Hello again: Since I last "spoke" two classrooms were painted at the school, several chores at Hope House accomplished, the team participated in the Monday morning assembly before heading to the airport and since their departure I have had 2 mornings at the school attending to paper work, meetings and some sick kids.

The painting took place Sunday after church and our lunch at the picnic table under the big almond tree behind the chapel. The classrooms were 2 of the smaller ones so the job was accompished in two hours or so....AMAZING. While they painted I did accounting work for the University program and as luck would have it I finished that just as the team finished painting.

They were more enthusiastic about their painting than they were about singing at chapel service.....it was a very reluctant "choir" that stood before the kids to sing. Luckily Jorel, who had been delayed arrived in the nick of time and his accordian music to accompany them gave them a little more courage to their singing. Plus Julienna and Devin had great voices and did an excellant job of leading the rest of us on. In the end Jorel even coaxed a second song out of them. It was a rather lively one and the kids were even clapping and singing along.

The team were quite taken with Hopie's little "girl" and she sure got a lot of loving attention during the week and was given the name "Peanut" which seems to have stuck...although I call her little "dezod" (mischief) as she eats the cats food, drags the dish outside even, chews my shoes and other items in site etc . She like her mom has taken to keeping me company in the office while I work away.

On the news front President Preval had a news conference today regarding the upcoming presidential elections, now set for Nov 28. I didn't hear his speech but what I gather is that a lot was related to the CEP (conseille electoral provisionale) which has had problems with corruption ...not a good thing when they are to assure that the elections are run honestly, with integrity etc. New members are being selected as far as I can understand.

and there you have it for now. Hope the week is going well for you.
cheerio,
Debbie

Good evening ..is everyone enjoying a nice weekend. The team took a "day off" of work today and for the most part it was spent in the back of the truck as we toured about PAP a bit, seeing the sites, hearing the sounds and watching the hustle and bustle etc of a normal Saturday in the city....even the traffic jams. We had stops at the grocery store, Agape mail service, an upscale Artisanat shop, lunch at an outdoor restaurant all topped off with a trip to the metal workers.

The trip to Agape was like Christmas for me as a surprise goodie package arrived for me from my mom and also two packages with books in them from my friend in Holland. One of the surprisingly has the title "The Lazarus Project"....isn't that incredible. I can't wait to get my nose into it to see what it is all about. (Thanks Mom and Els!)

It may seem funny but I think everyone was more exhausted from this type of day than one filled with various odd jobs. Probably sitting in the sun has something to do with that. Even I came home and flopped on my bed for 20 minutes.

The last two days were filled with preparing for the food distribution (Thurs) and distributing it Friday. Thurs we loaded a 110 boxes of rice meals ONTO the truck and then OFF of the truck once we got to the school. That was a job in and of itself.

Visits to Little Children of Jesus and Marie's girls topped off Friday afternoon for us.

Since they say a picture says a thousand words, I will finish with a few photos for you.

The "chain gang" loading up the rice meals.....only 109 more to go.

The team known as the "Count off 1-2-3 Team" may not have been so good at counting to keep track of things but they sure could work and assembly line.

Kurt, Kathy, Devin, Perry, Jennifer, Beth, Trisha, Brittan and Julienna ...happy campers now that the bags are filled with Sardines, rice meals, spaghetti, beans and vienna sausage.

All 650 bags filled and waiting to be handed out...I finally figured out why my shoulders and back of my neck were sore....it was from lugging all of the those bags from the back room to the front room.....supposedly for invetory control but it still didn't come out right....oh well we had what we needed to hand out!

The Kindergarden 1 girls singing their thanks with glee!

Handing out of sun glasses, funny noses and other such items was met with many squeals of delight at LCJ...Stevenson and Manou "showing off"

Marie's girls enjoyed playing with the bubbles...this little sweetie kept at it until all of the bubble liquid was done.

While some played, others slept....you could only sleep with your best friend while their foot was in your face. ...ah to be at such peace! With that I wish you a good night and a peaceful and spirit filled Sunday. I am off to my own place of slumber to enjoy going through my mail and maybe getting my nose into the magazines my mom sent.

good night ....Debbie

Hi there: where does the time go? ...yesterday it was Saturday wasn't it?...how can today already be Wednesday....but Wednesday it is so I must fill you in on the past few days. Monday was an office day catching up on a myriad of items. I met with Clovis for a short period before he headed off to a meeting at the Ministry of Ed'n. After that one of the items I got under my belt was a revised job description and contracts for the teachers....yes those discussions will soon be upon me. I felt like I got something accomplished getting those done...now I just have all of the others depts/sections to do but they will be easier. Tuesday was a run around day..changing money, grocery shopping and getting food stuffs to hand out to the kids at the end of this week. This is part of the project from the church in Juno Beach that I have written of severa times. As a result on top of the rice and beans we will be giving, each child will recieve a package of spaghetti, a can of fish in tomato sauce and some vienna sausage. It won't go very far for a family but I also know for some it will seem like manna from heaven!!

Jumping ahead a bit, I picked up a team coming from Fond du Lac, WI this afternoon and they are the lucky ones that get to bag all of the items and then distribute it to the students on Friday.

I am glad as I will be emptying the depot of the rice meals from Stop Hunger Now just in time to make place for more coming from Feed My Starving Children. It is a lot of work hauling those boxes back and forth but it is more than worth the effort knowing what those rice meals mean to so many that are on the recieving end.

Yesterday as we were driving around, I was able to get my hands on the latest edition of "le Nouveliste" a local newspaper. I hadn't seen one in a long time so it was a treat to get my hands on it. Interestingly enough there was a large issue in it about Ganthier....although not on the positive side as it was talking about a big land dispute going on and demonstrations in the town in front of the police station. It seems to be a very "hot" subject ...in more ways than one as sadly the protesters burned several tractors. It seems a large landowner is trying to sell off his land to some gov't officials and in doing so long term squatters would have to move.....you can imagine how that went over! Anyways it was interesting to read, because if I had not seen it in the paper one would never know that just a short distance from the school such issues were taking place. It is not surprising to me as the results of disputes over land issues are a major cause of seeing people in the hospital!

Four or five pages were taken up with a tribute to Marc Bazin who was buried last Friday after loosing a long time battle with cancer. Mr Bazin was a very well known top level political figure in Haiti for many years, holding a variety of offices and duties. He was even a presidential candidate at one time.

Today was a nice cool day as it was overcast and rainy most of the day......when we have days like this it many times indicates that there is a tropical storm going on somewhere in the Caribbean area.

The World Cup Soccer is still very much on everyone's minds. As we drove down Delmas street yesterday we came across one block that was totally decorated in green and yellow (Brazil's team colours) and then right beside it another section blue and white (for Argentina).....those are the two teams that the majority of Haitians support over and above their own team.. Odney told me that on Sunday after Brazil won its match, the whole block on Delmas was packed with people and not a car could get through.

So there you have it from Port au Prince on this Wed June 23......two days after the official beginning of summer......for those of you not having perpetual summer I hope it is a good one for you.

cheerio,
Debbie

Good Saturday afternoon to all: I have just arisen from a nice Saturda afternoon siesta...my reward after having folded and put away five loads of sheets and towels and a few other chores under my belt. Wilner is ensconsed in our room happily watching the soccer match between Denmark and Cameroon. I thought I would take advantage of this time and get you caught up.

Thursday, we split up to accomplish our final activities and chores. Half the team stayed at Little Children of Jesus painting, enjoying music hour with Jorel and Lisa did some physiotherapy for some of the kids. The other half (with the muscle) came to my apt and got the rest of the boxes and furniture and took it back to Hope House where we unpacked and found storage space for them. The items are spread far and wide from the new apt. to the kitchen, my room and the small store room. I just have to go back one more time for the plants and a couple of odds and sods and to hand over the keys.

We then collected up the group at LCJ and enjoyed lunch before heading back to HH to do last minute chores, pack bags and get ready for the 10 guests joining us for dinner.

Patty Myer and her team of ladies (9) arrived on Wed to spend time with Marie. Since aAll of them are from the same area (Naperville, Ill) and most go to the same church we thought it would be nice to get together.

Cathy treated us all to brawursts which we barbecued or should I say "grilled" as I have learned is the American way to say BBQ. You can see Jay here "grilling" up the brats, cooked the special Naperville way, with his supervisors carefully watching his work.

It was a fine evening, topped off with a singsone led by Dan and his guitar.

Yesterday, I got the gang off safe and sound to the airport and coming back home did a few chores. The gals at HH busily cleaned rooms and made up 5 beds for the guests that arrived at noon time to spend the night. They were friends of mine who were heading back home today after passing two weeks in a mountain village above Hopital Albert Schweitzer. We spent a good evening getting caught up. They were most interested to learn about the Lazarus Project too.

Just as they arrived yesterday I was in the midst of dealing with a team of EDH repairmen who showed up to fix the wire that had been vandalized the night before outside our house and across the road at our neighbour's place. I was completely amazed they showed up so quickly and it makes me wonder who has "pull ' that lives in our area (I didn't mention it earlier but our street also got graded this week to level out some of the potholes). Somehow or other though I was supposed to go and buy new wire and give it to them to fix our problem as well as change a hook up to our transformer that was not done correctly (or so they say). Knowing the Haitian system, I think they were looking to grease their palms and again knowing the system, I did!..but heh last night when the EDH gave power, we had lights at our place. They were happy with the "ti kob" (little money) I gave them and their bags of rice and beans so it was a win win situation, as they say!

On that positive note, I bid you farewell for the weekend. Hope it's a good one no matter which way you are spending it.

Cheers,

Debbie

Worker bees have been humming around me all afternoon since our return from Food for the Poor and having enjoyed Haitian "fritay" for lunch. Fritay is a variety of fried snack foods that many enjoy. We had banane pesee (plantain), akra (tarot root grated with spices) and Roselene's famous meat pates.

At one time I looked around and everyone was working away at something: Roselene and Carline cooking up a storm, Jeff, Odney, Fleury and others hauling rock to fill in the pothole at the end of the road, Jean and Christophe unloading cement block; Cathy and Lisa sorting clothes and bagging dried beans. Various others were painting desks and doors and the rest building the new desks designed for the school. They are easier for the kids to get under for protection in case of another earthquake and they are also a little sturdier to withstand things falling on them. Mark made the new design (with input from Clovis and I) and they managed to get 10 of them made this week. ..aren't you exhausted just reading this. Just think how they feel!!

Above: L.Jason and Greg adding legs to the desk

R. Dan brave enough to paint with red!

Below: L. Jeff and Blane haul rock to fill the pothole. Two police officers even stopped to give them the thumbs up for their work.

R. Krista putting on the first coat of paint on the new desks and benches.

Our visit to Food for the Poor was as interesting and touching as usual. The staff at FFTP was pleased as they are in the midst of recieving a new shipment of rice. The last time I was there they were all out. Now there are STACKS of it. The gang helped dish out the food at the Canteen while I went to hunt down a box that was shipped for VOH and to check in about a house that is to be built for a staff member. Unfortunately although FFTP is building houses in the rural areas, they still have not recieved the go ahead for the PAP area....thus we are now in a holding pattern until the Ministry of Public Works gives the high sign. This is related to ensuring the buildings are earthquake "proof".

The Shop til you Drop team did not let me down today and lived up to their name when we went to the local market to pick up "souvenirs" to take home.such as spicey peanut butter, Haitian coffee and other such items.

We closed the day with a heartwarming sing song led by our two guitar players, Dan and Christa. It was delightful! Christa is heading off to Uganda for a year's Mission and I know the folks their will benefit from her guitar playing and her lovely voice on top of it.

Good night...until next time take care

Debbie

Tues June 15 and all is well here at Hope House. We have just finished our little devotional time which included a brief history of VOH and Lazarus Project and a very thought provoking reading from Lisa. It has been a long day...we were up and at em by 5-5:30 and folks are now ready for a nice cool shower and a restful night's sleep. By far this team has done the most to stimulate the economy in Croix des Bouquets at the Metal Workers artisan shops and thus they have earned their nickname as the "Shop til you Drop" team. I can ensure you that they earned their shopping time after a hard morning's work at the school. Bathroom doors were readjusted, the dining room was painted and the lovely cross created several summers ago by Marni and the enrichment class got moved to a more prominent spot, so that we can enjoy the beauty and sentiment of the artwork as we have our various services and activities in the chapel. Oh yes and several bags of garbage were collected along the entrance road and main gate...I still gotta work on those students in regards to protecting the environment and waste disposal. It is an up hill battle but one worth fighting for.



Below is a picture of the team .....notice them all beaming....they knew that shopping time was coming! ....only kidding!!!...they were happy for the work they accomplished in the AM and the chance to have been able to interact with the kids at the school. ...sorry picture will come tomorrow..having problems uploading this evening.

a demain,

Debbie

as promised here is the Wheatland Salem Methodist Church team photo

Front row Lto R: Jeff, Shawn, Alex, Greg, Dan

Back row LtoR: Jason, Krista, Mike, Lisa, Mark, Larry, Jay, Blane, Odney (our chauffeur), Cathy and Christina

Good Saturday evening to everyone: Are you all glued to your radios or TV sets as the Haitian folks are, following the start of the World Cup Soccer games. Yesterday as I drove around I tried to find news/music on a number of my usual radio stations but all of them were announcing the game that was being played. That is soccer for you in Haiti- POPULAR!

I now have a team with me from Naperville, Ill and they have jumped right in there. Last night even after a long day of travel they got right to work unloading their suitcases, wanting to be organized so they could get to the tasks at hand first thing in the AM....which they did. My office is now clean and dust free, the door in the dining room doesn't stick, Joel doesn' t have to fight with his door to open and close it, beans are bagged, items moved to the depot, supplies purchased.....and on and on...all in all a great day, at least from my perspective. Cathy's mother, in lieu of birthday and mother's day gifts provided funds for a pizza/cup cake party for Marie's girls. Hosting that party was the finale of the day for the team.

While waiting for the girls to wash and dress for their party, many of us sat watching the activities as the workmen poured the cement for the floor of the new orphanage...what back breaking work that is..hauling buckets of sand, rock, water and sacks of cement. I thought I was exhausted Thursday, after a day spent in and out of the car and traffic, while doing errands from sun up to sun down but that fatigue was nothing compared to what those workers will be experiencing this evening.

One of the errands I spoke of was going to see Mme Nazaire at the school of nursing. It was heartening to see that classroom tents were now set up on the grounds and the student nurses back in class. UNICEF provided a lot of start up materials so Mme Nazaire could get the girls back to class. Some of her staff were going through piles of items that had been recuperated from the rubble, cleaning and dusting them off for future use. Mme Nazaire and the Minister of Health have just signed an agreement with a French firm that will build prefab classrooms as a temporary school while the Swiss Red Cross prepares to do stage one of the permanent school.

Items still awaiting dusting and cleaning at the school of nursing...not a chore I would look forward to.

One of the items that struck both Cathy and I as we visited with Mme Nazaire was the sign posted on the all of the office, amid all of the refuse and constant reminder of their terrible loss. The translation may not be 100 % exact but the gist of it is...." every occassion carries a difficulty but each difficulty carries an opportunity. To me it is another reminder of the faith and hope that so many Haitian people still continue to have "despite it all".

Until next time....Debbie

Howdy: How can it be Wed. already? Monday and Tuesday were good days...filled with a myriad of tasks: picking up friends at the airport; emergency trip to VOH to deliver much needed chalk (of all things); introduding friends to Lazarus project in Haiti; clearing the big rocks from in front of Jean;s car repair ramp; picking up Cathy Jones and two of Marie's visitors in the pouring rain at the airport; visit to the bank and then Food for the Poor and on and on...just regular business days. Today I visited the school again and met with Clovis.

He was quite pleased with how the registration went Sat and Sun. His observation is that he has more students seemingly prepared to come to school. He thinks the reorganization allowed for a more relaxed and restfull atmosphere for the kids (and parents) and due to less stress performed better. We discussed a number of issues and then I went to check out the construction site to check on the clearing of the shrubs and bushes by the gardening crew. Their machete's were already falling apart so that had to be attended to, but despite it all they were making good progress.

When I got back Cathy was busy baking up goodies for the team coming and then she attacked my file drawers for me, putting things in order (yahoo!!).

And now the day has drawn to a close (or just about) and its time to go and think about what' s for dinner.

Tomorrow is another day to look forward to..wishing you all a restfull night

Debbie

Hello and Sunday blessings one and all: The weekend as usual has zoomed by. Joel was a school yesterday morning, preparing for exams so Wilner and I hung out until he got back. After breakfast Wilner had a little siesta and I worked on organizing the little depot...it was getting nearly impossible to move inside of it. I am happy with the progress made and now a team will be able to help me finish the rest. Once Joel returned we headed to the apt and got things more or less set to move. Wilner swept away cobwebs and dust ++++ while I finished organizing and packing some boxes. I hope to only make one more trip and then I will be ready to move out. The fellow who was supposed to come and disconnect our invertor and put the EDH wiring back together didn't show up so that is why I have another trip to make. However that is not so bad as I can pick up a few more boxes. I'm glad our new depot is done at Hope House as I imagine a few of my items will go into it.

We treated ourselves to dinner at our usual Haitian restaurant and once again they did not fail us. When we got back (with take out for Joel in hand) we unpacked my car and then relaxed for the evening. We saw a bit of a performance from Champs Mars that was being televised....it was a musical concert put on to bring awareness to everyone about the hurricane season and precautions to be taken.....a good public awareness campaign that was for sure...the square was packed with people. I keep hearing we are in for a heavy hurricane season this year.....so far lots of heavy rains but nothing worse as yet.....keep those prayers going for the well being of Haiti.

Today, I have been doing some work (correspondence, accounting and more depot work) but have also been taking time to sit and read. I have my nose in Dan Brown's newest book about Washington and the Mason's.....Wilner being a Mason has been piqued by the little I have told him about what I have read. I'll have to try and get him a French copy of the book.

Hopie is recuperating well from her operation and her "daughter" has recuperated from her vaccinations. Attached is a picture of the two of them resting up in my office while I worked away.

And with that I will bid you a fond farwell for now. May the week ahead be a good one for you!

Debbie

Greetings: The day started early with a quick trip to the school to deliver cold drinks for the staff who will be doing the registration over the next two days. When I rolled in at 7:15 or so there were already parents lined up with their kids all "dolled up" waiting for the interview process to start (at 8:00 PM). The staff will see about 60 students each day. Once the interviews is done then the weaning process begins so that we get down to 20 boys and 20 girls for the new school year.

I also left some instructions with the gardeners to start clearing some bush away at the site of the health center. We, I am happy to say, have selected a Construction co. and the engineer will make a site visit tomorrow to set boundaries for the building so that the fellows know the limit of where they are to clear the bushes. Once that is done the eng. will come back to do a survey of the land as it will have to be levelled somewhat before the building begins. It is exciting to know we are starting the initial steps to get moving ahead with this great project.

Upon return to Hope House it was time for odd jobs (laundry being one of them) and await the arrival of the vet team from Christian Veterinary Mission who were going to tend to Hopie and our neighbour's dog so they would not have any more puppies. They brought two Haitian vets with them whom they are mentoring. They are the ones who did the actual surgery....on a table in the shade of the big Nime tree in the middle of the yard. Once they were done, I was happily able to provide lunch for the gang before they took off for Fond Parisien (near the DR border) to attend to some horses. It was interesting watching the proceedings.....just like humans they got there pre-op sedative, anaesthesia, pain medication and antibiotics. Hopie is now resting comfortable while the medications wear off. The remaining puppy also got her first vaccinations. She will go to Fleury's house once her vaccinations are done. Three others are already in their new homes. I am sorry to say though that the fifth one passed away unexpectedly. We suspect he ate something he shouldn't have. What a shock it was to find him "gone"..we thought he had somehow got to the school yard next door.

Other than that it was another ordinary day.....Jean is working on fixing the big truck (transmission problems) and the girls were getting the guest rooms ready for visitors on Monday and for the team arriving at the end of the week and Joel tackled rewinding the tangle of barbed wire we have from the walls.

Hope you all enjoye a nice weekend. I will leave you with a few pictures of the Vets at work.

Hopie getting her pre-op meds

Kelly and staff preparing their materials off the back of Kelly's pick up truck...have vet office will travel.!

The 2 Haitain vets preparing their patient Meanwhile othes help Joel with the barbed wire

tangle.

Hello faithful readers: To those of you who have written and mentioend you missed my posts. I am complimented that so many of you continue to check the site on a regular basis...even as the earthquake drama wains.......thank you for your support, encouragement and continuing interest in VOH. I will try to make sure I am a little more diligent with my writing even if it is just a quick update.

Yesterday was an office day,catching up following my quick Stateside trip. I have to say though my week is so mixed up having started back on Tuesday. Tomorrow is a State Holidy (Fete Dieu) and the schools are also taking Friday off. I however have several items planned for each day.

Today after completing a few errands at Hope House, I headed to the school for a quick meeting and to finalize plans for the teacher's seminar tomorrow. It was also the second day of pre-registration for parents wishing to enroll their children in Kindergarden for 2010/11 school year. The way it was organized this year, the staff did not need to be out of their beds at 4:00 AM to get to the school to start the work. Things went pretty well, thanks to in part to the presence of a police officer we arranged to come for the day.

All the parents/guardians had to present their papers to Helene and then they were provided with a ticket to return either Friday or Saturday for the interview and testing by the preschool teachers.

Below I will also paste another short report from my friend Judith for your interest.

Have a good eveing one and all.

Debbie

Hello Everyone!

I found a good set of photos that accurately portray life as it is right now in Port-au-Prince:http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/29/world/0529HAITI.html

For those of you who have not yet been to Haïti, the rubble is new but not a lot of the living conditions---viz., the lady selling wares out of her tent. That is common, common, only generally outside of a house or on the street somewhere. Same with the wares on a downtown street, that is usual life.

Odelin and I walked up to the lookout not far from my house today. It was clear from just a couple weeks ago that there has been a thinning of the camps with more installations across PAP, especially at the piedmont of the mountains that surround the city (like the one I live on). It seemed as if we could start to see more temporary homes as well--Odelin pointed out whole zones with what looked like tole roofs.

The story is sad, yes, and frustrating; but at the same time life goes on and progress is being made. Please do continue to pray with us, especially about the following:

Disgruntlement with Président Préval...There are almost daily demonstrations against his government. The Haitian people feel that he has not adequately taken the reins; yet the alternative is much less good--another provisional government, which, if it should be at all like the last one (2004-2006), will mean high prices, political instability, and very possibly more crime.

Rising crime...This is not unusual for us; but after a few months of respite none of us wants to return to the thefts, kidnappings, and other violent crime that seem to plague us here. Please pray that the Lord's strong hand will contain this horrible evil. Many of the escaped prisoners are still on the loose, and there is news that gangs from some of the big slum areas are reforming. So far we can still circulate in relative ease; but we really do not need this to grow again!

High cost of living...Prices remain about 25% over what they were before the earthquake and the US Dollar has dropped 10% over what it had been against the Haitian Gourde at the close of 2009. Building materials are also climbing, so rebuilding will be difficult without at least some financial underwriting.

The heavy, heavy rains...These cause very wet conditions for the tent dwellers, retard cleanup, and ruin the possessions that are caught under the rubble. They also render structures that have not fallen even more unstable. As you may remember, two schools collapsed in late 2008 from heavy rains. This kind of phenomenon could easily continue; and it's anticipated that this will be a very heavy rainy season. The US Weather Service predicts a 70% probability of 14-23 named storms, 8-14 hurricanes, and 3-7 major hurricanes.

Hello one and all: Yes, I am still alive and kicking. I know I have been out of contact for some days. There just didn't seem to be a whole lot to report on as I took care of day to day business. As well I took a quick trip to Boca Raton (Friday to Monday) to meet with Pastor Andy and participate in a conferance call with additional members of the Health Center task force. From the airport we drove directly to Food for the Poor where we met up with Darrell. He toured us about the facility and introduced us to a number of folks before we sat for our mini financial meeting.

The evening was spent at Andy (left back row, black shirt) and Susan's (front row, black and white blouse) place with a group of church members from Juno Beach Holy Spirit LC. Part of our discussions centered around preparations for Pastor Frank's (middle back row /white shirt)bicycle ride from his church to Lord of Life in Fairfax,Virginia. He is doing this as a fund raising event for the health center. It was also nice to be able to thank everyone for all their hard work putting the Buckets of Hope together and the goodies for the children.

Saturday I had the pleasure of particpating in a portion of the planning meeting that the Vacation Bible School team was holding. the team is made up of members from both the Advent and Holy Spirit LC. I was very impressed with their efforts, especially that each team member gave a little report on some aspect of Haiti (history, arts, religion, geography etc). I know what I do to prepare for a team's arrival and it was enlightening to see some of the work that goes on as a team prepares to travel to Haiti. I look forward to welcoming them in July.

Sunday gave me the opportunity to give greetings to the church members of Advent Lutheran Church at their different services. It was nice to see some familiar faces and I also had the opportunity to chat with several other members before and after the services.

I was spoiled and treated royally and thank Pastor Andy and Susan and Pastor Richard and Avis for the warm hospitality and for taking such good care of me.

Yesterday I got out fo the PAP just as a torrential rain began to pour down. Jean and I made it to the car just in time. Then we spent the next 1 1/2 hours in various traffic jams before we got back to Hope House. I was kidding Jean because it took me just about 2 hours to fly from Ft Lauderdale and here I spent nearly the same amount of time trying to get from the airport to home.

And there you have it folks..the latest from Santo 3.