Thursday on LaGonave: Getting Ready

Thursday after breakfast we set out to help.

First Anna and I washed down the few metal shelves in the new guest house kitchen so that they could start moving into the new location.

Tracking down rags took some doing so finally Anna cut up a couple old towels.

Then Anna went to watch 3 year old Luke so his mom could prepare for guests.

Cory and I spent most of the morning painting trim around the doors of the new guest house while Eli accompanied some engineers to visit a village where a school building project has been proposed.

Thankfully Cory and I finished the one side right as our shade shrank to small to protect us from the hot sun.

With the move of the kitchen, lunch started late as not only did everything [food, refrigerators, tools] need to move into the new space but even new plates needed to be unpacked.

In the afternoon Eli joined us painting on the shady side of the guest house while Anna watched / played with the children. She joined us for the third side of the guest house.


A nice supper and some fellowship and then it was time for bed. Now we would be responsible to make sure that all arriving guests would be met at either the airstrip or boat dock by a truck to bring them to the compound [and once all arrived reverse the procedure to get them to their departure points on time].

Just like at home the inverter system provides power during the night time hours.

But having only seen Met. Rous, the hospital administrator, for a short period of time in the morning to exchange greetings I asked Cory to walk me over to the old hospital in the few remaining minutes of generator power before 9 p.m.

I enjoyed the heart felt welcome from the three nurses on night shift even through we did not have time to talk.

Following welcomed cold showers we relaxed in bed while praying that the thunderstorm's lightning would not damage any electrical equipment on campus.

Others spent the day working on moving the kitchen, making beds, painting, scraping paint and plaster, working on plumbing and electric, putting on screens, planning meals, practicing speeches, picking up & hosting guests on the mainland, putting items away and many more jobs I do not even know about.

More than 600 guests are expected at the actual hospital dedication with more than 80 of those being from countries other than Haiti.