Cold Protest

My garden frog is not happy. April 28th and the forecast for tonight is low 30's with possibility of snow flurries.

Even the trout lilies have closed their petals in protest.

Great Expectations

Waiting is hard. From red lights to pregnancies most of us are let's-get-on-with-it type creatures. And when it comes to impatience... I am the chiefest of sinners.

I strained hard today to see if they were coming up. But hard as I looked, I could find no signs of emergence just yet... no shoots, no cracks in last year's mulch. Ironic, don't you think, that my Great Expectations hostas are among the latest of my hostas to emerge? I know they're in there, those shoots of cells... multiplying and arranging just so. But I want to see. It would be so fun to see.

But, hard as it is, waiting is good. If hope is the "expectation of something good" then I have lots of that. Something really really good is just around the corner, just out of sight.

*Note: you can zoom in on the picture by clicking on it. Zoom away... all you'll see is mulch.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Heb. 11:1

Li Leve Vivan!

Rising up from beautiful village churches all around La Gonave: "Li leve vivan!" He has risen!

He has risen indeed.

Toys

Kites are a common site in Haiti, making and flying them a favorite child's pasttime. Check out this one... it's about as high as the moon.

If you want to see creativity and ingenuity, watch a Haitian child create toys out of pretty much nothing (this kite fashioned from a plastic garbage bag). "Toys of Haiti" would be an interesting picture book (probably a good one for American kids to look at). Think I'll start taking pictures.

Helleborus: First Flowers of Michigan Spring

This patch of Hellebores (a.k.a. Lenten Roses) are growing up in our woods. They're among the first bloomers around our place and they hold their blooms all season long. The flowers, instead of wilting and falling apart, dry and pale out, and remain in the garden as dried flowers. They self seed easily and, unlike my hosta shoots, the deer and rabbits leave them alone.

They are not stocked at too many nurseries and if you do find them, they're fairly expensive, usually more than $12-15 per pot.

Now, if I could just fill my woods with them...

Cholera Hospital / Clinic

I stopped by this little boy's cot at the cholera field hospital last week. His little body was fighting to survive this quick and terrible illness. I hope he'll survive. I think he will... most do if they can get to a hospital in time for IV fluids to get started.

You don't hear much about Haiti's cholera problem any more, what with all the other news vieing for the world's attention. It is still a big issue down here. Word has it that 1,000 people are contracting cholera every day here. As of last week, just our little field hospital on La Gonave has seen 406 cholera cases. 12 have died here. And this is the dry season. The rainy season is arriving real soon and the worry is that this could accelerate the number of cases we are seeing.

Starfysh is covering the costs of staffing this clinic. We also have two large pallets of IV fluids and tubing kits currently enroute down.

. . . While the Snow is Still on the Roses

Michigan woke up this morning to two inches of snow. (A week ago we had a high of 84 degrees). The snow really jazzes up my Lenten Roses, don't you think?

I walk through the garden alone while the dew, er... snow... is still on the roses...

Donkey Shy

Ran into alot of nice folks last week. This man and his burro stopped for a picture. It's obvious his burro was pretty camera shy.

Today being Palm Sunday, our message in church this morning was based on the Scriptural account of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem while riding on a donkey. When we read the passage it made me think of what Mother Theresa said one time. In responding to someone praising her for her life's work she deflected, "Thank you, but do you think that, when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday, that the donkey thought it was all about him?"

My back is kinda sore today. Hope I carried Jesus well this week.

You Gave Me Something to Drink

I have enjoyed moving about the island of La Gonave for the past few days, visiting several of her beautiful villages that I've not been to in the past. These kids lived in a little home near the village well.

Water (clean and close) continues to be the single most important and urgent need in Haiti, particularly on the island of La Gonave. Ironic, don't you think, that an island surrounded by more water than you can imagine struggles so with the availability of fresh, not salty water. The problem is that salt-removing reverse osmosis and other desalination systems are very costly to maintain. Village wells, chlorination programs, and various types of water filtration systems are what are required for the kind of water that won't make people sick.

"I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink." Matthew 25:35a

First Water

Still on Haiti's mainland. I attended a three hour long (yikes!) village development meeting this afternoon, listening to the people that live there (71 households) work out the details of maintaining the well that would go into operation in their village (i.e., hours it would be open, what wage to pay the well guard, how much to charge for water, etc.). They ended up agreeing that they would collect 15 Gourdes per month per household (approx. 38 cents American) that they would use to save for well maintenance and repair costs down the road. Completely self-sufficient and sustainable. The picture here shows the first water out of the well.

Out to La Gonave tomorrow.

Pumps, Piping, Cisterns

Spent the morning with a development worker (a water systems engineer) seeing how they are bringing water to the community they're working in. I learned alot about pumps and cisterns and energy sources and piping issues. Truly impressive, amazing work.

This picture was taken about an hour ago... villagers washing clothes and bathing at a spring. Sadly the water is contaminated (due primarily to human factors. (I think clicking on the picture will let you zoom in a bit).

Why Pirates Say "Arrgh"

Spent the entire day on Haiti's mainland today, meeting with people a lot smarter than me when it comes to doing development work here. Visited lots of village wells. Will be going to a village well management committee meeting tomorrow. All Haitian.

During our travels today we ran across this little rum distillery. Had to jump out of the truck and check it out. Any of you rum drinkers out there should probably drink something else. This was truly nasty. The rum of pirates.

Ohhh, so that's why pirates say Arrgh!

Brown Hair

Perusing my pics, I ran across this 18 year old photo taken during the early years of my travels to Haiti. This little boy's family lived down near the airstrip. In case you're wondering, this is Rickets, caused from lack of vitamin D. Very sad.

Check the brown hair I used to have!

Jumping on a plane in less than two hours. I'll blog if I can, but it is very hard from where I go. We'll see.

Pray for me. I'm going alone this time. Pray for safefy and productivity.

Lots of Ibuprofen

It's going to be a rocky start to your morning commute. Leave early... traffic is moving well below posted speeds. And remember... yield the right of way to the women and children hauling water all along the way. And if you've got room for a weary traveler, stop and let them hop in. "Do unto others..." as Someone has said.

As you can see, getting around on La Gonave is difficult and slow. And in order to deliver people and supplies, we are looking for vehicles that can handle roads like what you see here.

And ibuprofen... we'll need lots of ibuprofen.

Heading Down

Heading down to Haiti this Sunday. I'll be meeting with the folks who will be drilling village wells on the island of La Gonave. I'll also be readying our small guesthouse for our first work team scheduled for late May / early June.

I'd love you to come visit me on La Gonave sometime.

Container Items Released

I'd like to introduce you to my granddaugher, Sophie. She is the apple of Grandpa's eye. I love Sophie so much.

I just received news that several of our container shipments have finally been released from Haitian customs! (The one with all our feeding program supplies has been there since last August). I must be honest... it has been aggravating to me to see good will held hostage by inefficiencies along the way. And, while I confess it is aggravating at times, I am at strange peace about it, knowing that these "inefficiencies" are but symptoms of much larger, structural illness. I've been losing no sleep over the stuff on the dock.

We have acquired a small guesthouse on the island that will serve as a great project staging grounds here in the early going. As things grow over time, we might need more, but this is perfect for now. We are outfitting it (generator/electricity, water, furniture, etc.) now and it will be ready for our first official work team slated to come in late May. I am excited.

I am learning that this adventure of moving with God is not just the taking of one step of faith and then your're good to go after that, but that seemingly every step that follows is also an act of faith. It's all good, mind you... no complaining. It's just scary sometimes.

I need your help, those of you reading this, and I'm just throwing this out there... in faith, knowing that God works through those who love and follow him: We need island transportation.

Until now we've been borrowing and renting vehicles to get us around and we can't continue to do that much longer. We have figured out how we're getting the vehicles down there. Now we need to just find them.

We need...

Two - Heavy Duty (e.g., 3/4 ton) Diesel trucks.

Two - Hauling Capacity 4-Wheel ATV's

Two - 125cc Motorcycles (we can purchase these right there in Haiti for about $1200 each)

We could also really use some warehouse space here in Grand Rapids where we can stage the supplies enroute to the island. Maybe even one with a small office in it.

If any of you out there in blogland and facebookland has connections with folks who would like to donate to a cause that can bring radical, transforming change to a little island in Haiti... would you mind putting in a good word? You can use the www.starfysh.org site as a resource in talking to them.

Thanks folks. We are doing some very cool things for a very desperate people.

Blessings,

Steve

Clean, Close Water

We recently placed bio-sand water filters in twenty Haitian family's homes. These simple, inexpensive systems provide great tasting, safe, clean water and will continue to do so for 10 years with very little maintenance. You can tell by the smiles that they're really happy to have good water.

The last time I was in Haiti I ventured up to a little village where there was no water. There was no well and no nearby springs. Villagers had to walk several miles (each way) to get water out of a ground spring which, I have since learned, is contaminated. The only source of water is any rainwater they can catch off their tin roofs.

More than 90,000 people on La Gonave have no clean water to drink. The most common cause of death here is not TB or AIDS or even malaria. It's diarrhea... from bad water. Friends, this is just wrong.

We cannot stand idly by.

Call me crazy, but I think we can do something about this, with God's help. There are many levels of how we will address the problem (well-drilling, public filtration systems, in-home filters, etc.). This year we will do it for one village, next year... two.

History All Over the Place

My family had the awesome opportunity to take a private tour of the West Wing of the White House a few weeks ago. I remember standing in the doorway of the Oval Office and trying to imagine all the history that went on in the very spot I stood... the decisions, the dramas. I stood in front of priceless paintings and famous furniture, the Resolute Desk behind which nearly every president since Taft has agonized over weighty matters. I stood outside the door of the Situation Room and stuck my head in the Cabinet Room.

History all over the place.

Crocs for Haiti

A colleague of mine stopped by the house the other evening, along with his ten-year-old, Ellie. I had never met Ellie. They had in their hands two very large plastic bags full of Crocs.

Ellie's heart, it turns out, had been touched by the post-earthquake images of the kids in Haiti who had no shoes to wear, and she decided to do something about it. She went to her school principal and asked if she could make a all-school announcement. "Crocs for Haiti" was her project and she boldly asked her friends to help. Within a few days she had more Crocs than she could carry. Gotta love Ellie! Because of her perceptive eye and sensitive heart, about a hundred kids will have shoes to wear.

"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them..." Mark 6:34a

... Reminds me of Ellie.

Test blog

Test blog
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Test blog

Test blog entry. Trying to configure my blackberry to allow me to blog from remote areas in Haiti.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Old Friends, New Friends

I attended the Midwest Haiti Partners Conference in Grand Rapids today and had the privilege of having Dr. Jean C. Alexandre stop by our booth. Dr. Alexandre is Haiti's former ambassador to the United Nations who also served as vice president of the UN General Assembly. These days Dr. Alexandre is a practicing OB/GYN physician. He is an extremely accomplished, smart and nice man.

He was excited to hear about Starfysh's focused and holistic approach to addressing poverty on the island of La Gonave.

I met a lot of other interesting folks today, too, including an old friend from a mission trip to Haiti back in 1998.

A Good Noogie

Right after the public launch of Starfysh (November 18th) one of my partners was deployed to Iraq for four months of overseeing the medical operations at the US base in Mosul. (This was his third deployment since 2001, one to Afghanistan, two to Iraq). He returns in a couple of weeks, so my schedule at the office should no longer own me. (Frank, I love you man, but I'm gonna give you a good noogie when I see you). Just kidding. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves. He is also a veteran of the Viet Nam war. The picture to the left is Frank standing in front of a bunch of valentines that Sue's Young Five's class sent him. That pic landed on the front page of our newspaper.

Needless to say, I've had to "mind the store" back home, and I've not been able to get to Haiti since launch. I had a brief (long weekend) visit planned, but we had a blizzard on the day I would have left. (The weather people were calling it "a storm of historic proportions." It indeed was historic... I've never not left my house for three days straight). I've also not blogged much. (I've heard about that plenty too. Even my wife has told me I needed to get on the ball and start writing again). I have been writing, just not blogging.

Starfysh is now a year young. There is much to share...

One Year Ago Today

Entry 12:45 PM. One year ago this minute, Haiti was home to one of the worst disasters in recent memory.... later that day an earthquake hit.

A Year Ago

I want to thank NASA for running up and taking this picture of Haiti for me. The island there in the middle, that's La Gonave, home to 100,000 precious people.

One year ago this week a terrible thing happened. On January 12, 2009, at 4:53 in the afternoon the earth shook Haiti hard for about one half minute. "This was our 9-11," I remember someone saying.

Who Knew.

We are getting ready to ship this 6-ft. tall pallet of IV fluids to La Gonave to have it ready should cholera hit the island full force during 2011. As is always the case with container shipments to Haiti, this will likely take months to clear... all the more reason to get it on its way as soon as we can.

(We are STILL waiting on our feeding program supplies to be released from customs, shipped from Michigan in August).

The mainstay of cholera treatment is rapid fluid replacement. Because of cholera's sudden onset and rapid disease course, many on the island will not be able to get to these waiting IV's. Should cholera break out on the other side of La Gonave (several days' walk / burro ride from the hospital), the IV's and supplies could be moved by boat or truck to that site where medical personnel could use them to save lives.

Who knew, last January 2nd, the events that lay in store for us in 2010? Who knew.

Faithful

54 years old and diggin' this grandpa thing.

I guess I'm weird... Most people, when I ask them if they make resolutions say they don't. But I do. Every year.

They're never specific. Vague bullet points more than anything... Eat smarter. Simplify. Pray more. Write more. Stuff like that.

This is the week, the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, that I'll start thinking about mine for 2011.

Looking back, my resolutions have never really stuck. I fail. I forget. I fail and I forget... every time.

I will always and forever look back at 2010 as a watershed year in my life. Exhilarating. Exhausting. Humbling. Gratifying.

In the final analysis, resolutions kept or not, the main thing I want to be able to say at the end of each year is that I've been faithful to God's call on my life.

To be faithful... not a bad resolution.

Cholera Update

Thanks to your kind donations, we were able to wire $10,000 directly to the village hospital, where, immediately, construction supplies (wood, etc.) were purchased and workers were hired (Haitian workers by the way). And TODAY we are erecting a free-standing cholera treatment clinic, isolated from the regular hospital and clinic. Large army tents (the ones used to house hospital patients in the days after the earthquake) will be erected atop raised, plywood platforms. Elevated latrines are being contstructed, under which large plastic waste containers will prevent cholera-containing human waste from seeping into the ground water.

We have determined that the cholera we are seeing on La Gonave right now has three origins:

the village of Pointe des Lataniers (small, northwest seashore village),

Bodin (small, southwest seashore village),

and the mainland (people who have contracted cholera on the mainland and then traveled over to the island).

As I write, we know of no cases of cholera which have been contracted from the water in the village where our hospital is. This, of course, is very good. But as long as there is even one active case, a wider epidemic remains a worrisome possibility. People in the village are, understandably, a bit worried (and perturbed) that the cholera patients are coming to their village to the hospital. Hence the isolation hospital.

Please keep La Gonave in your prayers. They don't deserve this.

Good Times

Someone took this picture of my daughter, Katie, and me on our way to a small seaside church down the coast some 45 minutes by boat. Friends, it doesn't get much better than this. Good times.

You know you're serious about mission work when you wear hats like that to church.

Cholera on La Gonave

Just minutes ago I received word that cholera has reached La Gonave in a more than sporadic way: 40 confirmed cases (13 of which are currently at our hospital). At least three persons have died, but everyone who has reached medical care at the hospital has survived. There is another possible "hot spot" in one of the villages on the island and an assessment team is on their way now to that spot.

As I type, a temporary facility is being constructed near the hospital for the purpose of isolating all cholera patients from the rest of the community.

We have an immediate need:

1. Pray for God's help here. Cholera is serious and rapid.

2. Huge amounts of disposable items are required immediately (sheets, linens, etc.).

3. Immediate funds are required to erect this temporary (or not-so-temporary?) field unit (purchase wood to construct beds, purchase tank sprayers, etc.). We will place some supplies on a container to be sent down, but those containers take awhile to arrive and be cleared (2-3 months!). As important as this is, the unfortunate reality is that this does not help them TODAY.

4. Pray that panic will not occur. Panic would be absolutely counter-productive. What is needed is order, cooperation, level-headedness, and unity.

I am still processing this and will keep you posted.

Steve

Surrounded by the Greats

I must tell you the truth. I am frustrated that all our supplies for feeding kids are still held up in customs. We are pretty much ready to go otherwise... just waiting for a call. Lord, give me patience and do it quickly.

I have had SO many congratulations and kind words said about our launch event a couple of weeks ago. Everybody thought it was a great success and, while I agree with that, I do wish it would have been a bit longer...

For one, I missed connecting with tons of people! I am STILL learning of some of you who were there that I never got a chance to even say hi to. Yikes!

Secondly, I really would have liked to take some time and acknowledge some of the people that were there who had far greater credentials than I will ever have: heads of well-established non-profit organizations who have been moving heaven and earth in Haiti for years, career missionaries to Haiti, doctors and agriculturalists and pastors who have sacrificed more and have more experience and knowledge of Haiti in their pinky finger than I'll ever possess. Just moments before I took the stage, Dr. Kris Thede pressed into my hand a book she had written which JUST came off the press just a couple weeks earlier. It is a health and wellness book she wrote... IN CREOLE... for the Haitian people. Why wasn't the likes of Dr. Thede on stage instead of me?

In the very kind introductions given me that night, several commented that I was a humble man. Hmm. That's tricky. I mean, how do you respond to that one? If you "aw, shucks" it and shrug it off, well, that's just weird. But if you sit there and nod that you agree you're humble, well, that's just as weird.

But I've thought about it long enough to have formulated my answer: I agree. I am humble. There, I said it. But, please understand, it's only because I find myself (actually I'm placing myself) in the presence of giants. Giants in faith, giants in deeds. Giants in dedicated, sacrificial service. I guess I'm a groupie.

It's easy to be humble when you're surrounded by the greats.

Blessings,

Steve

PS Help me pray our feeding program cookware out of Port-au-Prince customs!

PSS Sorry, Kris, to single you out, but you and Cory are modern day heroes!

I am Thankful

I am thankful for water: running, clean, and close.

I am thankful for food: plentiful and safe.

I am thankful for shelter: I will stay warm and dry tonight, tomorrow too.

I am thankful for a loving family and good friends. I am blessed having people around me that love me in spite of my screw-ups, quirks, hang-ups and idiosyncrasies.

I am thankful for carpet and smooth roads. For lights in my home and a flush toilet. For measles shots and for mosquitos that don't carry germs that will kill me. For farmers markets and shoes that fit. For a mattress and a soft pillow.

LORD, God, teach me how to do more than just be thankful. Teach me how to pass along your blessing to those less blessed than me.

The Most Valuable Thing

Here are a few pics from launch night. As it usually goes, pictures don't do justice to how things looked and felt.

The most valuable thing in the room was not the multimillion dollar jet backdrop. It was my granddaughter, Sophie, apple of Grandpa's eye. What a night!

On Our Way

A couple nights ago about 385 (they say) friends of mine gathered at an airport hangar, of all places, to talk about what could be. It was fun and humbling. People asked if I was nervous. Yes, of course, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

I've heard it said that if you're nervous when you go up in front of a crowd, just imagine that everyone you're talking to is sitting out there in their underwear. This tactic did not work for me, for when I looked out over the crowd I saw many of my patients. And it occurred to me that I had, in fact, already seen them in their underwear.

I was not comforted.

I really do appreciate you who came out to "hang" out with me last Thursday. I am really blessed with great friends. I did start to get a little edgy about the kind words being said. I told someone afterward that I felt in a way like I had attended my own funeral. But there I was, sitting in a chair, sweating and fidgety, so I guess I wasn't dead after all.

It was, of course, in the script to have a few folks endorse me a bit. I felt like it was important for people to know that I was serious about this Haiti thing and that I had somewhat of a history of proactivity down there. But, friends, you have to admit it got a little soupy and long.

At any rate, do know that I so appreciate the kindness shown me, not just on launch night, but leading up to it, and since then too. I have a good life. I thank God for you all.

Well, it occurs to me as I sit here blogging that I don't have any pictures of the ordeal to post. It was one time I didn't think to have a camera on me! I've seen a few pics out there, but I don't yet have them. When I get a few, I'll post them.

Also, I want to thank a bunch of folks for things they've done for Starfysh on my behalf. I think thanks-giving will be my next post.

We are on our way!

Overwhelmed and humbled,

Steve

One in One Hundred

Every so often you get a great picture, and this is one of mine: this man and child enjoying a cold lemonade together. Wonder what they were thinking right at that moment?

I visited a small mountain village last week. They call it Fontina. They tell me 422 families live in Fontina. Where there is no working well, and where they have to walk 4 - 5 miles to get their water. To boot, water from that spring has tested contaminated. Fontina, where 22 people died last month. That's one percent. 1 out of every 100 people in that village died last month, many of them from diarrheal illness... from bad water.

I think if we band together, you and I, we could do something about this.

One week from tonight I am gathering with friends to talk about stuff like this and to formally and publicly launch Starfysh. If you're free, I'd love you to join me.

Blessings,

Steve

Picture Day

One of the very cool things that a couple members of our team (Stacy and his daughter, Hannah) did a couple weeks ago in Haiti was to take school pictures of every single student at this school of 900 students. They had NEVER had school pictures. After two days of all day picture taking, Stacy transmitted them via email up here to Michigan where his wife picked them up, sorted them, and shipped them, along with frames, down with my daughter Katie who had the fun of distributing them. So they each received a nice 4x6 portrait in a frame AND a sheet of 4 wallet-sized pics.

That, friends, is what I call "good stuff." Bringing smiles and pleasure to kids who are hungry and hot is not all a bad thing. Plus, as soon as our cookware and tableware gets released from customs in Port-au-Prince, we can take care of the hungry issue too. Hope the cameras are rollin' for those smiles! We're hoping soon (A.K.A. any day!). Everything is pretty much in place. Propane fuel tanks and fuel are there and waiting.

Thanks to you all who are sending your gifts. Remember every $15 feeds a kid for a school month.

It is so wrong that my heart nearly bursts with things to share... these experiences and reflections and mini-epiphanies... but that I let my busyness and urgencies crowd out my actually sharing. Somehow I have convinced myself that my rantings and ruminations must first pass the muster of proper grammar and coherence before I push the "publish post" button. Naw... who am I kidding? Who cares about that gobbledy gook? It's not as if I talk like that when I bump into you at the store. I hereby resolve, then, to share more often.

Next Thursday, exactly nine months to the day since we lifted off en-route to earthquake-devastated Haiti, I will be gathering with a room full of friends to share my vision of what could be for a tiny island in Haiti. And the cool thing? We'll be meeting on the very floor space in the very hangar where we staged our equipment supplies and personnel before loading up on the plane. You're all welcome. Come to the Amway Hangar at Gerald Ford International Airport in Kentwood, Michigan. Get there before 7 as parking could be tricky. Details / map / RSVP button at http://www.starfysh.org

Hope to see you there!

Steve

Gotta Come

Well, I take my team back to the mainland this morning for a day of rest and recuperation. They have worked hard and accomplished much this week. I'll take them to the airport to go home on Saturday and I'll pick up another small team and bring them back to the island with me. My daughter, Katie, will be on that team, so I'm excited about that too.

I love to bring teams down. To be sure, part of it is the fact that we can get lots of things done. The biggest thing for me, though, is that I love to share Haiti with folks. I remember experiencing it for the first time back in the early 90’s and how my worldview was pretty much turned upside down as a result. And I’m just convinced that being here is the only way to do it. Wikipedia can’t do it. Neither can power point.

Wanna find out about Haiti? Gotta come. If you’re interested in coming down with me sometime let me know. I’d love to bring you with.

Li Gou

Today I am happy to finally say that after months of waiting the xray system has finally been installed and calibrated. Three staff are being inserviced on its use right now. We are up and running! Thank you Bill Wright and Connie Pennock-Root for coming down for the install and inservice. Thanks too to Radiology Imaging Solutions and Spectrum Butterworth Radiology Department for their kind and generous donations of (expensive!) equipment and xray film. I love seeing collaborations like these come together.

Today my team went to a place locals call “the poor house." Here reside fifteen of this world’s most down-and-out creatures. The reason they are there, though, is that in addition to being poor, they have no one. No family who they can live with. No one. When I heard someone mention it several months ago, I walked down through the village and found them: “the least of these.”

Their cinderblock “home” consists of a couple of long-ish buildings, each with three rooms. Thankfully there is a latrine. They cook over small charcoal fires built on the ground. Their rooms have rocky, lumpy dirt floors. There are no beds at all. Everyone (not hyperbole here... EVERYONE) sleeps either on the dirt bedroom floors or on the uneven concrete porch or in the yard. The inside walls have never been painted and are so dirty black that when you step into the rooms it is like walking in to a cave. It is so dark you cannot see. And since there is no electricity you can only imagine the blackness that night brings around there.

The outside walls were once that characteristic bright green so popular in Haiti. But dirt and grime now cover those walls; they are anything but bright.

The concrete cistern that catches rainwater off their roof has cracks in it, so it leaks.

The people here are older folks, for the most part, although there are a few children. It is a pretty quiet place, where you’ll not find a whole lot of hope or happiness.

Today we painted rooms a light yellow and put smooth concrete on the floors of their rooms. We installed a small solar panel on the roof, which provides electricity for four LED lights. Tomorrow we’ll deliver 15 really nice beds that several of the guys built. And we’ll put mattresses and sheets on each one. And we’ll patch the cistern, so they don’t lose perfectly-good water.

My role for this particular trip down here has been that of overseer/coordinator so I’ve done a lot of troubleshooting and walkie-talkie-type stuff. When I rounded on the poor house this afternoon, I took with me one of those big orange coolers full of ice-cold lemon aid. After admiring the work being done, then, I filled these little plastic cups and just passed them out for these parched, dusty, beautiful people to drink. One old man was blind, and I had to crouch down and press in close in order to press the glass to his lips so he could have cold lemonaid. Between his swallows and as I lifted the cup back and forth to his lips I could hear his weak voice repeating over and over... "Li gou, Li gou" "It is good. It is good." One of the more poignant moments of my life.

Thanks, Freddy, for grabbing a camera and capturing this moment. I owe you one.

The Announcements

I saw this young boy at the hospital today. He suffers from cholera.

I heard from someone today that this cholera thing is all over the news up in the States. I don't know exactly how bad it is that they're reporting, but I do know that right now, just a hundred yards from me and my laptop are a several people recovering from this quick and terrible disease. I think, at least I hope, that they will be fine. Treatment for cholera is pretty effective with antibiotics and aggressive rehydration. The problem is that many cannot reach medical care before they are very, very sick.

I went to the church right down the road with my team this morning and the whole service was good. But I want to tell you about "the announcements." I frequently "do the announcements" at my own church back home, but I've never had to do announcements like theirs.

They only had one announcement today. The announcement in this church (and I'm guessing every other church in Haiti) today was about cholera: what it is, how to recognize it, how to avoid it, and what to do if you come down with it. They described how it is contracted through the water. They cautioned their people to not drink out of the river nor use that water to bathe or wash clothes. They explained the importance of good hand washing, of seeking immediate medical attention if they experienced rice-colored diarrhea. In very plain and frank terms they explained that cholera could kill them. And this is exactly how the announcement in church this morning ended: "If you get cholera you might die. Do you want to die or do you want to live? We want to see you next week, so follow this advice so we can see you next week."

Well, that about does it for the announcements in Haiti today. I guess I think of "the announcements" a little differently now.

Please pray for this little island of precious people. I don't want them to die. I want to see them next week.

Steve

Cholera

Arrived on the island this afternoon after a long day of travel. Loaded down our 32-foot boat HEAVY with project equipment, tools, and supplies and people. In the process of loading, my Blackberry fell into the water. Aargh!

Cholera is here on the island. This is very concerning, of course, as we do not know how widespread this could become. We will be fine... we are drinking safe water, but the vast majority of people on this island do not have access to potable water.

I'll keep you posted

Steve

I Have Much to Share

These children were forced to have class outside because of the severe earthquake damage to their school building. This week we will be building them a roof to cover them from the sun and rain.

Early tomorrow morning I will arrive in Haiti for a two-week period. I have 16 people coming down at various times over that time to hang out with me and to work with me and to, hopefully, capture a piece of the vision I have for La Gonave... this dot on anyone's world map. A dot that would probably disappear if you placed a push pin on it. But a dot where 100,000 souls live under the same sun that shines on you and me, and who breathe the same exact oxygen atoms that we have breathed in also, at one time or another. We cohabit this ball, these Haitians and me, and it makes me think. Why am I so lucky?"

Today, my forced exhale betrays my impatience over someone who cut the line in the airport McDonalds. Tomorrow, I'll hold hands with a kid who hasn't eaten in three days. And I'll remember again that God gave breath to both of us. And that we are brothers.

I ask for your prayers for Haiti this week. In a land where, already, diarrhea is the primary cause of childhood death, cholera has raised her ugly head, stealing 140-some lives here over the last couple of days.

I'll probably blog alot while I'm here. I have much to share.

Steve

Perspective

A few weeks ago I took a professional videographer to Haiti with me and we spent time doing an aerial video survey of much of the island of La Gonave. I enjoyed seeing the island and villages from different angles and perspectives. Evan Fiddler, there in the back, enjoyed seeing the island while pretty much dangling out the open side of our plane.

Evan gathered great footage. I gathered a fresh perspective and deeper appreciation of an island and her people.

I'd like you to come

There it is, 12 miles across deep, warm Caribbean waters... LaGonave. Where life is hard for 100,000 people. Where I have chosen to make my difference, with God's help.

On Thursday, November 18, 2010, we introduce Starfysh to the world. I'd like you to come.

Mark your calendars.

Steve