Hello all: Here I am back safe and sound in Haiti after a rewarding and restfull time in Sarasota, where we headed after leaving Pennsylvania. My first several days were spent in St Petersburgh with Rene Clark and Richard Davis who kindly opened their door to me and gave me the royal treatment ( as we found everywhere along the way). Friday evening I met a number of their neighbours, friends and fellow church members at an evening cocktail party that Rene and Richard arranged. Many of the attendees are loyal followers of VOH/Lazarus Project and it was a pleasure to meet them and to pass along news of VOH and our thanks for their efforts.

Saturday, it was on to Sarasota to the Regional meeting held at Faith Sarasota Lutheran Church. It was heartwarming to be able to greet so many familiar faces...it felt like I was having a family reunion. Sunday was a full day, with three church services, a church picnic and a concert put on by the Jacobites featuring good ole Scottish and Irish folk songs.

I don't know about anyone else, but my blood was sure stirred listening to the bagpipes....must be the Scottish in me!

The day ended up with another fund raiser "Hats off to Haiti" which had been organized by a friend of mine (Leita Kaldi Davis and husband Bob) . I met new friends and also greeted a number of others who came to give their support to this evening of music and chatter.

Beside Jorel on his accordian we had a young (very talented) Haitian trumpet player and we were graced by several hymns sung by a Haitian woman, the wife of the Pastor who heads up the Haitian congregation that uses the church that Leita and Bob attend. Another bonus was watching the graceful movements of Sue as she demonstrated her hula skills to the tune of How Great thou Art~! It was a BEAUTIFUL performance by both the musicians and the dancer! I know if my mother had been there she would have been blubbering..so to honour her, I shed a few tears in her honour.

Monday, I enjoyed lunch with a new friend of the Lazarus project, discussing our clinic project. Then, the hour arrived for some downtime and I enjoyed the evening and the next two days visiting with long time friends and celebrating the marriage of one of them. All in all a great trip and my "batteries" have been re-energized.

During my absence another tremor passed through Haiti (last Friday). I found evidence of this in my office where several ceiling tiles fell down....luckily nothing else happened. There was some panic at the school as the kids were in the classrooms at the time. However Clovis reports that the teachers did a good job of supporting the kids and fortunately their were no injuries or damages from kids panicking and running from the rooms. There was no damage to the school. However as a result the attendance is down to about 60% as parents are keeping the kids at home. Clovis did say that today was better than the beginning of the week when less than 1/2 the kids showed up. We will just have to keep working to reassure them and give them the support they need. Clovis is preparing a program to share with the kids regarding the geological basis for earthquakes. It is a DVD prepared for school children in Martinique following earthquakes they had there. We also intend to share it with the parents committee. The Ministry of Ed'n plans to send out inpsectors one more time and if all meets their standards they will give us a certificate to post for all to see that it has been approved for use. This will also help to reassure the parents and others involved. The team plans to come once the crisis of gas shortages is passed. Yes, another challenge everyone is facing over the past week or so. I did hear on the news this afternoon that another tanker has arrived and that gas is starting to be sold at some of the pumps. Luckily we had an idea this would happen and we have a little reserve here which will help us out over the next few days, until we can get it at the pumps.

Before closing let me once again say thanks to all of you who participated in the various events we attended during our travels. It was such a PLEASURE to be with you. Your support and encouragement keeps us all motivated and ready to put the next foot forward for the Lazarus Project and our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti. Bon Dye Beni Nou!

Debbie