More beds on the way…and an interesting couple of days.
How about the interesting couple of days first?
I have been looking for a place to live on my own. I have lived with Beaver and Kathy for two years now, I think I am ready for a little independence. There are not any apartment finder magazines at the supermarket or places for rent on Craigslist – Gonaives, so you have to find a place by other means. Word of mouth is the best way, the other way is to just drive around and look for “Maison a louer” with a phone number spray painted on the wall.
I saw one the other day when I was driving around. I circled back and stopped in front of the property to take down the number. A guy came from across the street with the keys to show it to me. It was downtown, with not much of a yard to speak of and it was pretty small. I thanked him and told him that I was not interested in this property. He asked why and what I was looking for…I told him that it was too small and there was nowhere for my garden. He told me that he had the perfect place for me and I should come back in an hour so we could go and see it. We exchanged names and phone numbers…his name was Garry.
So, around an hour later, I went to see Gary again. He hopped on the back of my motorcycle and directed me to another part of town. When we arrived, I told him that we don’t even have to get off of the motorcycle…I can tell from here that this property is out of my price range. He insisted that I see the property anyway…he said that he built the house himself. I agreed…the house was amazing. Everything was finished, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, big kitchen, dining room, living room, lots of balconies. Good plumbing, electricity…every modern convenience that I would need. The initial asking price was $1000 a month…sounds good, but it is a little high for me…to rent here, you pay for a year up front…$12000. I reminded him that I knew this was out of my price range to begin with, he laughed and told me that he could drop it to $8000 for the year if I wanted. I told him that it was still too high for me and I would have to keep looking for something a little less expensive.
He then told me that he knows of another piece of property that he would like me to see. In another part of town (an older part of town) we arrived at a fence and a gate with nothing but trees behind it. Peeking through the gate, we could see a huge yard, all in shade, and a nice older house toward the back of the lot. We were able to walk around the outside of the property, but the guy with the keys was in Port au Prince. We would have to come back later to look at the inside. The exciting part was the price. I could rent the upstairs of the house for $2000 for a year, or the whole house for $4000 for the year. I am looking for somewhere that I can spread my tools out and work…so the whole house is the way to go for me. I need a secure place for my carpentry business to start…I can’t be worried that the kid in the other family that lives with me left the gate open and my tools walked away.
After we looked at the house, he asked me a little about myself and what the heck I am doing down here. So I explained it all and what my plans for the future were…mainly my ideas for a trade school out in Bayonnais. He then told me that he was a “Magistra” of an area called Terre Neuve and asked if I have heard of it. I told him that I have seen it on a map, but I have never been there. He invited me to go with him to go and see it…so that is what I did yesterday. A little over an hour of rough roads, across one ridge, then into a beautiful green area. It is great taking a tour of an area with one of the town big whigs…of course now he wants me to open a branch of my not yet started school in his area as well!
About 15 minutes out of town, you can see Gonaives in the distance |
Garry getting on his bike after stopping for the tourist. |
We went on a little hike up in the hills…found a pretty stream |
And we found some bananas…the freshest banana I have ever eaten |
Sitting on the mayor’s front porch, waiting on some sandwiches |
Catholic Church and town square of Terre Neuve |
So that was the interesting couple of days…now for the other news!
My business is taking off! The orphanage that I wrote about in the last blog has secured funding for 13 more beds…they absolutely loved the first 12. There have been other orphanage directors through the place and they have all loved and asked about the beautiful beds. I have another order for 16 beds that I will start on next week…so, as of right now, I have a back order of 29 beds!!! That is a great place to be! I have a meeting tomorrow with the owner of a wood shop to try and rent some space for a month or so. I don’t think that building 29 beds at my current residence is very realistic.
So, I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I make some decisions on my future…where I am going to live, where I am going to work, where I am going to start my first school. Thanks for taking the time to read what I have been up to. And thanks to all of you that make it financially possible for me to continue to do this.