We arrived in Port-au-Prince on Saturday to learn that the storm that was to hit there on Sat. am had turned out to sea...(The Lord knew we wanted to be there!). They just had a little rain. As was expected, I wasn't surprised at the sight of [Port-au-Prince]. Many teams had spoken of it. We were able to see the palace, government buildings, and museum by riding around. In that area, it is more beautiful. LaBaliene [the location of Tree of Life School] is surrounded by mountains but sits up the hillside enough that it doesn't get flooded. There are beautiful wild flowers, fruit trees, and greens all around. The biggest problem is the "rocky", yes big rocks that makes up the road. It's more like a jeep trail. They have to change tires every 7 to 10 months. The government doesn't do much to repair roads in the capital [Port-au-Prince], let alone elsewhere. It takes about 5 or 6 hours to get back to the mountain [where LaBaliene is], which should only take about 3. No McDonalds or the like in sight, not even in Port-au-Prince.

But I was impressed with the beauty of the mountain region and the people of LaBaliene; and the good work that Joel Buissereth, his cousin Richard Buissereth, and the others are doing for their people. The children were dressed neatly in their uniforms and were pleasant and respectful. They have very nice school and church facilities that demonstrate their desire to improve and to help the villager's become independent but still compassionate enough to help others. Some of the children walk 4-5 miles to be at school by 7am for high school and 8am for elementary. There is one student, Yvrose Buissereth, who has walked 5 miles since she was in kindergarten and is now in the 12th grade. What dedication and determination! There are 515 students. About 125 are being sponsored--54 by MAMA and the remainder by other churches. [There are] 10 more students who still need to be sponsored.

Erwin and Emma Stutzman were the original couple who went to LaBaliene to help the villagers. They helped Joel and others to build the school and church buildings. They are now in their 80s and still go down for a few months each year to be an inspiration and [act as]advisors. There is one couple who helps with the overseeing of the funds that come from their churches in Ohio and Kansas. They have been there for 2½ years. Another couple from Iowa is there to help teach mechanics, and the wife helps to teach in the sewing shop. They have been there 1½ yrs.

I learned from Richard that they don't just buy and give the children uniforms. They buy material and the mothers and ladies in the village sew the uniforms--a savings in the cost. Good thinking! Some village ladies make some nice articles in the sewing shop, that villagers or visitors can buy.

The children have to maintain at least a 70% average in their school work in order to stay in the scholarship program. I also learned that besides speaking their Créole, the learn the mother language of French--also, Spanish and English. They have nice class rooms in which to learn.
I was very pleased with the system and the progress the children are making.

Quite a few of the villager's were able to build themselves a two room cement house by their earnings, and some were built with the help of funds from the U.S. for the poorer families. The villagers make charcoal. It is quite a process: Make a pit, not too deep. Cut down small trees and cut [the trees] in about 5 or 6 foot long pieces. Lay them in a circle in the pit with one end in the center (like a wheel). Make a small fire in the very center. Quickly, thoroughly cover [the fire] with many branches of leaves, and then cover completely with dirt. It will cook for days. The size of the pit and mound determines how many days to let it cook--a small mound for 4-5 days, a larger mound for 6-8 days. [They] can tell when it is done cooking when the mound of dirt sinks in. Then they take the dirt off and there is the charcoal. They let it cool, break it into small pieces, bag it, sell it, or use it for cooking. [It is] very interesting to see. The villagers also made--chiseled with picks and shovels--a stony road, about ¼ of a mile, taking 125 men 3 months from 6 am to 5 or 6 pm.

Phil and Emily, who hosted us, are in the process of trying to adopt the twins of a 15 year old immature girl. Loudie wants them to have the babies. [She] says she can't afford to keep them.