3 Feet from the Sun

Today the construction crew was able to make some good progress on the house in Village of Hope. The house is a duplex designed for a few elderly folks...it's about the size of most of your garages. We've been working on the roof which will be all concrete and ready for a second floor to be added if need be. The work was very tedious...AND HOT! The Haitian work crew are very hard workers, but today even they were dragging a little bit in the 100+ degree weather. It felt like Haiti was 3 feet from the sun.
Every day there is a steady stream of Jacmel residents that stop by the worksite to visit "Chuckie and the Gang." The language barrier is difficult while we work but hilarious while we visit. Jonesie (John D) and Shugie stop by every day after school. Their visit today ended in a water fight! Jonesie speaks 3 languages and thinks he's a hip-hop star. Shugie calls Chuck his brother and currently has a machete wound on his hand that we've been treating. His uncle wacked him for reaching across the table for food. These two teens would fit right in with our youth at SonLight!
Haiti is a beautiful country. We're building our house on a small lot nestled between Miss Tina's school, a voodoo priestess's house, the Hands and Feet Orphanage (run by the guys from Audio Adrenaline), the old Village of Hope flooded during last year's hurricane, and the base of a beautiful mountain.
The work is hard. The conditions are horrifying. The country is broken. But these kids we're staying with are adorable, fat, healthy, and learning. The folks here eat lobster like we eat chicken and we get to cool off in what might as well be our own private Carribean lagoon! And if that weren't enough...we get to see what God has been doing here. In every interaction we have with the missionaries, pastors, students, and locals we hear that God is good and that God is healing this broken country. More importantly God is saving individuals and we get to join in the work!
-Jared