Pastor Jeremy Stephens

At least the road is better between Las Cayes and Jeramie. What had taken us three hours of travel last year only took us an hour and fifteen minutes. We made it to Jeramie in record time.  The road was funded by the United States and a Brazilian company did the construction. When the construction team ran out what should have been more than enough money, they quit and returned home. That means that the road, though improved, is far from complete. Because of this, the US hired a Dominican construction company to complete the work. Our driver and team leader Benson is hopeful that it will be able to finish the road. He is very disappointed, however, because while Haiti will benefit from a completed road, they could have benefited more if a Haitian company, employing Haitians, was able to perform the construction. My Toyota Hilux was occupied by the FBC crew- Bill, Ashley, and myself. We enjoyed talking to Benson on the trip, and we were grateful for his driving prowess. Benson has a great memory—they see teams here almost every week of the year, but he remembered me and asked about Woody from our trip last year, and my dad from a trip he took several years ago.  It seemed that the nicer road for 2/3 of the trip mean that we needed to suffer a road from Jeramie to Dame Marie that was even worse than last year. By the time we arrived we were so sore from the battering that we took, that most of us limped into town to meet our friends at the church in Dame Marie. Last year we were greeted at the outskirts of town by a throng of women and children from the church, accompanied by about 20 boys playing drums. We were the guests of honor in perhaps the biggest parade that Dame Marie sees all year. I remember feeling uncomfortable with all the attention on me, but grateful that the church could celebrate their friends in that way. This year was very different. Because we made such good time, the women and children were not prepared for us. A much smaller welcoming crew met us—maybe 20 men from the church. This made me a little more comfortable, but also a little sad that my friends who have come here for the first time were unable to experience the celebration. We met, got settled, and had an amazing dinner of conch, lobster, goat, and rice and beans…all local food and very fresh. After the incredible meal we went through an orientation and then were finally able to relax. We taught our translators how to play Uno and enjoyed a few games. After that we veterans were able to chuckle at the rookies trying to experience a bucket shower for the first time. Now its time to close the book on an exhausting day and go to be—my wife would be thrilled—it’s before 10:00pm. We need as much rest as we can get because the next few days will be equally exhausting. I can’t wait to see what God will do through our team and me. I’m especially praying that He does something powerful in my friends Bill and Ashley, and that this experience ignites something in them for what God is doing in the world.