CHAOTIC IS BETTER THAN STRESSFULL

If you read my previous blog you know my first week in Haiti wasn't really going very smoothly. I ended by saying I wasn't going to worry about what tomorrow was going to bring which was good because the rest of the week didn't get any better.
I had a team arriving on Friday at 4:00 pm , I got my first call about 10:00. They were stuck in Chicago because of a snow storm so for the next several hours I got updates on what was happening. At about 2:30 I got a call that they were going to arrive here in Haiti at about 5:00 pm.
So I started for Port au Prince with my big Isuzu truck . This truck can haul a very large team plus all their luggage. This is a truck I've had in Haiti since 2002 and though it is 23 years old it has low mileage and is in very good condition. About half way to the airport I started hearing a tapping noise coming from the engine. I kept an eye on the gauges but no lights came on to suggest a problem, the tires were new and I had checked in the engine compartment before leaving, things like water, oil, power steering and fan belt.
We arrived at the airport, parked the truck and went to wait on the team. The team did a good job at getting all their luggage and getting out in good time and by 6:15 we were loaded and ready to make the 2 hour drive back to Canaan. When I started the truck I immediately knew something was wrong as all the lights in the dash were lit up and the brake peadal was hard to push on. Sometimes the lights stay on for a few minutes and then go out and I often have to add brake fluid . I decided to head out of town and then pull off in an area where there was less traffic.
When I found a good spot a few miles from the airport I stopped and added the brake fluid which wasn't enough to bring the level up very much so Pastor Henri who was following us in his truck headed back into port to find some for me. We agreed he could catch up with us so I proceeded on to Canaan. I hadn't gone a mile when I noticed the truck started getting hot. I stop and tilted up the cab to see if it was low on water instead we discovered the fan belt had come off and was damaged. We managed to get the belt back on and turned the truck around to head back into port to see if we could find a belt and some tools.
Pastor Henri met us back at the intersection where we had added the brake fluid, he then took the damaged belt and went off to try and find us another one, not and easy task at 7:00 pm. We also called Pastor Joel to come with the other big truck, the one we had just put the new clutch in, to tow us back if all else failed.
Pastor Henri finally returned and we struggled to get the wrong size belt on, by the time we did Pastor Joel had arrived and we all took off for Canaan. We were flying along putting some miles behind us when all the lights came back on , the belt had flew off because it was the wrong size. I waited to see the lights of Pastor Henri and Joel come up behind us but no trucks were anywhere in sight. I got on the phone , Pastor Joel had a flat tire but Pastor Henri said he was on his way. After he arrived we decide it wasn't a safe area to wait so I drove on till the truck started to get hot. Eventually we had to stop and shut off the truck to wait on a tow from Pastor Joel . After what seems like a long time but was probably only 15 minutes he arrived to tow us the rest of the way home.
I've towed others and been towed myself but never for 60 miles in the dark with no lights, on a very short tow rope. We finally arrived at Canaan at 11:00 pm tired ,thirsty, hungry and also wet for those who had to ride in the back through a brief rain. Someone on the team asked if that was my worst day ever in Haiti but I will save that story for another day. In God's love , Steve