Day 4 | Heath Cottrill

Another day has passed here in Texas, and our journey is beginning to near an end, a fact that is evident in the increasing fatigue of the group. My group was again sent to the same location where the floor installation began, the endless painting persisted, and insulation was laid. In addition, we were able to go to the bay today where individuals either swam, fished, or just enjoyed the breeze. The projects are nearing completion, and I am eager to return to my own bed, environment, and home.

Day 3 | Heath Cottrill

While today possessed several activities and tasks that we completed yesterday, I was blessed to experience another day in the state of Texas. Additionally, we survived hump day as repeatedly stated by Bill. We painted doors and trim, replaced boards, installed a pocket door, and began to start the flooring process. Although the home owner did not make an appearance, we learned more about her from our supervisor. Most notably, she visits the property every night to ride her stationary bike and check on the construction process. Hopefully all is still well back in West Virginia.

Day 2 | Heath Cottrill

For those closely following the blogs, I am sorry that I did not compose a post yesterday. I was not feeling very well, so I slept for the entirety of our downtime. Thankfully, I felt better this morning and was able to work. Upon arrival, we were met with a series of projects and challenges. These include but are not limited to painting, trim work, creating a step, fixing a door, and installing locks. The most exciting part, however, was on the van ride home. We were able to see longhorns, a camel, and a zebra. As the week progresses, I long to maintain health and continue to experience new and exciting quests. Hopefully, all is well back home in West Virginia.

Day 7 | Heath Cottrill

Today was a really exciting day! It started off with a great morning worship service. It is awesome whenever we sing Amazing Grace together. Then, we went to the home dedication where Shane Oney presented a wonderful sermon on having God as the foundation for our lives and our relationship. Randy Riffle was the one who delivered the blessing on the house and its family. After that, we relaxed a little bit before the chaos began. We started by eating at Mountain Maid which was delicious. Bill and I shared a romantic moment as we “split” a banana split. Bartering was an experience. It started out a bit slow, but soon the rust fell off. Bryson, Brent, and I did a good job of getting the best price. My favorite part of the day was going to Simon’s big store. It was really cool to see how proud he was of his store, and how he believed in God to lead his business. The day ended with dinner and some fun and games at the inn.

Day 6 | Heath Cottrill

Today was the 4th and final day of work. It was a hot, long day. However, Bill made it really fun. We made even more videos today, and we got to play with some young kids. I was able to use the stucko again, and I mastered the flip. We almost ran out of sand, water, and concrete, but we were able to make enough stucko. Tomorrow is the final full day in Haiti. I am really excited for bartering tomorrow and looking forward to it. Please pray for save travels for the second crew and for us on the way back!

Day 5 | Heath Cottrill

Today was Day 3 of work. I was placed on the church, but I also helped with VBS. In the church I carried concrete all day. However, the day got better when VBS started. I was a crew leader so I lead the kids from group to group. That was the kids’ favorite part because they were told to follow me. I would walk around in weird patterns to keep them busy during the chaos, and they would just laugh and try to keep up with me. These kids love to play duck, duck, goose!! They would play that for hours upon end. I gave more high fives and fist pounds today then I have ever before today!! (That is all you can do when you don’t speak their language.) They would just keep on coming up to me! Today was a blast! Also, the food was great again today.

Day 3 | Heath Cottrill

Today was Day 2 of work. However, it was not near as exciting as yesterday. It was actually the polar opposite. Bill, Bryson, Jacobi, Allie, Servando, and I sifted sand for 7 hours. We were bored out of our minds so we had to make it interesting. We had to make songs about sifting sand. (You will have to wait and watch the video to see the songs.) After that, we got to work in the house for half an hour. We were placing a mixture on the walls to make it stronger. We also had to use a wood plank to make the wall smooth and level. One of our translators told me that a true American could not smooth the walls so I accepted the challenge. I actually did really well which was good and bad. They made me continue to smooth the walls for most of our 30 minutes, and they told me that I needed to stay in Haiti to work. After this, we started our journey home that was no where near as bad as yesterday. We returned safely to the compound to be meet with another wonderful meal! Today was incredibly boring, but it was good!

Day 2 | Heath Cottrill

Today was Day 1 of work, and it did not fail to bring excitement along with it. The initial ride down to the work site was incredibly bumpy and remaining standup in the truck was difficult. Upon our arrival, it was a great blessing to see the little children rush towards the truck smiling from ear to ear in excitement. However, we had work to do. The day began with demolition of parts of the church along with shifting sand. Both jobs were incredibly draining, but they were just the start of our day. The journey home was the real challenge. While we had been working, it began to rain. This was the first rain in Haiti for weeks, and it poured! The Haitians desperately needed it, but it made our expedition nearly impossible. The bumpy road we had traveled on was mostly dirt with big rocks that drastically changed in size. The newly formed mud made the mountain nearly impossible to climb. We had to abandon ship several time and walk while the Haitians worked to get the truck up the slippery slope. The mud sticked to shoes causing multiple people to slick and fall. We eventually were able to contact Roger who brought a side by side to help us up the hill. Somehow, the Haitians were able to get the truck up the mountain, but we decide to ride in another truck brought by Roger in fear of our lives. In the original truck we repeated slid down hills and almost tipped over so we did not want to take our chances. After a 3 hour journey that should have taken 1 1/2 hours, we made it to the compound just in time for dinner which was delicious yet again. In conclusion, today was a day filled with many different emotions ranging from the extremes of fear and joy. Today was definitely a day I will never forget!!

Day 1 | Heath Cottrill

Hello, everyone. The trip while it as long wasn't too bad. My first plane ride was a success, however we had too wait at the airport for a while due to our baggage being still on the plane. The “Red Hats” were not as bad as I suspected, but they were persistent. The bus trip was very interesting. It was cool to see how the wealthy and poor were on the same street and it was very noticeable. The police have a very easy job here as there is no traffic laws. It is crazy. The food was amazing as advertised, and the kids here are awesome at soccer. This day hasn't been very eventful, but i am anxiously waiting for tomorrow to start!! :)