June 9, 2010 – 12:17am – Wednesday (Haiti Time) – Bon Repos, Haiti (Ruuska Village) – Report submitted by Joe Hurston – Air Mobile Joe

Our team made it out to Caanan II Tent City for a great kids service. But before we went there, the day was filled with a lot of good stuff in Barb’s village. Austin and I spent the bulk of the day refurbishing Voyagers. He’s turning into a premier “water mule”. 

Shaun was in and out and had a good time with the kids in the village. Cindy worked with Stephanie and Shaun on music for the afternoon outreach. By the way, the kids in Barb’s village are just great. 

We departed a bit early so that we could check out another desperate group. These folks have set up their tent-city in an old abandoned hospital what was originally built by Michelle Bennet Duvalier back in the 80’s. 

Upon arrival, we were swarmed by the children…our hearts were touched. I must tell you how we found out about this abandoned hospital and the desperate residents. After we arrived in Haiti last Saturday, Cindy and I took a quick “spin” on the little motorcycle. I took her to the place where my accident occurred 5 weeks ago. There, we met Moise (Moses) and he told us all about the situation in the abandoned hospital. Moise explained their extreme need for clean water. 

Upon arrival today, we immediately checked out their single water source. We found one small well that was less than 2 feet in diameter. The water was filthy, but had promise. We plan to return next week and will likely provide this community of approximately 500 with a Voyager. 

Now, back to our ministry at Cannan II. We arrived with dark storm clouds filling the sky. As soon as we arrived, the kids came and we kicked off the music and praise. The church tent was filled to over capacity and then the rains came as Austin was sharing on Faith. 

It was so encouraging to see those standing in the rain and smiling and laughing with me and telling what a blessing rain is. We just can’t get over the courage and great attitude of the Haitian people thru these incredibly challenging times. We brought in another 2000 meals and passed them out along with 10 soccer balls. The kids were ecstatic. We were so impressed with the organization of the church in this community. Pastor Volny has a fine staff and the whole service was well organized. These folks seemingly have nothing and their life appears to be “unbearable”, yet they face these hardships with amazing determination and resilience! We left with a bunch of kids smiling and laughing. We were all soaked to the bone and mud was everywhere and yet, the joy of the Lord was so present! Upon return to the village, we put the finishing touches on refurbishing 8 Voyagers. When recipients bring in their units for service, we just swap it out with a refurbished unit. This system keeps clean water flowing! Well, here we are at the end of another very, very long day.

God Bless and THANKS for your love, prayer and encouragement.

Air Mobile Joe & Cindy