

We thought now  might be a good time to share with you a little about the mission and show you where we will be living for a good part of the year.  Haiti Healthcare Advocates, under the umbrella of the Free Methodist World Missions, is a group of  volunteer Christian professionals & leaders who have an interest and desire in seeing people come to know the Lord ... therefore meeting their spiritual needs, along with their physical needs, in a hospital setting.  There is a great website to check out: www.haitihealthcareadvocates.com 
There is a mission compound that houses field missionaries, as well as short term teams that come to serve.  We are fortunate to have our own apartment which is very comfortable and gives us a little privacy at the end of a day.  Below you'll see posted some pics of our new digs that we're calling home!!

Two guys headed out on Friday morning to Providence University, about an hour east of Port au Prince,  on a mission! The problem ~ a pipe had broken off 50' down, in a 250' well.  The challenge ~ extracting the pump from the bottom of the well!  
Russ & Burt had worked hard, and combined their skills, to design an extraction tool (pictured to the left)  This tool would be lowered into the well, with its spring loaded jaws, ... but would it handle the task of grabbing the broken pipe, and its 500+ pounds of weight, so that the pump could be removed? 

Victory!! Thanks be to God for his many provisions!

In case you're wondering ... the leaders of Providence University have a vision to transform their nation by providing a college education for men and women who would go on to become leaders in all aspects of Haitian society. The university will produce business leaders, nurses, engineers and  educators. These Haitian leaders want to do  more than give students a good education: they want to develop their students to  approach life with a Christian worldview, believing this is the only hope for  Haiti’s future.

From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the LORD said  to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”  Numbers 21:16

Saturday is market day!  We head out bright and early, weaving through the streets of Port au Prince.  The streets are busy and jammed full of vendors and patrons ... lots of both!!  This city is a constant reminder, especially surrounding Thanksgiving, of the many, many blessings we have bestowed upon us. 
Suzette & Sherrie have found a little market on a side street that sells beautiful fruits and vegetables.  The basket in the truck is bountiful!!  Another vendor approaches us with a basket full of sheriz (cherries), for 100 gourdes we can make sheriz juice! A 'joumou' for soup is bon!  Yes please... we are convinced!  How can one turn down a pumpkin at this time of year?
We head our way back to Vimy Mitchell ... over a single lane bridge ... past the modest array of houses ... watching the garbage being shovelled into a bin for pick up ... and oh! ... keep your eyes peeled for that 'TapTap' as it stops abruptly to pick up!!  We arrive back home and always thank God for safe travelling mercies! 
Last evening we had the pleasure of hosting 11 around the dinner table and overnight.  A lively group from Texas who had been in Dessalines to repair the roof, and a lovely couple from Washington state who are in the processing of adopting 2 sweet girls.  The guest house was a beehive of activity!!

We knew it was going to be a great day ... we were headed to worship the King! 
The day started with Burt climbing behind the wheel to give us the best ``off road adventure`` we had ever experienced!!  Driving in Haiti is a challenge and this ride certainly didn`t disappoint!!  Over rough terrain, around sink holes, dodging livestock, manouvering through crowded intersections ... watch out for that bus ... woooheeee!!!!  We arrived at the chapel safely and thanked God. 
Quisqueya Chapel is a church that provides a worship centre for english speaking missionaries, along with welcoming Haitians and the unsaved.  We had a beautiful time of worship and a timely message on Haggai 1 ... reminding us that WE are the temple of God, and re-building starts with US!  A great lesson on surrendering our whole lives to God.  Later we returned for a worship concert live with the youth worship team, along with a very talented saxophonist and trumpeteer.  We spent the evening lifting praises to our God, and were in awe that He is using us to serve Him in Haiti.  Please pray for these young people, many who come from difficult home lives, that they will stay strong for the Lord.