I'm not sure I've got the time or power supply to load pictures either, so as I forewarned - blog without Tara = not so great. (Yes, another cop-out, I know.)
Today I went to the next town with a gas station (Williamson) to buy gasoline for the small generators we're working off of. Fortunately they had gas today (sometimes the gas supply runs out for days at a time). That was great news to me. Even better - they had bags of ice for sale today. Like I said yesterday, learning to appreciate the little things...I bought two bags of delicious cold ice, and the supply lasted through the whole day. It has been HOT lately, and the lack of electricity for fans is causing great distress, especially when it's time to sleep. Enough complaining though, we're really doing ok and rolling with the punches.
I made arrangements to do some laundry later this week at a mission down the road, so things are looking up. But we still don't have any word on when our generator will be repaired, or when the new one we're purchasing will be out of customs. The old generator needs an engine overhaul, one cylinder had no compression left. I'm assuming they're looking at a valve job and new rings. But it's Haiti, after all, so I won't be surprised if they stick some silicone around the head gasket and call it good.
Tomorrow I'll go to Port and search for a generator for rent that is big enough to charge our batteries and give us a more permanent temporary fix. We're not sure if that will be possible or cost effective, but I'm going to check. I'll also be trying to purchase new batteries for our inverter (24 6 volts), so that should be another adventure. When I get back, I'll make another attempt to hotwire our water pumps to get running water again. Our friend Declan has been giving me lots of bad ideas for playing with electricity. He's been extremely helpful, but I'm not sure he realizes how likely it is that I'll blow something up.
Please continue to pray for the Hoppa's son Kaden, Rhonda took him to the hospital in Port-Au-Prince today. They're waiting on test results, and are staying the night in the same "modern" hospital I was in. He is on an IV and trying to rest, but I know how hard that can be there.
As we adjust and find solutions for each problem that comes along, I'm remembering to thank God for His perfect plan and the blessing it is to know Him and know He's had this all taken care of way before I ever started worrying.
-Troy
"I told God if He was going to use me, I wanted to be standing toe to toe with the Devil on the forefront of the battle"
-Davis Zachary (Missionary to Haiti)
