A couple of weeks in...

 We have been here for a couple of weeks now and we are beginning to get used to some parts of the new life.  No hot water, living in community, bigger family!

It is interesting to watch Charlie and Christopher play.  Charlie speaks and understands very little English and Christopher is the same with Creole, but the two have had many adventures together already.

I have been tending to a few odd jobs / fix it tasks and I am ready to start building out the carpentry shop.  I have been a plumber, internet technician, electrician, gardener and laborer so far.  I can't wait to be a carpenter and a teacher again.  I think I will teach some English here too.  I have the experience and there is a desire...so I think I can carve out a few hours a week for an English program.

The kids love the ability to run around anywhere on the property.  There are quite a few animals here...dogs, cats, ducks, turkeys, goats, chickens, sheep, horses, turkeys, quail, lizards and tarantulas!  Christopher loves to feed the ducks.  He has been able to feed them from his hands and they even let him pick them up sometimes!

I have to get my Haitian drivers license renewed before I can buy a motorcycle, so I am still without transportation.  I have a car in Gonaives, but apparently it has some serious issues and can not be driven up here like I thought I was going to do.

Today we are going to look at the place on the property where employee housing will go, so that project is officially started!  It will be nice to have our own space here.  

Thanks for following us,

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abby, Christopher, Charlie, Christmael

Together again or the last several years in one update!

 Yes, it has been since 2019 that I put up a blog update.  A lot has changed since then.

At the end of 2019, I thought I had another kidney stone. It turned out to be my appendix giving me problems.  I had an appendectomy at the hospital in Marchande de Saline, Haiti.  That was pretty scary, but the surgery went well.  After the surgery, my wife and I had concerns that I was not recovering well.  She suggested that I could take a few months in the States to get better.  

In January, I left for the states with Abby and Christopher.  Victoria's passport had expired and I had an appointment in early February at the Embassy to take care of that.  I came back early February and brought Victoria back to my parent's house in Omaha.  Not too long after that, Covid started with travel restrictions and I decided to stay for a while and work.  

I picked up a new skill, setting tile.  I wanted to have another trade to teach along with carpentry when I got back to Haiti.  So, I was working as a tile guy mostly in new construction.  Victoria and Abby were going to school across the street from my parents house, Christopher was in daycare.

About a year ago, my father passed away.  I am so grateful that we got to spend some time with him, the kids developed a great relationship with grandpa, they loved him and he loved them.  I stopped setting tile and got busy working on projects that he had started and projects that he would have done if he was around.  A few months ago, my mother and I decided that the kids and I should find a way to get back to Haiti and back to my wife and children there.

When I left, Charlie was only 2 months old.  I watched him grow up over the phone and tablet.  I really needed to find a way to get back to see him in person.  I posted on facebook that I was looking for a job.  I found two!  One was to fill in as kitchen help in a daycare and one was for a carpentry teacher in Haiti! The carpentry teacher position is with Beehive Global.  Plans were set in motion.

There were several speed bumps along the way, but on December 18, Victoria, Abby, Christopher and I landed in Cap Haitian.  We were picked up by Jonathan, the guy that hired me to be his carpentry teacher.  After a long bumpy ride, we arrived at his mission in the central plateau region of Haiti.  Within an hour of our arrival, the kids and I were reunited with their mother and two brothers!

I have been here a week now, I promise to put up some pictures and explain in more detail what is going on here soon.  I am frustrated working on my laptop without a mouse, so a short post is all I can do at the moment.

Keep us in your prayers,

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abby, Christopher, Charlie, Christmael.

Manifestations and trying to make progress

Haiti is not usually on the radar of the main stream media, very few people know of the unrest down here if they don't know someone who lives here.

I try to keep my social media posts positive, I don't want to give the negative actions of a few any more attention.  There have been many days of protests here lately.  Here they are known as manifestations.  They can be peaceful marches with people carrying signs and tree branches or they can be road blocks with whatever debris can be gathered and some burning tires.  We have had all types here in Gonaives.

Port au Prince has all types too, but on a much larger scale and more frequently.  Gonaives has been pretty quiet until recently.

When these occur, the safe thing to do is to stay home.  Most of the time, there is some notice...you just prepare like you do in hurricane season.  Make sure you are stocked up on the essentials of life - drinking water, food, gasoline, propane.  When the manifestations stretch for longer periods of time, it becomes difficult to get supplies.

Earlier in the year, there were lots of manifestations in Port au Prince, but Gonaives was relatively quiet.  But, with problems in Port au Prince, it became difficult to get fuel and food items that are not local.  The power plant in Gonaives shut down most customers due to the inability to get critical supplies from the capital.  The gas stations had no gasoline, black market gas got to around $12 a gallon.

What this all means to us is we have to be more cautious and conservative.  We don't take any unnecessary trips.  The lumber yards don't get supplies from Port, so my work slows down.  We have to spend less money if I can't work.  It is summer now, but when school was in session, it was usually closed for expected manifestations.  We run the generator sparingly, only having a limited supply of fuel.

So, life goes on, just a little slower.  Patience is a prerequisite for life here. If you have been here, you understand exactly what I mean.  Things that you think should not take a long time or have any degree of difficulty become day long or week long endeavors!  I pray daily for patience and He has not let me down.  Patience will get us through this rough period and then we can get back to concentrating on our mission.

What is the mission?
Creating jobs
Training job seekers
Training job providers
Investing in Haiti
Investing in Haitians

Thanks for following us,

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abby, Christopher

A little help from my friends?

Hello from Haiti

Things are moving along down here, but not fast enough!  There has been political unrest and restricted travel.  There has been very little grid power and shortages of gasoline.  Things have been quite difficult lately.

I am writing today to ask for some help to get this project moving a little faster.  I believe that once the carpentry school and business has a solid foundation, it will be able to support my family and our mission on its own.  But we are not there yet.

I have lots to work with, I just need some help to get it going.  I have a carpentry business with a solid product line and many happy customers.  I have land with clean title for the school and our home.  I have countless future students begging me to start teaching them carpentry.

How can you help?

• Monthly support - I could use a little more monthly support for the basics of life
• Donations toward a specific project...If you are interested in seeing your support go directly toward a goal, I have several projects that are not fully funded yet.
• Your hands - come down and give me a hand for a while
• Connections - if you know of someone who is interested in vocational training and fighting poverty in a third world country, get us connected!
• Prayer - I know God is watching out for us, tell Him thanks for us and ask Him for the patience to see this through.

Monthly support and one time donations can be made with the links at the top right corner of this page.  Or, you can get a check to Tools for Success, a 501(c)3, in Nebraska.  Send me an email for the address...blueteamleader@gmail.com.

Specific projects I have in mind are:

• Solar power for the shop - $9,000
• Security wall for the property - $8000
• Workshop area on the property - $3000
• Temporary place to live on the property - $5000  (We will use the building for something else when we have built our house)

For the most part, this will be investing money in me and in Haiti.  For example, when I build the security wall, that money goes into the pockets of hard working Haitians.  The guys that make the block, load the truck, deliver the materials, build the wall...etc.  The solar equipment will be purchased from a Haitian company in Port au Prince.

Please consider investing in Haiti.  Please consider investing in me!

Also please contact me if you would like to know more.  Again, my email address is blueteamleader@gmail.com, I am on Facebook, or you can just call me +509 44-96-97-08!

Thanks,

Scott

New team member, new goals...

Christopher Kerwin Peters

Christopher and his mommy!

Christopher and his daddy!

Don't forget Abbigaelle and Victoria!

On January 15, we welcomed Christopher Kerwin Peters into this world.  Our little boy was born here in Gonaives, he is healthy and happy!  Victoria and Abby love to take care of him and give him love.

I have been working on a plan to clarify my goals and get into action.  With the help of an angel investor website, I have created a summary of what I would like to accomplish.  If you have time, please read through it...

I made some magnet letters out of scrap plywood.

Short Summary

The solution to poverty is not charity, it is business. I want to train carpenters to build and market a product to create a small business. Students will be taught carpentry and business skills in an environment that has the tools necessary.

Highlights

·      Nearly every customer becomes a repeat customer.

·      Help those in another country succeed in their environment.

·      Finding and nurturing human potential (On loan from God)

·      Starting to turn down business because I don't have the capacity.

·      Third world remedy? I think so...it has worked in other countries.

The Business

These book cases are hard to keep in stock!

The business is called "Bon Bagay Chapant" which is creole for "Good Stuff Carpentry." I have been building and selling furniture through small contracts for three years. My plan is to teach people here how I build a quality consistent product with modern tools. My students will apprentice with me as we fill contracts.
As students progress, they will assume more responsibilities in the construction process and they will have classroom time to study fundamentals of business. I would like the students to eventually get their own contracts and even compete with me for customers.
After my students have demonstrated the ability to safely work with my tools, the workshop would be available to them for their own projects as well.

The Market

My market is all of Haiti, but mostly the Gonaives area. Gonaives is the third largest city in Haiti and it is located about three hours North of the Capital. Furniture like I build and sell is very difficult to find in Gonaives and it is expensive (usually imported) when you find it in Port au Prince. For my current products, the market is pretty small, but there is not any real competition. I currently sell work tables, book cases, benches and desks. I started my business with contracts from organizations outside the country doing aid work in Haiti. I have just started selling to the local population and I have been happy with the success so far. I have not done any marketing and I am currently at capacity in my shop.

Progress/Proof

My current products are book cases, desks, work tables, school benches, bunk beds, single beds, small wood boxes and drums. Most of my customers become repeat customers and they provide great references. I offer a product that is reasonable priced, locally made, high quality and available in a reasonable time. Until a month ago, I have not done any marketing. I posted a picture of some items on a facebook group page and I am busier than I can handle. My prices are low for comparable quality items, but I still am able to make enough to continue the business. I currently have orders for benches, tables and large a retail display creation.

Deck chairs, desk, small and large cajon, writing table and school benches...all sold...making more.

Objectives/Future

Currently the carpentry shop is in my house. The plan is to build a new work area on land that I have already purchased. I will have a larger work area, showroom and classroom space. Within the first year I would like to hire a full time shop manager and establish a day labor program for students. They will be able to work according to their current ability on various components of my existing product line. I have plenty of space on my land, so it should be easy to expand the work space when needed for growth. I hope to find some talented individuals in the carpentry school that would be willing and able to take more responsibility for the business as workers and managers. My goal would be to mentor those students to run the company.

Getting ready to assemble some benches

Another Benefit

The country where this business is located has two names. The first is Haiti, the second that seems to follow it around in the media is "The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere."
Countries rise from poverty because of business, not constant charity. This country has a lot of opportunity for someone with patience.
I have lived here for six years. My wife and children were born here. I have been practicing patience for a while now. I have been patiently waiting for this moment. I would like to build a shop that can process the current orders quickly and would be able to handle many workers at once.
I would like to make Haiti more attractive to all of those that left for Chile or Brazil. Come back and start a business.

So, How can you help?

Money-

As always, I am looking for monthly supporters of my mission. If you could sign up for a monthly contribution, that will help to fill the gap between what my carpentry shop makes and what we need to keep things moving.  I am also looking for one time contributions to jump start the construction process for the new shop and school.

Time-

If you have time, I could use some help.  Website, marketing, consultation - things that could be done from where you live.  Or, you could come down here and give me a hand when it is appropriate.  I would love help building the shop, setting up the garden, or just taking care of my girls!

Contacts-

If you know of anyone with a heart for carpentry or vocational education.  If you have a friend that wants an excuse to come to Haiti for a while.  If you know someone looking for a way to fight poverty and keep families together.  Help me grow my network of friends so that we can work together on our goals.

Prayer-

I face many challenges every day.  I am in a different culture and some times the difficulties seem too much to handle.  With God's grace I make it through the day.  Please pray that I may honor God with the way I raise my children, treat my wife and follow my dreams.

Contact me-

Please get a hold of me if you would like to talk about my goals in more detail.  I am open to your ideas and thoughts.  You can send me an email at blueteamleader@gmail.com, you can call me at +509 44 96 97 08, you can find me on facebook., or you can come visit - #19 Route Basin, Gonaives, Haiti!

I love tropical gardening too...wish I could carve out more time!

God bless you and thanks for reading through this!

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abbigaelle, Christopher.

Spending some time in the States!

Back with Mom and Dad for a bit!

On the fourth of July, I was feeling a little homesick and my wife noticed.  We talked about it for a while and she suggested that I take a trip and see my family and friends in the US.  Her visa is expired, so she can't currently travel to the US.  This was a very generous gesture that she made.

I packed a few things, grabbed Abby and Victoria and we headed to Omaha!  Our daughters have US passports, so getting them out of Haiti and into the US was a breeze.  The travel was not too bad either.  On July 12, we left Gonaives around 10am, drove to Port au Prince as a family and said our good byes at the airport.  I put Abby in a front pack and Victoria used my rolling laptop bag as her stroller.  They did well in the airplanes, immigration and customs at Atlanta is a piece of cake.  We arrived in Omaha at 11pm.  My father met us in the airport.

Before we left, I was starting to lose sight of my mission through the daily routine of life.  I now have a family to support and care for.  My obligations to my immediate and extended family were overwhelming me and I was just trying to survive.  I really needed this time to focus on my goals and make a plan for them to happen.

For those of you who have followed me from the start, you saw what I can do!  Our English language institute was something amazing.  Chris and I started the school with the help of Valmy.  We grew it from afternoon only in some rented classrooms to having classes at all times of the day in a building that was ours to use.  I taught for nearly three years.  The school was great for me because I was constantly surrounded by people that were striving to improve themselves through education.  They all wanted to be there and they wanted my knowledge.

I am in a position now where it feels like I am surrounded by people that don't have the same motivation for self improvement...I need to change that and get back to being around high achievers.

I believe I can get back to that through a carpentry school.  I have been supplementing my donated income with small carpentry contracts.  If you look back on the past posts, you will see that I have built beds, school furniture, beautiful cabinets and even drums!  I am constantly approached by people that want to learn to build like I do.  They want to know how to use the specialty tools and how to make a consistent product again and again.  I would love to do this.

This dream is not too far away.  I have all of the tools I would need for now (but you can always use more tools!)  I have a piece of land for my shop.  I have a good line of existing products that would work well for instruction.  I have a large number of young men and women that would love to learn the trade.

To get the shop going, I need to get the land ready.  It is a piece of land with no improvements yet.  I would need to hook up to grid power, build a wall around the property, build a covered work area and get a generator that can run the tools when the grid is down.  This will cost around $18,000 US.

Once the shop is built, I will be able to fulfill my existing contracts from there.  I will also do some marketing and advertising to find new customers.  All of my current work is from word of mouth and repeat customers, there is a huge untapped market for what I can do.  My carpentry school would be project based.  Simple projects are prerequisite classes for the more complex projects.  The simple projects will focus on the fundamentals - reading plans, measuring accurately, tool and shop safety.

As students pass through the project classes, they will earn shop time and they will be able to come in and build things of their own with the tools that they have learned to use.  I would incorporate some business training as well to help turn their new skill into a means of supporting their family.

So, I would like to follow this dream, but I can't do it by myself.  If you would like to hear more about it, lets meet up while I am back here.  Send me an email with your contact information and we can sit and talk about it.

blueteamleader@gmail.com is my email address, https://www.facebook.com/scott.peters.501 is my facebook page.

Thanks,

Scott

Yep, its been over a year...

My last update was May 26, 2016 and here it is almost to the end of June!

Since my last update...we have been pretty busy with life.  I have had a few contracts to fill with furniture and cabinets.  My girls are a year older - and that makes a lot of difference at this age!  I bought some land for our future house and shop.  We have grabbed some stuff from the container for the house and shop.

The Girls -

A piano that I found for free in Omaha, recently arrived at our house from the container!

They are growing up so fast!  Victoria will be three this August and Abby is almost a year and a half.  Here, they start school at three years old, the school that Victoria will be attending also has a program for the younger siblings of the students.  They will both be off to school this fall!

The Dream -

The dream seems a little cloudy these days.  It is sometimes difficult to make it through a day which makes it hard to focus on work and on the future plans I have.  I still want to make it all happen, but my progress has been slowed to a crawl.  Taking care of my family has proven to be a lot more work than I expected.  I struggle to find time to work on the carpentry projects and preparations for the carpentry school and beyond.

Help please!

I am asking for some help.  My goal is to be self sufficient, so if you have any contacts in Haiti that need furniture or cabinets built - I would love to get busy on that!  I am also asking for your help in the form of donations.  The girl's tuition is just under $900 US each for the year.  I would like to get started working on our new property, I will need to build a fence, hook up to grid power and start construction on the house.  I would like to upgrade my solar power system, the batteries are at the end of their life span and I only have about 300 watts of solar panel capacity right now.  I would greatly appreciate any help you can send my way.  There are donation buttons on this blog page for one time donations and monthly support.  I am doing this through a 501(c)3 set up for my work down here.

As always, if you can't support me financially, I understand and I ask for your prayers as well.  Pray for His guidance for us and all will be well!

Thanks,

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abbigaelle

Challenges and Opportunities

Lavi byen pa fasil - A good life is not easy

Many of you that read my blog on a regular basis might just think that everything is sunshine and palm trees down here.  Yes, I do try to focus on the good stuff and fun things that I get to do, but life does have its challenges.

Marriage takes a lot of work!  I am sure that my friends that are married will just shake their heads and say "Duh!"  I am finding that out.  I am happy to have some great friends down here that I can talk to and that can give me advice.

The girls -

Victoria absolutely loves her little sister.  When Abby cries, Victoria will put her pacifier back in her mouth or even hold the bottle for her.  Victoria loves to hold and tickle her too!  Abby is growing so fast.  She is a little over three months and she can roll over and she turns her head and follows me around as I walk by.  She has a great head of hair that can be combed.

Abby sitting up in the bed

Victoria and I getting ready to go for a walk

That's a good big sister!

Victoria is helping me with a project for shade on my tomatoes!

Victoria does not like to have her hair done.  Down here it is unacceptable for a girl to leave her hair in the natural state.  It has to be braided with barrettes.  I really don't understand why we can't just let her hair be, but that is a minor cultural thing that I don't understand...not one worth worrying about too much!

Projects -

My kitchen is a little further along than it was on my last blog update, but I have been busy trying to finish the first room for CoreLuv, so the kitchen has to wait.  I hope to install the cabinets this week in the medical clinic.  Then I can start on the next room!  I also just landed a contract to build some more beds.  The Salvation Army has a training center in Port au Prince and they are going to have me build 4 bunk beds and 32 regular beds!  I am going to be very busy trying to manage all of these projects at once.  I am grateful for the opportunities.

The kitchen cabinets in progress

The Salvation Army contract came from someone that had spent a few nights on my bunk beds at the House of Hope - Jim and Debbie Hambrick.  We have been trying for over a year to figure out exactly what they want and a schedule to do everything.  The contact at the Salvation Army would not settle for anyone else making their beds!  She was impressed with the quality and simple beauty of my "Standard Bunk Bed."  It pays to do quality work every time.

Making a mobile with shapes and colors for the girls.

Are these ladders OSHA approved?

Expansion -

The lot next door has come up for sale.  I would like to purchase it to build my workshop now and eventually some of the other things I have in my dreams.  I made an offer on it earlier this week, but it was too low...the owner told me that he paid more for it than I had offered.  The land could probably get the price he wants...it is a big piece of land, nothing on it yet, on a busy and paved road.  Even if I had enough money for it, I don't know if I would try to buy it or maybe look for something less expensive in another location.  I will pray about it for a while...hopefully it is still available when I figure out the solution.  Or maybe the solution is some land a bit out of town.

The lot next door

My back yard (from the apartment being built in back of the lot)

In the mean time, I will build a covered area in my back yard to store lumber and for people to come and work.  The masons are nearly finished raising the wall, when that is done, I will put up a tin roof over an area for shade and protection from the rain.

My challenges (prayer requests)

My wife and I need to communicate better, pray that we can understand each other and that we can empathize with each other.  I need to be as productive as possible, pray that I find good help and that I am able to use my time wisely as I work on multiple contracts at once.  I still come up a little short on money some times, pray that I am a good steward of my resources and that I am able to get the work and support that is necessary to grow down here.

As always, thanks for reading this and may God bless you as he has blessed us.

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abbigaelle

I have been right here the whole time!

Well, this is the first post of 2016...sorry about that...we got busy.

As soon as we were a bit settled in the new house, I got to work on a big order of beds for a previous customer in Port au Prince.  Now their entire mission house has my beds!  Organizing my shop for production took some work and it is nowhere near finished.  But my shop is functioning in the back section of our house.  Because it is in our house, I don't bring many people over to work...just a few that I have experience with.

Bed parts ready for assembly

Victoria helping me put the screws in

Varnish drying on another order!

Time to relax on the front porch!

I have been building out the kitchen.  From the previous post, you could see that I had an empty shell to work with.  I have most of the base cabinets installed, still have to build the peninsula and the upper cabinets.  Also waiting on the countertops until all of the base cabinets are done.  I am going to try a cast in place concrete countertop.  This kitchen will double as a showroom for potential customers.  There might be a few dozen people in Gonaives that would be willing to pay for a custom kitchen like mine...all I need is one!

Kitchen plans

Good start

Sink works - no more doing dishes outside!

My current project in the shop is the first room for the CoreLuv Orphanage medical clinic.  I believe that they want me to build cabinets for every room.  Jacob Sangster is the man on the ground here in Haiti for the project.  He stopped by yesterday and he really liked what he saw.  I would like to get going in a shop soon so that I can hire some help for the next rooms.

The drawer inspector

Two drawer sections done

Just half of the base cabinets for the first room

I really enjoy when a customer wants a quality job!

Abbigaelle Lisa Peters

She was born on February 13...a day before Valentines day and two days after my sister Lisa.  She was born at the hospital in Marchand Dessalines.  This is where Victoria was born and where we were going for prenatal checkups.  It is about an hour away from us to the South East.  It was a pretty normal birth...no problems...but Victoria was getting a lot of laughs as she mocked her mother.  Ruthcher was walking around the hospital Friday night, putting her hands on her knees and letting everyone know what she was feeling.  Victoria proceeded to do the exact same gestures and noises...all of the nurses had to come out and watch the show!

Daddy with baby

Our whole family!

Daddy built me a bed!

Victoria can rock me to sleep!

Such a good big sister.

I think I am getting ready to go to Port.

A day at the beach with my girls!

Loves her sister

Always wants to hold her

Sold the house, bought a car!

Like I said in my last post, I am going "All in" here.  I sold my house and I used a portion of the equity for a car and a generator.  The balance will be saved for when I find the perfect property to buy for our permanent home - and shop, and school, and business, and garden, and whatever else I think I need to try!  The search for land is ongoing, I have the word out with several friends, they know what I am looking for.  I keep getting dragged to see property that I know I would not be interested in...but then I just patiently explain again exactly what I am looking for...it will come.

2003 Rav4, going rate is twice blue book down here.

Getting close on the container

The container is nearly full, we are getting quotes on the different aspects of shipping it now.  Putting it on a truck, taking it to the rail yard, train to Palm Beach, boat from there to St. Marc, drive it to Gonaives.  Jan Thompson from Christopher's Hope has a bunch of stuff in there too.  Some great people from Kansas drove a load up to throw in there.  My church in the Omaha area - Journey Church in Gretna - is helping me ship it down here.

Thanks for your continued support

Things are not always easy, I paint a pretty rosy picture of life down here most of the time.  The truth is, there are always challenges - but I don't want to complain or share my problems with just anyone who has a computer.  Our family appreciates your prayers, all you have to do is ask God to look after us.  We don't need you to pray for anything specific, He knows what is needed.  We also appreciate the support of hearing our friend's voices.  If you happen to see that we are both online at the same time, feel free to start up a conversation...I will make time for it.

We also appreciate the financial commitment that some of you have made.  The small monthly contributions help with recurring bills like phone and internet, the larger one time gifts usually come in just when they are needed.  I thank all of you that are making this possible here and I encourage some of you to click on the Subscribe or Donate button in the upper right of this blog to send some money this way.  Tools for Success is now recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation.

Thank you and may God bless you

Scott, Ruthcher, Victoria, Abbigaelle

Bon Fet Noel!

Here is an update from our new place!

I ended up renting the place that I blogged about over a year ago.  I am renting the main floor of the house.  There is enough room that I can can start my carpentry shop inside!  I have to make some cabinets for the bathroom and completely build out the kitchen, all stuff that I can do and I enjoy doing.

Today I am waiting for a "boss" to finish a couple of things - sink in the bathroom and rewire a couple of outlets.  When this place is finished, it will be top notch.  It has power (when the rest of the town has power), it has a reservoir on the roof for the modern bathroom (shower, sink and flush toilet), it is on a paved road and it has a big back yard.

This will be the kitchen area

This is the dining area, I will build a raised floor over the well head.

This is the front of the house that faces Route Basin (the road to the new hospital)

This is looking to the back door, my shop area.

This will be our home for the next year at least while we look for land to build on.  As you walk in the front door, everything in on your left.  Dining area, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, second bedroom.  The right side is completely open from the front to the back and is around 18 feet wide.  The majority of this space will be my carpentry shop and the back bedroom will be my office and work area for repairing computers and other electronic projects.

24 Desanm

The 24th of December is when the Haitians celebrate Christmas.  All of the streets are cleaned up, yards are organized, lots of food is prepared.  This evening just before sunset, the festivities will begin.  Some people call this a night of no sleep.  The parties will be going well into the morning at most houses.

Family news

Victoria is so much fun.  She is starting to talk and she speaks a mixture of Creole and English.  She loves animals, she misses the kitten from the other house...but she has a new friend for now.  We are watching the Brooks' new puppy until they get back in January.  They got a female Rott.  Ruthcher's pregnancy is going well, she is 7 months now and everything appears to be normal with her.  Hoping for a February delivery.

All dressed up for church!

People watching and playing her little piano at the new house.

Victoria playing with the new puppy

Tile Project

I took on what I thought was going to be a quick project at Jan Thompson's orphanage.  We were to remove all the old tile and replace it with something pretty and pink, pink toilet and rebuild some closets.  Tile is very difficult to remove from a concrete block wall, plumbing fixtures don't work the same with gravity pressure as opposed to pressure from city water, trips to get plumbing supplies involve three or four different stores, thin set does not go very far on a rough surface - and it is only available in Port!  All of those problems, but we managed to get the tile done and Jean Philippe is working on the closets as we speak!

Jean Philippe removing the old tile

The old white toilet

Removing the old fixture involves a demolition hammer!

Starting up the wall with the new tile

And a pretty border tile on top

Nearly finished with the tile

Installing the pink toilet!

My investment

I would not ask my friends and family to do anything that I was not willing to do myself.  I have decided to invest in myself here as much as I can - I am going to sell my house in the US.  I would like to get a vehicle with four wheels for our growing family, I would like to purchase a generator so that my carpentry shop can still function at times like right now (running on batteries) and I would like to have a decent down payment for the land we will buy.  I am "All in" on this project and I am asking for your help as well.  The not profit corporation "Tools for Success," has been formed and it has federal 501(c)3 status.  Small monthly donations or one time contributions of money are appreciated.  

We can also receive supplies for a short time.  We have a shipping container in Council Bluffs that we will ship down here when it gets full.  Medical supplies, school supplies, books...some ideas.  Contact me if you have any questions about that - blueteamleader@gmail.com.  We are not looking for someone to go out and buy things for the container that are available for purchase here.  It makes more sense to invest in Gonaives with that money.  If you would like your money to do something specific, don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks for reading this and following our lives.  Have a Merry Christmas and may God bless you and your families!

Scott, Ruthcher and Victoria.