June 4

We finally have a little down time this afternoon so I will write to you all. I am still full of emotion from my visit in the tent city this morning. So, perhaps it is time to share some details I have not been able to share until now.

Yesterday, when we were in City Soleil, I learned that 2 million of the 9 million folks located in the city are living in tents (hence the term tent city). The earthquake demolished the prison, which is located here. There are four thousand prisoners free and located somewhere n City Soleil. The crime there is so bad. It was the only time on this trip that I truly was afraid.

My hotel is called the Oleffson Hotel. It has been here for over 95 years. It’s actually quite charming once you look beyond the meager accommodations. There are nice tables outside under the awning to have a meal or relax after your day. The décor of the hotel is Voo Doo, which is really prevalent here. There is apparently good voodoo and bad voodoo). I hope the little statue in my room is good voodoo.

My room is small and if I try and charge my laptop, the one light that I have does not work. There is a $10 charge per day for electricity. There were some pretty big cracks around the windows so I plugged them up with paper to keep mosquitoes and geckos out of my room. What I did not realize was that the small rat was already in my room and waiting. Yikes. I only saw him twice, but left a treat out for him so he wouldn’t bother me while I slept (okay, I did not sleep too well knowing he was in my room!).

I’ve met some amazing people at my hotel in addition to Jimmy Buffett. I’ve met many media types who are here for one reason or another. I was able to give several interviews to global reaching correspondents. They LOVE our story, especially when I talk about the culture of our company and its employees and our overwhelming desire to help those in need. There was a photojournalist from New York who wants to cover our story when I return to the U.S. I’ve met folks from the U.N. and National Security and some really incredible volunteers here for missionary work.

It is rainy season here. It’s about 100 degrees and very humid. It’s sunny in the morning and there’s thunder and lightning and heavy downpours in the afternoon.

Tomorrow I am meeting with the Board of Directors for Pan American Development Foundation and will travel back to Florida late in the afternoon. The time has gone so quickly. More later…