Day Four

We arrived in Haiti yesterday. We traveled on the public bus which took us from Santo Domingo, DR to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The trip took 11 hours, but well worth the trip. The temperature is between 87 high and 70 degrees for the low. We slept outside under the stars. Alot of noises ranging from farm animals to cargo planes all night. We are traveling into the interior of Port-au-Prince today. We are looking for a safe distrubution site. We're also looking forward to purchasing a pre-paid phone. I've been able to skype several family members. If you're interested in skype, look me up at "Nate Manthey".
Something I was aware of before I came was the pace of life and what I call progress.
Here in Haiti everything is slower. Or it's just the people we're with. However, Carlos and I have had to adjust greatly. We're going with the flow.

Meet some of the Haitians that have teamed up with us!

From left to right. My friends
Fred Elusma, Phenel-Amien, Samuel Jean Leger



My friend Vladimir Paruison

I'm excited to see all possibilities that will happen with so many people coming together.
(c)natemanthey

Day Two: The pace slows drastically

As our plane touched down in Santo Domingo, DR our hearts began to beat faster. We were one step closer to Haiti. Our friend, Fred picked us up from the airport. It was comforting as we passed through customs and walked towards the exit to see "Nat Manly" handwritten on a piece of printer paper. We introduced ourselves and the man I've never seen embraced me like a lost long friend. It was Fred, the man I've been talking to the last couple days over the phone. He was still happy to see us, even though we were an hour late. Dominican Republic is two hours ahead of central time zone, while Haiti is only one hour ahead.

Fred hired a driver named Aimen, a police officer from Haiti, who will be with us on some of our trip. As we threw our luggage into the trunk of the car we met another fine Haitian named Vladimir Paruison, who is one of the captains of the Haitian police. Those two men will be our "secret service" as Fred puts it.


We ate a nice breakfast of fruit, scrambled eggs and toast.
The waitress was patient as I practiced my spanish. She nodded her head like she understood everything I said. I think she was just trying to be nice.


As I type this, Carlos and I are sitting in a small concrete room about 7 feet across and 19 feet long. It's the dining hall for this Hotel Masion Gautreaux. Our hosts are enjoying their hotel beds and catchng up on sleep. They advised us to stay in the hotel until our doctor friend, Kerlyn Elusma arrives. She is taking a bus from Haiti to Santo Domingo and is caught up in the traffic at the border. When she arrives, we'll drive around and pick up supplies for Haiti. We hope to get to Haiti tomorrow.

Here's what we've learned so far. All these people helping us have lost relatives and their homes from the earthquake. Their families are sleeping in cars, backyards or streets. The prices on the whole island which include Haiti and Dominican Republic have raised significantly. Fred explained how most people of Haiti didn't have jobs before the earthquake. Now the streets are congested with willing hands.

As we drove to our hotel, we overheard Fred tell our driver that the hotel we were staying at was the only one left. All other hotels in Santo Domingo are filled with foreign relief organizations, media and support workers.
The Hotel Maison Gautreaux

15 hours into Dominican Republic

Day One

Last night, around 40 of our closest friends attended a dinner and presentation by Carlos Jinks and myself. It was a great night of storytelling and community as we all shared a desire to help Haiti. Several friends gave resources on the spot, while others committed to pray. I know every effort helps. I was filled with excitement and passion as I saw those around me hear the stories of opportunity we’ve experienced. A Haitian friend, named Nick Justance, thanked those in the room for helping his people. He ended his talk with a maxim from Haiti; the English translation explains it like this,
“With a lot of hands, nothing is too heavy.”

Today, we travel to the Dominican Republic (DR). We have experienced great people and are continuing to build support with our friends and acquaintances. As we taxied on the tarmac in Newark, NJ, a friend of mine called and explained that his congregation wants to send support to Haiti. He explained that the church wants to give $1000.00 to help the Haitian people. This support and these stories are why were doing what we are. We are able go to Haiti and you can be a part of the rebuilding process with us. Carlos and I are eager to find a way to get funds into Haiti via ATM’s or the banking system. We’ll keep you posted as we find out more.

We’ll land in DR at 11:50pm (Eastern Time zone) today. Our goal tomorrow is to buy supplies like crackers and water in DR and bring them into Port-au-Prince. Our nurse on the ground requested these supplies. Several friends have given to this need specifically. We expect to buy an abundance of water and crackers.

Nate Manthey