Day 61 Coronavirus, terraces, and trees.

Watering on this rocky, steep land is not easy

Haiti's coronavirus cases are starting to climb more rapidly.

With very limited testing in Haiti and a stigma of being sick keeping most people from getting tested, the true numbers are much higher.

Latest numbers show positive cases in all of Haiti: 533 cases, with 21 deaths and 21 recoveries and over 2,000 suspected cases.

So far no one in the village has symptoms of corona.

So life goes on here pretty normal, another week of planting trees, building rock terraces, moving dirt and praying for rain.

The terrace area was low fertility, not even growing weeds very well.

The workers probably think Cory is a bit crazy but he learned on LaGonave how much higher the chalky gravel soils are in fertility compared to red dirt.

So the terrace soils are being mixed with chalk (lime) and topsoil from piles made during the house and pond construction.

Part of the skill set of growing trees is picking the best possible locations for them to grow: how much sun they like; need of wind protection; size of adult tree and how close to plant neighboring trees, amount of fertilizer needed and more.

Trees planted by the driveway will benefit from extra soil, water, protection from easterly winds, and shade in the mornings.

Trees now growing by the drive way include: coffee, avocado, malay apple, velvet apple, lychee, jack fruit, cherimoya, cupuasu (chocolate relative), egg fruit, 2 rare mangosteen relatives, black sapote, star fruit, loquat, and dragon fruit.

The nursery hoop house is still pretty full of trees and plants but no longer overly crowded as it was, so you can actually walk in and not be on a tiny pathway.

The perennial kitchen garden plants are looking good and Cory planted a Brazilian perennial spinach.

One new terrace was planted today with corn and beans, half of another terrace is getting popcorn.

Artemisia will soon be ready, along with some vegetables.

On Saturday Fritz and I planted some mammoth sunflower seeds in a small patch that Cory prepared by the front of the house.

Last year we planted a few by the solar panels-not thinking about the direction of the sun and we always saw the backs of the flowers.

This time they will face the house and we're planting them in the spring so they will have more growing time before the days start to shorten.

Fritzlin and I started 4th grade on the day after Mother's Day.

So far we've been doing very well.

He is enjoying the kitten we've had for a couple weeks.

Please join us in praying for Haiti: for rain; good crops; food assistance for millions in need; political stability; limited serious cases of coronavirus; and revival.

Driveway on right. 

Day 46 Grocery shopping

Last week when Cory and a worker headed down the mountain for some shopping it was one day short of six weeks since the last time he shopped.

The first time we learned how to shop every other month was back in 2006 when kidnapping became a problem in Port-au-Prince so travel was restricted. 

Lists are very important!

Saint Marc is much smaller than Port-au-Prince with fewer places to shop.

With over 3 hours of waiting in the morning at the bank, and an hour at a hardware store, Cory didn't start grocery shopping until the afternoon.

Even in the less familiar town, Cory managed to get a good mix of supplies. 

Fresh bread from a bakery, fruit and vegetables at an open air market: cabbage, carrots, egg plant, onion, green peppers, tomato,  okra, mangos, grapefruit.

Cory went to 3 small grocery stores.  

Items pictured include: oil, corn meal, oatmeal, peanut butter, tomato paste, ketchup, honey, popcorn, ginger [some for planting], cookies [to celebrate end of school year], soy sauce, soap, TP, BBQ sauce, homemade peanut-brittle, white sugar for making jam, key limes, tomatoes, baking soda, cheese crackers, cheese spread.  

The two pieces of hard candy were given rather than the small change that was owed Cory

We still had plenty of food for a month or so at the house but...

Older pantry stock: 20 liter jug of palm oil, 11# bag of corn flakes,
 brown sugar

With Coronavirus cases increasing daily, but still seeming early on the curve, no one knows how Haiti will be impacted in the weeks and months to come.

Rainy season, while good for crops and trees is not good for the mountain dirt road so we do not know when Cory will be able to shop again.

Also in the back of our mind is needing possibly to share with our workers, therefore a large 55 pound bag of rice.

Cory found the stores with plenty of items for sale.

Flour, rice, and one of our storage buckets

The prices have not gone up a lot but with Haitian currency loosing value and jobs harder to come by with factories and borders closed; no tourists, many missionaries having left; many Haitians do not have as much money to buy food.

For those interested in prices here are some, these bulk prices per pound are lower than they would be at a supermarket or smaller amounts from re-sellers:

• flour $.28
• sugar .36 (brown sugar slightly less)
• rice .36
• pasta .52
• bread .50
• oatmeal, bulk corn flakes approx 1.00
• gallon oil 6.40 
• fertilizer .25
• dog food 1.00
• whole powdered milk, about 6.00
• 'Fransik' mangos, grapefruit 3-5 per $, depending on size, mangos in season now.
• Skippy peanut butter $3.30, good deal at gas station.

Cory and Leon wrapped the bigger bags in two tarps to protect from the rain on the return trip, as the back of the truck is open. 

Powdered milk, spaghetti from a 10# case

The last 45 minutes of the trip was steady rain.

A few things did get minor damp due to tarp leaks or shifting of the load: cement, flour, plant fertilizer, a bit of the dog food, so the next day we worked to separate the damp parts from the dry so we can use that first and put the other into storage. 

A few things not picked up, like beans, we can have the guys purchase in the village in smaller quantities. 

Other items will just remain on the list until someone or Cory heads down the mountain.

Each meal we thank the Lord for His provisions for us and pray for those who are hungry and in need. 

Lord please provide and protect them. 

Multiply the provisions that they have and are able to get.

Draw people to you and show them Your love and care.

Touch people to share and give assistance.

Allow aid to get to those who really need it.

May You get the glory and honor. 

Day #41. Happy May Day. Agricultural Day.

mini size

On the road at 4:10am for the long trip to St. Marc. Traffic and markets looked ‘normal’ for Haiti. 

Very few masks on the streets even though as of the day before, they are required in the Petionville suburb of Port au Prince, with the threat of several days in jail or $100-$250 fine.

Cory got in line at the bank 20 minutes before opening time with his mask at 8:10 a.m. and about 50 in line. It seemed like at least that many more cut into the line during the 3 hours of waiting, part in the hot sun.

[Why I never travel without a book or Kindle. But Cory must like the time to just think!}

 The end of the month is extra busy and hours were reduced so it turned out to be an extra bad time to do banking. 

The biggest one.

Only 11 people were allowed inside the bank at a time, standing where tape marks had been put on the floor. Some people, like medical workers and elderly, were allowed to walk through the drive through for faster service but vehicles were not allowed, maybe due to the line of people snaking through the parking lot.

Most of the employees and about half of the clients were wearing masks. 

Cory did not feel that folks were more scared of him being an obvious foreigner. 

Two stores had boxes on the floor around the teller so that folks had to stand with some distance from them. Some stores and the bank also had buckets out front with spigots for hand washing.

Supplies looked to be about normal but food prices are slightly higher or close to normal based on the dollar exchange rate. the problem for Haitians is that most of them don’t get regular raises, banks don’t pay much interest, and Haitian money has lost about 10% of its value against the dollar since we returned in January.

We were gifted some of these orchids last year after they bloomed
so it was interesting to see new colors

It had been 6 weeks since Cory had shopped for supplies. Buying cement took Cory about an hour but he finally got four 92# bags for about $6.50 each. This was the same small hardware store he bought PVC pipe for the nursery and cement from last trip but it must have had the best cement prices in town with everyone from motorcycles to a big dump truck getting loaded with cement. 

The  person in front of him bought about $500 worth for the dump truck and a person behind cut in by saying he had a question, “how much is cement” and then proceeded to buy 20 bags. Cory’s patience got a lot of exercise but he didn’t know where another cement dealer was so he waited. 

While waiting for the cement to be loaded he noticed an agricultural store across the street, so it turned out to be a blessing to get a 100# bag of 20-20-10 fertilizer and a small bottle of insecticide.

The highlight of Cory’s day was stopping in at some friends and exchanging plants and trees.

We’d heard talk about people in our area hiring someone to bring the rain. There’s a local man who can predict when the rains will come. He had accepted payment this spring but then the rains didn’t come. 

He’s was slightly beat up on Good Friday because of the lack of rain.

A few light rains allowed most of the beans and corn to sprout but the small seedlings needed rain badly. 

With the rains being more than a month late [and some people planted early based on rumors about an early rainy season] people were getting desperate. 

I prayed that when the rains did start that our Lord would get the honor and glory, not some paid rainmaker. 

1st one of the above..and more blooms to come.

Groups of people from the village church and other churches and surrounding area came together from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday to pray. They prayed for 12 hours. 

Tuesday night it rained almost 1/2 an inch. The last 45 minutes of the drive up on Wednesday Cory drove through rain and we received 1.65 inches total. Arrival time at home: 8:45pm  

Thankfully only a little bit of the cement, flour, dog food and fertilizer, wrapped in tarps, got wet before it was brought into the house.

Tomorrow is May 1st, Agricultural Day in Haiti. We will plant something in the next couple of days! With the coming of the rains Cory and the guys will be planting trees and plants along with corn, beans and vegetables.

Easter Weekend. Day # 24

Haiti's coronavirus numbers continue to slowly increase with 40 cases and 3 deaths.

The guys complete a 4 day weekend off today. 

We took a bit of a hike around the property and I collected more 'dancing ladies' or popcorn orchids. 

We never take all of the original bunch but thin it out and then I tie them in the natural fence (bushes) that surrounds our solar panels.

The stairway project advanced last week and a day this week we plan to mix up some cement to hold the stones in place.

Saturday we connected with Eli, Anna and family by Messenger and Fritz enjoyed telling jokes and showing them his newest monarch caterpillar, this morning it transformed into a crysalis. 

We all enjoyed our family Easter Sunrise service-with songs, reading three children's Easter books, and the resurrection story from the Bible.

We also watched my brother's Easter sermon. In the afternoon we connected by phone with others on our Global Partner's Haiti team. 

Our time with the team ended abruptly by a short but hard rain shower providing us with 1/2 inch of very needed water for the trees and plants. 

Hoping that all of you had a good Easter. 

Looking forward to more rain and starting to plant trees so that they can grow before the next dry season.

Thankful for the neighbor's raising chickens so we can get eggs locally.

Fritz and I enjoyed dying a few Easter eggs.