Monday, September 2

Today is David's 20th birthday.  Today is also Labor Day.  To celebrate, we had a work day.  Before work, we joined the daily devotions on a small outside amphitheater which overlooked the ravine.  Neil led from John 10 (the Good Shepherd) and one of the Haitians translated for the  20 or so Haitians who were there.  A great passage in a great setting.

David and I worked on the lighting in the outpatient clinic, which has been without lighting for a very long time.  The waiting room was dark, the hallway outside the waiting room was dark, and all the examination rooms were dark, lit only by what light came in through the windows.  The clinic is part of the hospital and serves about 100,000 people per year.

The Hospital (It's bigger than it looks from here)

So we spent the day on ladders, replacing ballasts and re-wiring light fixtures.  Several times throughout the day we would get a soft tap on the shoulder or an expression in Creole, and someone would motion us to another room containing a dead light fixture.  We eventually ran out of ballasts and had to stop for the day.

Some problems were rather obvious, and those even remotely familiar with how these fixtures should look will recognize the problem with this one (and it's not missing bulbs):

Meanwhile, Abigail was sewing sheets for use in the conference center (There's 90 beds to make up!), and also small marble pouches for the kids.  Deb helped paint a bedroom for one of the MKs (Missionary Kids).  The desired color was made by mixing a few colors together.  When they ran out of paint, they had to do more mixing.  Hopefully it will match when it dries..  This was not your formula-based paint matching.

We had dinner with the missionary families in a dining room below one of the residences.  Large pots of rice & beans, chicken in a dark sauce, salad from the terrace gardens, and chocolate banana pie made for a great meal with our new friends and family in Christ.