Pit Crew-Haiti style

Here's a fun little diddy about my trip last week... On Wednesday the 16th of July, we departed for Haiti and the D.R. We successfully delivered all of the missionary mail and cargo and stayed over night in Port au Prince Haiti. Upon our return trip form David Heady's compound (one of the missionaries we serve) the tire on our truck blows out. At this point I think "no problem, change the tire." But remember, we are in Haiti, not some nice highway in the States. This is after David is done telling us the story of how some one tried to kidnap him on the highway and fired two 45 caliber rounds into the side of his truck. Now we are sitting ducks for anyone that wants to rob us or kidnap us. The ditch is dirt and craggy with rocks, and trucks are whizzing by on the road. Dave produces this tiny little bottle jack (5 inches tall) and we have to put it on top of rocks so it reaches the axle. Once we get all the lug nuts unloosened, the actual wheel won't come off the truck axle. And... we can't hit the wheel too hard or the truck will fall off the jack. Finally we pry the wheel off and we are on our way. We put our pilot shirts back on and proceed as if nothing had happened. This was, of course, before we witnessed a riot in Santo Domingo! On the positive note, we visited with the other pilot's sister in the Domincan Republic and were treated to a fantastic, native, meal!

I praise God for our safety, I praise God for the opportunity to serve in more than one capacity. Finally I praise God for your support in making this possible.

Mark