And Then There Were Two...

Nine of our 11 team members will be landing shortly back in the Washington, D.C. area.  Paul and I (Sarah) stayed an extra day and I'm really glad we did.

Our day started with Marilyn (Lazarus) making an appearance at breakfast looking much more herself!  Praise God!  We had some time this morning to relax, talk, climb coconut trees (go Tish!) and then the inevitable happened.  I, Sarah Finger, admit leg-wrestling defeat to one Paul Swicord.  We went two out of three rounds and he won.  I think I lost because the sun was in my eyes.  Yeah, that's it!  Tish wanted to take me on too but that didn't go as well for her.  As Mark said, it wasn't just defeat, it was total domination.  Sorry Tish!

After the group left, Paul got to work building screens for the health center and I made identification badges for the staff.  After lunch, Bert took us on a tour out to the Earthquake Memorial and then up Route 3 into the mountains, north and west of Croix-des-Boquets.  The Earthquake Memorial is hard to describe.  Before the earthquake, it was a quarry and because of that, it became a mass grave for thousands upon thousands of unidentified victims of the earthquake.  There is a small monument built there that says "We Will Not Forget You" and the date of 12 January.

After we left there, we drove up into the mountains and had a fantastic view of the bay and surrounding areas.  We saw an area where hundreds of thousands of people have been relocated out of tent cities into transition housing.  As we drove up the mountain, Bert pointed out a compound area that had been used by the Nepalese Army as part of the UN.  Paul and I took a picture as we whizzed by and we all agreed it looked like the Nepalese were not there anymore but someone was.  After turning around at Terre Rouge, a small village, we drove down a little ways to a tiny overlook, got out and took some pictures.  Back on the road, we started to approach the aforementioned compound area and then men there came out and stopped us.  Apparently, they did not like that we had taken photos of the area.  Bert has surmised they are ex-military.  Quite the excitement!

After returning to Hope House, we relaxed before a nice steak dinner and great conversation.  We ate at Bert and Roberta's apartment.  They also showed us some video of the school's Christmas service.  Super cute!

And now it's time for shower and bed before beginning our last morning here!