Love for Haiti: How bout a dip?

Not too long after we arrived back to the compound in the ambulance, the big truck rolled in right behind us. We unloaded all of our bags, boxes, and supplies and took them to their designated areas. The interpreters left the compound so they could go home to see their families. They planned to return later in the evening to say good-bye.

We were all relieved to be on stable, non-bumpy ground at St. Francis Church in Anse-a-Galet! Everyone stayed in the same area/room as we did on our first night here. The girls were in the rectory, and the boys were in the dorms over the school.

As we were unpacking and re-packing our bags (which were filthy and covered in red dust), we were told that some local woman were setting up a little market for us to buy souvenirs! The ladies set up their handmade crafts, jewelry, and embroidered linens. Duns (one of our interpreters) also came to sell some of his amazing paintings. There was a gentleman who brought some huge and absolutely gorgeous conch shells to sell to us! I got some cool things to take home to my family and also a few things for myself.

After market, we had the opportunity to go swimming! I changed into my bathing suit and we all piled into the ambulance, again! Dave decided to stay at the compound to go through all of his stuff and take a little nap. Frederick was able to join us though, so that was nice.

Arturo drove us through Anse-a-Galet and down to the coast. It was interesting to drive through the streets and to see how different things were down here compared to in Lotore. There is so much poverty here and it is incredibly dirty. I was shocked at the amount of trash there is, and it is everywhere! The surroundings in Lotore are much greener and lush with trees and shrubs. Don't get me wrong, Lotore still is very poverty stricken, but I think it is beautiful.

As we got closer to the coast, I caught a glimpse of the water. It is absolutely gorgeous! It's totally Caribbean! I know that Haiti is located in the Caribbean, but where we have been and what we have been doing did not seem like we were on a Caribbean vacation at all!

Even as we were driving along the water line, I was surprised that the water was so calm. Not only that, but also how much trash there was along the beach! I was thinking in my head, "I'm not swimming in that!". Arturo continued driving us to a more remote and cleaner area, so all was good. I was shocked to see that there really wasn't any sand at the beach! The beach consisted of smooth stones and conch shells!

Some of us started gathering stones and shells to bring home while others just dove straight into the water. It was just starting to get dark when we got there, but we still had enough light to see the absolutely gorgeous view!

See how clear the water is! Absolutely spectacular!

We had to wear shoes into the water because of the slippery rocks, sea urchins, and possible glass. It was an experience for me walking into the water and trying not to fall!

Once I actually made it into the water (without falling), I submerged myself in the salty, cool, clear water. It felt amazing! I bet you could see all of the dust and grime floating off of my body! It felt so good to just swim and float around. We all were acting like we just won a prize and felt like kids swimming. We were so excited!

Laura even brought some shampoo with her and was passing it around to everyone so we could wash our hair! It has been a long time since anyone has had the chance to wash their hair or be completely immersed in water! We all loved every minute of it! Thank you Lord for this awesome experience!

Before we knew it the moon was coming out, so we had to pack up our little beach party and head back to the compound. But before we left we were able to get some pretty cool pictures!