The First Week in Haiti

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The engineer at work!

The first week in Haiti started with a VERY long day of travel.   Will flew from Miami into the capitol, Port au Prince, Haiti. The arrival was "smooth but interesting" he says. "It took over $100 in cash to get out of the airport after paying tips, visa, fees, transport, etc."  He was able to leave his bags with a local Adventist man who took them ahead to the hospital. Then Will took a taxi to the domestic terminal and flew to the western part of Haiti and drove 3+ hours in an ambulance to reach the hospital. They had to take this long route to avoid 7 miles of roads with bad gang activity.  So, even though it was a long day of travel it did allow him to see more of the country!



Will's first view of Haiti from the air

The front gate of the Adventist hospital


The hospital viewed from the front gate


He was welcomed with a very nice surprise! "Accommodations WAY better than I expected!" says Will.  "My own small house with a real bed, dresser, kitchen, bath tub, A/C, etc.!  I can't complain!"  He says he even has decent Wi-Fi!  There is a young man, Patrick, who makes dinner regularly.  Lunch is provided at the hospital and dinners will often be prepared for him! (He's living in the lap of luxury! Lol)  There's even a small pool by his house.

Will's REAL bed and bedroom

The kitchen and dining room
Patrick preparing food in the background

The pool by his house.


The view from one side of his house

The view from the other side of his house


Will's first few days were mostly filled with meeting people and getting familiar with some of the projects underway at the Haiti Adventist Hospital.  He says he's already mapped out some power connections currently in place.  

The view of Port au Prince from his Sabbath hike



His travel and stress caught up to him and he was sick for the next 2 days.  He allowed himself to slow down and get some good rest and he was ready for Sabbath when it arrived! He went to an English speaking church on the University campus.   In the afternoon they hiked to the top of a hill with a great view of Port au Prince.  Sunday was busy going to the local grocery to pick up some basics and a little bit of "comfort food!" Any guesses what he got?!


Church on Sabbath



Haitian grocery store "Delimart" has many familiar
items (Lays, Hershey's, etc.) at very high prices


He used his free time to brainstorm some projects and troubleshoot a dental vacuum. His rest allowed him to recover and dive in during his next week.  They are working on finishing the new dental clinic. Will says he will mostly be hands-on working with Joseph, the electrician at the hospital, this next week to help finish up the clinic.  

Second story being remodeled for a dental clinic


A typical Haiti street

Diesel tank for the campus generator


Will is planning to give a brief update each week.  Please keep him in your prayers and feel free to leave a message! 

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