Cardio nightmare

Last night was an interesting night. It was hot but I like sleeping in the heat so I did fine. With 3 fans going I slept like a rock and that was the general consensus of the group.  The only time I woke up was when the generator ran out of gas and made a huge bang which scared me half to death. We were awoken by the worlds most overachieving rooster who started crowing before the sun came up at about 4:30 and didn't stop the rest of the time we were there. Breakfast was amazing as I had hoped. Fresh pineapple, eggs with hot sauce, toast and coffee gave everyone a good kickstart at 6:30. We loaded up the trucks again except we replaced the Nissan Urvan with a much, much more offroad capable Nissan Patrol, thus completing the list of offroad vehicles that I want to own in my lifetime but that is for another post.  We took off in to town to pick up our translator for the day who I hope we keep for the week because he was really cool. From there we left for the hotel where we are staying now to drop off our bag before we made the trek in to the mountains. When we arrived, I couldn't believe what I saw. We went through a gate in a high wall and saw a very nice looking 4 story hotel. Inside was better. Through floor to ceiling windows in the back of the open front lobby we saw the Haitian west coast.  A huge in ground pool greeted us when we went through the sliding glass doors and a balcony overlooked the ocean. I will post a picture if the wifi lets me. The beach is short, less than 20 yards from the end of the balcony and it is really rocky.  We could only hang out for a minute but the place is so nice that I could hardly believe it.  We began the trek in to the mountains by saying goodbye to Ronald. He said he would try to come see us before we leave for the states but he made it sound like a longshot. The first part of the journey was really easy.  We took paved roads till a little ways in to the foot hills. The real fun started when that all stopped. The road up the mountains was "paved" with rocks imbedded in concrete but only for about two feat under each tire. So to paint a picture for you, this is a one lane road going up a mountain, "paved" under each wheel, angling up in some places what had to be over 55 degrees. All that aside the beauty of this country took my breath away for the millionth time. Matt Noblitt, Rachel, and Drew rode in the back seat and somehow along the ride on paved ground we got on the subject of vertical cell phone pictures and videos vs the correct way (horizontal) and Matt and Drew got in a competition about who could take the most artsy cell phone pictures, so look for those two Facebook albums in the coming weeks. The views out of every window could have made it in national geographic but no picture, cell phone or DSLR will ever come close to doing it justice. After about an hour we made it to where I thought we would be working. Over 3/4ths of the way up the mountain we stopped and backed in to what looked like someone's driveway and then hiked about a half mile to the water project that was actually pretty much finished. According to Franky all it really needs is a filter and a reservoir tank. Basically the way it was explained made it sound like there was a well there, the 410 Bridge tapped in to it, built the piping system and concrete base and laid the foundation for a reservoir tank and left an opening for the filter. He said it should be done in like two weeks. From the well/spring/water project (which I forgot to mention was operational, just constantly watering surrounding fields) we could see banana tree groves, corn stalks and a big blue mesh roof. The mesh was covering coffee seedlings which apparently need a very specific humidity and temperature. We didn't get to go down there but Franky said we would probably go tomorrow.  We walked from there about another half mile to the community's church were we held a slightly awkward Q and A with the community leaders. This led in to singing some of our favorite worship songs and they sang theirs. One Ethan recognized as a Michael W. Smith song, sang in Creole but I forgot which one. We took a quick break to get a quick snack in before we went down the mountain a little ways to play and hang out with the local kids at another church. Franky was in a very in depth discussion with Tom so we followed one of the community leaders and our translator who told me later that he had no clue where we were going. We walked down this path for a ways and I immediately understood why we could only drive part of the way. Memories of running hills during summer training in high school hockey came rushing in to my head, only this was my nightmare of a training session. After carefully walking to the bottom, we were all convinced that the only way we were getting back up that hill before dark (or at all) was a miracle from God. But more on that later. We made our way to the bottom and entered another church/classroom. There we set up camp to play with the kids. The VBS team did a great job coming up with supples. We had nail polish, face paint, giant bubble wands, crayons, coloring books, and jump ropes. I chose my weapon wisely in the form of a giant bubble wand. I would blow bubbles for the kids and it got to the point where they were swatting them out of the air almost before the bubbles came off the wand. Now I say I chose wisely because explaining the concept of blowing bubbles has to transcend any and every language simply in the form of gestures. Turns out that thought was way off but most of the kids got the general idea when I let them give it a shot. So with incredibly soapy hands and an empty soap container due to a few over zealous bubble blowing attempts by both myself and the Haitian children I put it away and began getting a little video footage since Matt Smith's camera died. I tried swinging a jump rope for some kids but as it turns out the only guy who can do it right is Sean, who come to think of it was the only guy to pick up nail polish too... Turns out that just made him all the more desirable to hang out with though because from what I could tell he had the biggest group of kids around him at any given time. I spent a little time with a kid who looked to be about 14-15 but he didn't speak English or Spanish so the communication was difficult. He did ask if we were coming back though so I think he enjoyed us being there. When it was time to leave, drew led us in his favorite camp song "hey burrito" and we made our way back to the world's steepest hill.  For whatever reason Ellie decided to run up the hill so I did too. I heard footsteps behind me and I thought they were Drew's but they belonged to a little kid who couldn't have been more than 6. I slowed a little so he could catch up and we ran to the top of the hill together nonstop. At the top of the hill, out of breath I look down at the little boy who is also out of breath but who also has the biggest smile on his face. He reached up and gave me the most triumphant high five I have ever received.  I was no longer tired. From that one high five I had all the energy I would ever need for the rest of my life so the kid and I went back about half way down the hill to cheer on our group. Matt Smith and Brett stayed with Tom and Tracy to make sure they were all good getting back up the hill, and Brett also was dragging the giant bag of stuff we brought for the kids. Tom asked me to give Brett an hand with it and as I was pulling it up the hill it suddenly became a little lighter. When I looked down, the same kid was pushing it from behind. We got to the top and said our goodbyes, but I really hope I see the kid again. I had asked his name in Creole a couple times but he either ignored me or I was making an idiot of myself by mispronouncing everything and he had no clue what I was saying. This country had one more incredible view for me as we started back down the mountain road. The whole way up we got pieces of the view out the back and side windows but seeing this panorama through the windshield was just unreal. I need to remember to use my Photosynth app tomorrow and post it here. Our driver Adias and I were the only ones awake in the truck on the way back, and since his English is about as good as my Creole I had a lot of time to enjoy the off road adventure and the scenery. When we got back to our hotel, Drew and I got in our room and changed in to trunks to hit the ocean. A few of our group was already out there and nearly everyone else came out later. The water is very, very warm and the only down side is that there is some trash and debris in the water, and that there are quite a few sea urchin. There were three local kids who swam with us out there who would pick the urchin up off the ocean floor and throw them on shore. I didn't try this but I'm sure I will before the week is done. We ate dinner after that which was fantastic. Cajun jerk chicken with grilled onions and peppers, fried rice with that same great sauce from last night, potatoes and conch. I had no idea what the conch was when I got it but I figured an open mind about foreign food was a good thing to have so I dug in. It had a really weird consistency, like tougher mushrooms but it had a very distinct shellfish taste. Overall I was a fan. I made the mistake of thinking that the hot sauce they have here would be on par with the stuff we normally have in the states so a few bites I was in for a rude awakening. We debriefed after that and we learned more about Franky's story. He went to Bible college (slightly different than seminary) for 3 years after secondary school and has a wife, two kids of his own, and two orphans he takes care of. He told us that he has a dream of starting an orphanage here and you can really tell he has a heart for his people and community. Tomorrow I believe we are going back to the same place we were today but I am cool with going anywhere at this point as long as I get to see the one kid again. Side note: if my parents are reading this since I know they are wondering, my poison ivy/oak/whatever is slightly better than when I left