After a night filled with the unending howls of stray dogs, the not so timely calls of roosters and the seemingly infinite crickets (seriously I've never heard crickets anywhere near as loud), the group awoke to breakfast and an early start to our day at 730. While we thought we would be hand mixing cement and helping with the construction of the school, Father Noe told us that we were to do that on Monday. Ultimately we ended up going on a stroll on the roads of Lauranette, only stopping at a river covering the road none of us were interested in fording on foot. After our stroll we discovered that the water tank that we drew from to shower and flush the toilet in the bathroom was completely empty, and we were tasked with going to fetch more water for it. After trekking through narrow paths for a quarter of a mile or so, we arrived at the spigot that drew from the well. After completing our journey from the school to the well and back twice we had filled our reservoir about 1/3 of the way. While lugging water wasn't the most fun thing to do, it gave us insight as to what it would be like to live in Lauranette, and more time to admire the beautiful country of Haiti. The surrounding area of Lauranette is beautiful, surprisingly lush and quite "verdant" as J.D. said with gusto two or three times today. 

Later in the afternoon we learned first hand why it is so lush here. As black clouds rolled over at the horizon, there were a few inquisitive murmurs about the possibility of rain today. Not more than five minutes later, the Haitian storm was upon us, coming down in full force. The rain turned the soccer field into a swimming pool in minutes, and the 55-gallon drum we used to collect the rain water off the roof was full before we knew it. The rain's power was emphasized by the schools corrugated steel roof, which roared loud enough to rival the thunder. The downpour was torrential for about an hour, and it has been sprinkling intermittently throughout the night. 

Fortunately we were able to pass the time by playing various card games with the translators and villagers, such as speed, spoons, B.S., and two Haitian card games called Caue and Camezo. 

The group has remained in good health and high spirits, and are excited for the days to come. 

~John Darcy