Parting Shots

Two of our young guests find the couch very comfortable.

A regular fruit buffet as part of our breakfast this morning - mango, pineapple, watermelon and banana. Guests sometimes comment ahead of time as to whether it will be a 3,4 or 5 fruit breakfast, depending on what is in season. There is always fruit in every season in Haiti.

Some of the guests enjoyed the outside dining room while having their breakfast. The fruit was followed by french toast served with real maple syrup donated from Canada.

This group that started with 18 was with us for a week. Many were adoptive parents. Time to load all the souveniers for the trip to the airport.

A final view of our inviting pool at the guest house. I was able to refresh the mural by mixing a number of paint colors to try to blend in with the original artist. Swimming is the norm 365 days a year here and a welcome relief from the heat.

I will be leaving for St. Catharines, Ontario on Sunday so this will be the last blog entry from Haiti. Pam had already returned at the beginning of June to resume her job and I will be looking for employment after the initial priorities of getting my motorcycle running again and playing a game of golf.

Reflecting for a moment on our year here I would have to say that our goals were achieved and exceeded. We wanted to take a year away to have more time for each other rather than the fast pace of life and jobs in North America. We wanted to experience some risk and adventure while trying to adapt in a new culture - one that had warm winters! We wanted to learn to know new people and we've met dozens, actually hundreds, of fascinating people from all over the world. Then in terms of the guest house we wanted to help establish a wider client base to ensure a successful future, especially for the staff who work here but also for the agricultural cooperatives who are also partially supported by funds generated here. In our first full month of September 05 we had 38 guests for the entire month. Last night we had 42 who stayed with us and the month's total will be just over 400. The political climate is a great determiner of guest occupancy but God has been very good to the ministry of the guest house and to us as a couple. Yes, we did sample a few of the local illnesses but they are long gone from our memory. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to follow our blog, to pray for us and to send us notes of encouragement.

The guest house is currently looking for a new North American manager to work with our very capable Haitian manager Veniel to carry on the service of the guest house. Because the majority of our guests are North American we find this arrangement to be the most beneficial. We are delighted to welcome Sandy who will be here for July and August but then come September the assignment is open for application. The guest house is part of a non profit organization called Foundation for International Development Assistance. Please write to the exective director of FIDA Canada - Betsy Wall at: Betsy.Wall@fida-pch.org