The following is from my personal journal dated January 28, 2010. Location, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
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We have contacted Pastor Jean Sainvil, we are lined up with our three [translators], and we are still working 
on finalizing documentation. The process seems difficult to understand and situations change the process after clarity has been given [to us.] We have been told that the illegal trafficking of children has increased and need to have documentation from director of the orphanage is of greatest importance. We are all in agreement and now press on to give hope from God to the orphans.
We have received 33 children from Haiti Sharing Jesus Ministries, lead by Pastor Jean Sainvil.
The traffic is slow, as it has been everyday, so we will not [attempt] going to the border tonight.
Our hope of a safe place to park the bus and have the children examined by medical personnel has fallen through so we are forced to sleep on a street of Port-au-Prince. We do so with joy to care for the children. As we are preparing to bed down, I notice the care of the older children for the younger. This is precious. The children have been well fed today and have had plenty of water. It has been a hard day but a blessed day. I won’t assume that the hardship is over but the joy in to and from God. I learned Charisa is a diabetic tonight. She has not had enough food today and is in need of proper nutrition. It is good to have Drew and his knowledge to help get her to stay awake to eat and drink. We pray for hours with her and for
her.
The street is more like an alley. It smells of urine, is filled with trash, and the non-stop barking of a dog and crowing of a rooster down the street have been announcing their presence most of the night.
We have [not been] approached by anyone on the street until about 3:00 AM. A police truck pulled up the street; they asked if we were alright. We explained what we were doing and why we were on the street. They were understandable and let us remain with no problems.
Prayer: God protect the children, help Charisa, Thank you that there will be people from our churches waiting for us when we arrive in the DR with the children. I am physically spent. My outer man wants to complain, but my spirit refuses him. I count it a joy to be poured out like a drink offering. Please make that dog quit barking.
(* Photo’s from Nikki. Thank you Nikki)
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The following is not in my journal… they are thoughts and observations I made one year later on January 28, 2011
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Here is some information that I think will help in piecing this day together with people and events in the coming days
This day was very exhausting. We had this smaller bus and needed to reserve another bus to handle the number of children now. There is no way we could have driven the larger bus to the orphanage but the larger bus would better handle the number of children. The additional bus eventually created additional confusion as issues of money and security began to pose a threat. With the assistance of the Haitian policeman we had met a few days before, we were able to pay the fee for the second bus and relieve them of any further assistance. This now made the bus very full with 33 children and 12 adults (10 Americans, now one translator and a relative of Pastor Sainvil.)
While meeting with Pastor Sainvil at the Haiti Sharing Jesus Orphanage, I was approached by a young man who introduced himself to me as Alex. He was very kind and thankful to meet me. He spoke English pretty well, I later learned that he is a school teacher.
He asked me if I could walk with him to his neighborhood. I informed Laura that I was going to walk with him to his house while she was working with Pastor Sainvil. I then met a lady name Florance who walked with us to Alex’s house. There Alex explained to me that their neighborhood was taking care of several children. Their parents were all killed during the earthquake. Alex asked me if we could take these children with us. I told him that we were working with the understanding that we could only receive children from an orphanage with authorization from the orphanage director. He understood and was very thankful I had walked with him to see and hear their need for help. I gave him Laura’s phone number and he gave me his so we could communicate in the future about how to help him. He, Florance and another man named Junior walked back with me to the bus. These three individuals will become very important to us in the coming days.
The dog never quit barking.
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