A successful Wednesday

As the team converged on Radio Lumiere this morning the tasks before us seemed unending. It seems like for every circuit we run or outlet we replace, there are a dozen more waiting for us to work on. There were groups of guys working simultaneously on all three floors today in what looked like an assembly line. One group drilled holes through the concrete walls, followed by another group mounting boxes, then another running the wire. There were still others in the inverter room laying out the main switches. The quality of work and the cohesion of the team is unlike anything I have ever seem in the construction industry. Working in a place like this, with the limited resources we have and achieving these results is truly miraculous. We have a few hard working days left to wrap up this project, which as usual has broadened in scope every day that we've been here. The lighted sign for the front of the building is about half finished being rewired with new light fixtures, it would probably be done if one of the electricians was working on it instead of me, but I promise it will be shining bright before we leave. Tomorrow is the 2nd Anniversary of the horrific earthquake and this year it has been made a national holiday. Everyone in the country is off tomorrow, except for the I-TEC team that is, which is great for us because we will get more done without interfering in the regular operations at the station. Please keep our team and the people of Haiti in your prayers as we celebrate this day of remembrance for all those lost 2 years ago.

Productive Tuesday

Well gang, the team has one week in and still going strong! Today we ran several new circuits and cleaned up a few more sub-panels. In the computer room and battery room progress was made with the inverters. The big boxes that once sat on stools with wires hanging from the are now mounted on the wall and wired to disconnects. Up on the roof, the rats nest of tangled wires (some of which were nothing more than cheap household extension cords with the ends cut off) were eliminated. In their place a new circuit was installed and a new lead for the lighted sign is ready to light Lumiere. We are in the middle of rebuilding the sign itself. It was taken down when the earthquake damaged perimeter wall was repaired and made taller. Now the light inside it isn't working, so we are making the necessary repairs. We will also be adding a dusk to dawn light over the driveway just inside the gate. As we wind down our day and prepare for bed it is raining. This is a relief as the humidity has been so thick the past few days you could cut it with a knife. So now we head off to bed listening to the rain drops on the tin roof instead of the normal buzz of the insects.

Monday and a Half

This one is from Gary. We want to than the many of you who have been praying for myself, Don and Gerard, who have been suffering from flu-like symptoms. Yesterday was a bit miserable for some of us, but after a good night of sleep and your prayers we are all feeling a bit better today. I am nowhere near 100% but functional and that is all I was hoping for. We are all working to get the "Priority Circuits" (those powered by the inverters rather than directly from the city power) fixed up. These circuits are critical to the operation of the station and in the process of "fixing" this wiring we will need to take segments of the radio transmissions off the air from time to time. We took the station off the air once yesterday due to a couple of wire nuts that just fell apart while we were working on some other things, and the phone rang within a minute, so I knew people out there listening noticed. Don, Steve, Shane, Bernade, and a translator spent over 5 hours yesterday trying to get us supplies that will keep us working the rest of the week and after spending nearly $1000, we should be good for now. The Lord has truly blessed us with many blessings this week and we are excited to see Him continue to work. There have been several moments that I would consider to be absolute miracles and nothing else. We will tell you all about these when we get home. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to work with live electrical circuits all day long. Our team has knit together in ways I have never seen before. We have also seen the protection of the Lord in several rather scary circumstances that I really do not wish to enlarge on here, but we will be sure to tell you all about them when we get back home... Gary

A typical Monday

Today, like most Mondays had a bit of Murphy's law playing along. I along with Don and Steve went to the supply house on the north side of Port au Prince. The 18 mile trip took us 2 1/2 hours each way thanks to traffic accidents and detours. Back at Radio Lumiere the rest of the team stayed busy. While a couple of the guys worked on the generator and made the power transfer "officially" automatic, the others worked on pulling new circuits. The major objective of the day and moving forward this week is cleaning up wiring. Over the 50 year history of the radio station the service in the building has been added to and spliced in a thousand different directions. We will be tearing out most of the old, degraded wires and connections and replacing them with safe new ones. There is a newer addition on the building that will be used for TV production, however there isn't a single wire or plug in the whole studio. By the end of this week that new studio will be ready to go!

Our day of rest

This morning started early as we woke up with the chickens and got ready for church. The service started at 6am, we were a little late but took our seats by 6:20. As the honored guests of Radio Lumiere, we were seated just to the side of the main alter next to the preachers. During the service we were asked to stand up so we could be introduced to the congregation. The service lasted till 8:30 and was spoken in Creole, so it was a bit of a challenge for our American crew, but very rewarding as we witnessed the devotion of the Haitian people in their dedication to the Lord. After church we returned to the compound to change our clothes before heading out for a day of sight seeing. Our first stop was a 2 hour drive to the top of the mountain just south of Port au Prince. At an altitude of about 3500 feet, the view was amazing, with the entire city below us. While there we also looked at the transmission tower for the radio station, which could use some electrical work as well! The day continued with lunch at a local cafe and a tour of the areas of the city hardest hit by the earthquake which hit 2 years ago this week. It was an eye opening experience for all of us, to see how the people here are still living after 2 years, still trying to pick up the pieces and put there city back together.

Returning to the compound we had a relaxed evening around the pool. After dinner we have spent the rest of the evening reflecting on our time here in Haiti so far and discussed the work that is yet to be done.

Saturday in Haiti

This morning started with a bit of a "Bang". As the team gathered at the compound gates to wait for the Tap Tap, Gary's cell phone rang with a frantic Paul Shingledecker, the project manger for the radio station, on the other end. A few breakers tripped and the station was without power. As soon as we arrived on site the trouble shooting began and the power was soon on. The day progressed with programming the automatic transfer switches and clamping the rest of the new wires on the exterior of the building. We had a visit from the City Utility to perform some line work on the main transformer to the building. It was interesting seeing our high voltage lineman interacting with the Haitian lineman, just the difference in tools was shocking. We watched the Haitian strip a high voltage line with a steak knife! After some negotiation and helpful translation from a passer by who lived in New York for 30 years, we got new connection wires installed from the transformer to the radio station. Tomorrow we have a day of rest, after we attend church service at Lumiere at 6am. We plan on visiting the mountains above Port-au-Prince through the day, then coming back to the compound for a cook out in the evening.

Haiti day #3

We crossed a milestone today and the team came through with flying colors. Radio Lumiere's power was switched from the old jumble of wires boxes to the new service panels and automatic crossovers. The air conditioning is now running on dedicated circuits and the generator is tied into the system. Some of our Haitian counterparts were a bit nervouse as the work progressed. Our modern equipment and techniques were a bit foreign to them, but in the end...when everything worked, there were very happy with the result. Smiles could be seen all around the station on both the Lumiere staff and our I-TEC team!

The weather has been great so far, if you like 88 to 90 degrees. But hey, it beats shoveling snow. The Hatian crew at Radio Lumiere are keeping us well nourished with a variety of local foods including rice, beans, millet, chicken, goat and native vegetables.

Day by day we are growing stronger as a team and enjoying the work we are doing together! Gary has told us to be prepared for the hard work ahead now that the "easy" portion of the project is done. So please keep us in you prayers as we continue working tomorrow.