Challenges

It's easy and fun to chat about the many great, interesting, and enjoyable things going on here and we are fortunate there are many. But... (there's always a "but" in Haiti) life here is seldom if ever without its challenges. Last week Thursday and Friday we were completely without city power and needed to run the generator for a few hours several times a day to keep the house running while we had guests. No big deal but we ran low on diesel fuel and got nervous. Then, just after making a special run for diesel and water, all weekend we had city power nearly 24/7. Go figure. We are still struggling with some staffing issues at the girl's home, and that won't likely be resolved until later this week, but it is draining to have it drag on. Transportation has become another pain in the rear. The guesthouse comes with a 15 year old Chevy Blazer. It has actually worked a grand total of ONE day since we have arrived. We are on our third mechanic, and we have not seen him since Saturday. Apparently he is looking for a replacement sensor, but who really knows.

The pick-up truck we had shipped down has arrived in Port-au-Prince! My friend Manno is getting a customs broker for me and will call me to meet at the port and start the process. I am afraid the customs process will be both time consuming and hugely expensive. (It usually is) We need to be prepared to shell out thousands of dollars to release the truck from Haitian customs. Even so, it is still less expensive than buying a vehicle down here where I was told the tax rate is 49% so a truck with a sticker of $25,000 costs about $37,000 if not more with dealer markups etc. A used vehicle in good shape starts at $20,000 and you never know how many parts are being held together with duct tape and wire. Without reliable transportation it is difficult for us to move about at all safely or freely. We do have a couple of contacts with vehicles who are willing to help us with runs for drinking water, diesel fuel, and groceries etc. but the extra time effort and coordination is draining. 


An additional challenge is coordinating how Julie and I work together and also with Linda Fleur the interim guest house manager who is guiding us in this learning process. Figuring out who is responsible for what and when takes alot of talking through which I am not always patient with. Julie and I have high standards for how we want the guesthouse to operate, but a higher level of service takes more effort and energy and time to manage. That takes us away from time with the girls and we are still working out what navigating that looks like. Our ministry is with the girls, and the guesthouse is a means to that end. We have yet to figure out how to navigate all of that and with guests regularly coming and going now, the time to think and work through topics is scarce. This frequent "reacting" to needs is tiring for both of us, but likely more so for Julie.


In no way is this meant to be complainy - but we want to avoid the rosy "everything is awesome all the time in Haiti!" kind of communication. Today.... I am tired. The three dump trucks of gravel that were deposited on the road right outside our gate at 2 and 3 in the morning kinda disrupted my sleep. I am still in the "everything is new and interesting and cool" phase - which is alot of fun for me. Please remember to pray that we learn how to manage our lives down here in a way that is long-term sustainable and allows for our personal needs too. It would be a terrible shame to get burned out in some way and want to throw in the towel and retreat. We need our friends, family, loved ones, and supporters to be partners in what is going on down here. We promise to keep it real and bring you along for the ride - the better and worse, the awesome and the tragic. 


Many blessings to all of you out there. Mwen renmen ou (we love you)


G+J