Two days of travel to Bombardopolis
by Jon
I have made it to Haiti. In our last newsletter I put a sentence in the prayer requests about a trip to Haiti. Well… we prayed, and I am now writing this after two days of travel by van, commercial airline, rental car, missionary airline, a shake-down by Haitian customs, and finally a Cessna 207 to Bombardopolis.
The practical purpose of this trip is to help Hope From Above Ministries work toward extending their runway so bigger airplanes can reach this area of Haiti.
Option “C”: break the rock
One literal obstacle is a massive slab of limestone on the south end of the runway. There are a few ways to remove it: (1) blast it with explosives, (2) heavy equipment, or (3) break it by hand.
The first option is the quickest but the most complicated to orchestrate. For the second, we have limited equipment: a backhoe and a large wheel loader that needs significant repairs first. So the third is the least fun.
I am going to try option “c”: drill holes in the rock, pour in an expanding grout called Dexpan to crack it, then remove the pieces with the backhoe.
Then: Florida
Jon will be in Haiti through the beginning of November. When he gets home we’ll get ready to head to Florida until the end of February, where Jon will do aircraft maintenance for Agape Flights, an organization that transports essential supplies to ministries and missionary families all over the Caribbean.
Housing is being provided while we’re there, which keeps our all-in cost far lower than renting in Venice, FL. We are looking to raise full-time support through the end of February: about $22,700 all in, a little over $5k a month for mid-October through February. That covers our home-base bills, travel, daily needs like groceries and toilet paper, and a few educational experiences unique to Venice and the surrounding area.
