First Day on the work site...

Each day we are going to try and get a different member of the group to write on the blog. Today it is my turn. My name is Ben McElroy, and I’m a senior here at Asbury.

Today was our first day at the work site! We built and finished the trusses for the roof that is going up on the house we are working on! Our team is working really well together and is encouraged about the week ahead of us. The house sits high on a cliff overlooking the bay of Port-au-Prince. What a view! Absolutely beautiful!!

Getting to our worksite, getting anywhere really, is quite an experience! We take what the locals call a Tap-Tap. The Tap-Tap is the Haitian equivalent of a taxi. It consists of a small truck with no tailgate that has a raised wall with a truck cap over us. The drives are ridiculous; there are no official lanes and everyone weaves in and out of traffic! Whenever a truck pulls up behind me I point at my camera and at the individuals in the vehicle insinuating that I want to take their picture and the get very excited, smiling from cheek to cheek!

A short video from inside the Tap-tap. 

Below are some pics shot to and from the work site

While we were working two curious little boys showed up to check us out. They were so much fun!! I made a water drop sound that just captivated their attention! Communication was minimal but I was connecting well with them. They hung around the second half of our workday, observing our every move. We took the lids off of our work buckets and used them as Frisbees while we waited for our ride to arrive. It was a much-cherished memory!

After a very hot day at work we were able to come back to the compound and swim for awhile, cooling off. I had to borrow a swimsuit because my bag is the only one not to show up. The whole baggage claim has been a fiasco! Three of the bags did come in today, but the forth didn’t. It may or may not come in tomorrow! I’m praying that it does, but if it doesn’t, I’m surprisingly ok with that. It’s probably a result of the extreme poverty that we have seen driving around getting to our destinations!

Asbury and OCU teams

The group is getting along wonderfully; we have really warmed up to each other and are working well together! We are all an encouragement to each other! I ask that you continue praying for this trip and for my luggage.