Things you don't normally see...unless you live here.

Hi there! It's been a strange week and a busy week but a slow news week. Our generator died again. We had to borrow another (it also has some problems) and take ours to the shop. Personally, I think it's history. It will probably cost as much to repair as getting a new one. The problem seems to be that gas and oil are leaking everywhere. Any guesses as to why? Not around here. There is a saying here in Haiti: A man who can fix things is called Boss. Unfortunately, there aren't many to chose from. The other problem is finding an honest one. That's rare just about anywhere, even in the good old US of A. For now we just have to hope that our borrowed one holds up. This is the generator that died. It only holds three gallons of gas and one gallon will last two hours. The borrowed one will hold five but the oil leaks and has to be checked often. This is our source of power to have lights and use the Internet. It is our hope to one day have two generators so that the school/church can also have lights and electrical outlets. The best idea is to also have solar power, but that will be much later. This is our nifty Satellite dish that sits on the hill behind the house. Sorry, no Disney Channel here. This is for our Wireless and Cable Internet service. The large cable runs across the yard, through the rafters of the new school addition, across the pathway, into the top of the supply room, down the hall, around a ceiling beam and down into my room. It's lovely and we are happy to have it. (I know you've seen a satellite dish, but not this one) This is the view I have from my bed every morning. I hope to have a ceiling put in before the weather gets colder. A Haitian taxi headed for Gonaives. This photo was taken last June when these students were going to the city to take their National Exams. This is a common sight, several times a day, when the weather is good. Lining up at the pumps in Gonaives. Notice that it is mostly motorbikes. One man pumps the gas and takes the money from the customers. Most only buy one gallon at a time. Here is another station getting re-fueled. I was recently told that the current price for regular unleaded is about $3.11 US per gallon. However, I have just finished working on the books for the month and the receipts show that the price is now around $4.80 US per gallon. Talk about raising prices! That's outrageous! A funeral procession coming down our road and heading for the cemetery in the mountains. The hearse. Notice the sign says: Boss Boyd. While working in the OFCB office, a hummingbird would fly in from time to time. I finally caught him on camera. He is barely visible at the top right corner of the window. He had such beautiful colors that could only be appreciated in person. (or is it in birdson?)Here is the OFCB church/school. The room above the patio entrance is where the office is located and where I spent my wonderful days on the Internet. Photo taken from the OFCB website: http://www.ofcbministries.org/ They have a lot of things going on these days so take some time to look at their website. Peter Daniel has also added some videos to this site as well as his own at: http://www.peterbdaniel.wordpress.com/ A beautiful shot of the inside of the church at OFCB. I believe this was taken on their opening day celebration. Photo also taken from website. Many have been blessed and have accepted Christ in this wonderful place. During the week, this room serves as a classroom to a large number of students in several different grades.
Well, I had a few more pictures that I wanted to add but the blogger uploader is not functioning as it should. So, I guess I will save them for another time. By the way, for those who are wondering, Haiti does not recognize daylight savings time so we are now on Eastern Standard Time. We were on Central before.
I also wanted to point out that I added a link to Meet the Kids (on the left side of my blog page, near the top) for those of you who are just now reading my blog and would like to know more about them. Enjoy the weekend. One month from today I will be in Texas. Yeeha! My love to all.