Last Pics, I Promise. Be Careful, I might Drag You Along Next Year.....

OK, a Few More......

A Few More Last Pics

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finally getting back to my normal routine. lots of questions about my experience from friends, co-workers, etc. all of them make me think of what we accomplished while in haiti. the situation there will not change overnight, but being able to help 500 families who lost almost everything is a pretty good place to start. it will take time, money, and lots of work to get haiti back on track, and i plan to be a small part of that.

i made some great new friends in haiti. it is nice to know so many people are willing to sacrifice just a little of their time and energy for such a great cause. to my new friends from broward county habitat (and beyond, you know who you are), thanks for welcoming me into you group. It made my time there even more valuable. to linda, you were a great leader, with not the easiest task. to the irish folks from haven partnership, thanks for the great food and drink, and for just being irish. to my other friends and co-workers, thanks for the experience; it is one i will never forget. to the carter family and habitat, thanks for the opportunity; you do amazing things. and lastly, thanks to the haitian people for being such gracious hosts. i will never forget the smiles and waves, particularlly from the children. i am already planning for my return trip in 2012! attached are a few more of my favorite pics from the weeks. feel free to share if you like!

all the best,

john

Done!

wow, what a week. totally exhausted, but all houses are up! some are done, some need finishing (i.e. windows/doors installed, etc.), but they are up!

probably some of the hardest physical labor i have ever done, but very gratifying. the carters came to each house at the end of the day, and we turned over the houses to the new owners. an emotional day. here is a pic of president carter at our house.

we are all enjoying a (well deserved) beer with our irish friends from haven partnership. they did a super job of keeping us well fed all week. my hat is off to them.

we are getting up to "good morning vietnam" at 3:00 am for the journey home, four hours from now. i will end tonight with that, but will gather my thoughts and photos when home for a final post.

this is an amazing country with wonderful people. i probably got more from this than the the hatians did, and i hope you all take a minute to learn about the country, and the many ways to help. thanks again for following, and see you all soon!

One more day!

another scorcher today, but more progress. most houses now have a roof on them. one of today's pics shows the progress. busy last day friday. we leav e for the site at 5:45 am. we need to finished by 3:30 for the photos with the carters and new owners. then back to camp for a short sleep. 3:00 am wake up call on saturday for the trip home.

pics above show what the finished homes will look like (when painted), end of the day progress, and a couple of the guys (luc and mark) from a canadian-american contingent that helped with some roofing (thanks guys).

Thursday begins!

a "fairly" quiet evening back at the camp. i think yesterday really drained a lot of people (me included). unfortunately, one of our team had to head back to the usa early. hopefully, we will pick up a few extra bodies today.

attached is a picture of my friends linda and rob. linda is our build leader. she has been great to work with. i wish i had half of her energy......

also pics of our team member karen working on the house, and another of the river we pass every day on the bus ride. you can always see people bathing, doing laundry, etc. more to come!