day 3

we had to get up early for church, because darby's dad was going to pick us up around 7:30. when he arrived, he informed us that all of the women needed to be in dresses. well, many of us were not, and had not even packed any skirts. fortunately, some of the women had brought extra, and we were able to use what they had. that left only one person without a dress... , so tracy s decided to use her bed sheet to make a skirt. we wrapped it around her and pinned it to make a lovely striped skirt. to the left is a picture of all the women dressed for church.

we all piled in to two trucks to make the 90 minute ride up into the mountains. one truck had guys on the back and on the roof, and the other truck had girls in the back. to the left you can see dan h, mike v, dave n and ryan r sitting on top of the truck, against a backdrop of one of the towns we drove through.

it was very easy to tell when we started ascending into the mountains, because the climate changed noticeably. it was much cooler, and very pleasant. the views of the mountains were beautiful. at some points we were literally inside of the clouds. we stopped once to pick up some cold drinks and were able to take some pictures, like the one here.

when we got to the church a little after 10, the service was already in progress. there was a place in front (facing the congregation) for all of us to sit. they were singing songs and reading scripture. we couldn't understand what they were saying, but we could tell it was a joyful and heartfelt expression of worship, and we were able to join them in some ways. there was a group of men who did an acapella musical performance, complete with hand motions and harmony. they really were very good. shortly after they were up, we had a chance to be introduced and to sing 3 songs. we were not nearly as good. in fact, we were very bad. our guitar was out of tune, and so were we. but we had no rhythm without it. the congregation was kind to us and applauded our efforts, and pastor steve then explained that while we love to sing, we are really here to work and not to sing.

steve preached an hour long message with darby translating. he was preaching from john piper's booklet, For Your Joy. he shared the gospel very clearly, and somebody later expressed to him how good it was to hear biblical truth. thank you for praying for his message.

when the service ended, we had an opportunity to pray for anybody who wanted to come forward. we didn't all have translators, so we didn't know what requests they had, nor did they know what we were praying, but they seemed genuinely appreciative of our ministry to them. to the left is a picture of lisa s and jaclyn k praying for a haitian woman.

we left promptly as soon as we realized that a storm was approaching. this was a concern because of all of the people sitting on the outsides of the trucks. we started out, but the storm became so heavy that we had to pull over and take shelter in the front of a small building. we stood there, soaked and cold, for nearly an hour. the haitian men with us graciously ran through the rain to get us some large tarps for the truck beds and roofs. here is a picture of ryan attaching the tarp to one of the trucks.

the storm never did pass, so we set out again when the rain was much lighter. to the left is a picture of kristina w, carie b and lisa g huddled under a tarp. it turned out that the tarp was collecting exhaust and making it hard to breathe, so we couldn't use it. so we rode down the mountain in the rain, making the best of the situation. at one point we had to pull over because there was a problem with the brakes of one of the trucks. they were overheated, so we let them cool off, and splashed some water on them, while we ate our packaged lunches. after 10 minutes or so, we set out again and finally made it safely back "home" around 5 or so. thanks again for your prayers for safety! we have been uncomfortable at times, but have been spared so far from any really serious situations.

today, monday, we are split up. the construction team is working at the village, with robin v cooking and lisa g and anna b doing child care. the medical team is about halfway up the mountain, doing a clinic. the rest of the group is going all the way back up by the church. they are doing demolition and cleaning in the morning, and will be doing a vacation bible school in the afternoon. yesterday we learned that many people who attend the church were saved during vbs camps hosted by missionaries when they were children. this really excited our team about the potential impact they could have.

please keep praying, and sharing your comments. we love to hear from you!