The Compound

After a short but bumpy trip, we made it to The Compound. Well, the official name is St. Francis Episcopal Church. This church is located in the town called Anse Galet on the island of La Gonave. We pulled into the gates that surround the compound. After we spilled out of the truck, I started taking pictures so I could document everything!

St. Francis is not only a church, but it is also a school. This church also hosts many other missionaries throughout the year.

This was the truck we rode in from the airport to the compound.

The truck pulling up bringing the rest of our team that could not fit on the first trip.

The team unloading at our "home" for the night.

While I was walking through the compound, I heard some children's laughter. I looked up and saw these school children hanging out of the windows to see the foreigners! I thought it was really cute!

Like I have said many times, I did not really know what to expect. So far, things were going pretty good.

Cynthia looking up at the school children.

Brian meeting Oriel.

We were all introduced to Oriel. He is a blind man who lives at the compound. To my surprise, he spoke very good English! One thing I learned and came to love about Oriel is that he wants to hold your hand while he speaks to you. He is a very sweet man who loves the Lord and he loves to learn. He is also extremely talented. He sings very well, plays guitar, piano, and the accordion! He speaks Creole (the Haitian language), French, and English. I found out that Oriel was going to be traveling with us up to Lotore in the morning. I was was looking forward to getting to know Oriel better.

The rectory (girls sleeping quarters, kitchen, and dining room).

Mandy was our only female veteran, so she took charge and showed all of the girls around. She lead us to the rectory (the aqua building) where we would be sleeping for the night. Like I have said many times before, I had no clue what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were sleeping in rooms with actual beds! Here is a picture of the room that I had all to myself.

The ladies that run things at the rectory and cook all of our meals are so lovely. They showed us to our rooms and made us feel at home. Oh, and each of us had our own towel at the end of our beds! I was not able to communicate with the ladies except through smiles, but it was the best we could do!

The guys were staying in another building on the other side of the compound. Once everyone had gotten settled into their rooms, the guys met us over at the rectory in the main dining room to each lunch. I helped the ladies set the table while they put the finishing touches to our meal. Now this was my first official Haitian meal. I had no clue what to expect. Our lunch consisted of ham/cheese sandwiches with a tiny piece of tomatoe and lettuce, mayo and ketchup. I was amazed at how they gave everything to us and how far they were able to stretch what we would normally consider a small amount of food so far. It was an interesting meal but I was extremely grateful for it!

Once we were done with lunch the team hung out on the porch of the rectory, it was one of the coolest places because you were out of the sun but still had a nice breeze. While on the porch I got to meet Frederic.

Frederic attempting to teach us some Creole.

Frederic is a wonderful christian man and I am so honored to have met him. Bonus points, he speaks English! Frederic lives in PAP with Dr. Keith, an American veterinarian. Dr. Keith came to Haiti over 20 years ago on a mission trip. Once he returned home he told his wife that he felt lead to move to Haiti. Not shortly after, he and his wife and two children moved to Haiti and they have been their ever since! What an amazing story of how the Lord leads us to where we are supposed to be.

Dr. Keith started training young Haitians how to be veterinarian and vet techs. He took Frederic under his wing and trained him. Originally Dr. Keith was supposed to come with us to Lotore, something came up and he was not able to come, so he sent Frederic in his place.

The team hanging out on the porch beating the Haitian heat!

The view from the porch of the rectory.

The concrete thing on the left is a cistern (a device that collects rain water).

FYI, it is safe inside the walls of the compound, don't be scared off by the bars! One of the rules for the trip was to not leave the compound walls. However, we were free to roam inside of the compound. Here are some pics of inside the compound.

The bell tower of St. Francis Church.

Haitian security system, upside down conch shells cemented to the top of perimeter walls!

Some people use broken glass pieces as well.

St. Francis school and play yard.

Cynthia meeting some of the school children.

Beautiful palm

I thought this tree was really cool looking!

Brewster hanging out with some local carpenters.

The local carpenters above, made the majority of the furniture in the rectory. Just so you know, they made all of it by hand, no power tools here! They make truly beautiful pieces, don't you think?

Almost finished dining room chairs.

The view of Anse Galet from inside the compound walls (see the security system).

I couldn't believe that there were so many conch shells around!

I was so happy that we finally made it to the compound! It all felt very surreal to actually be in the place that I had heard so much about! I felt that the trip was really happening, and I couldn't wait to see what what was going to happen next!

Coming up next...Doubt