Bonjou from the beautiful hills of HaitiFirst of all, WE ARE ALL SAFE,  HEALTHY AND HAPPY (and sweaty and unshowered and exhausted)A message from Pam to Deb: Pam made it up the mountain and was able to provide first aid to several students at the school in Chermaitre. She is now working very hard in the newly-opened, freshly stocked Clinic in L'AculOn Wednesday, we began our epic journey from the coastal Cap into the thick and picturesque countryside of Haiti. We met Dr. Etienne, who joined our crew, and set out at 8am in two vehicles and had the 7-hour ride of a lifetime. We drove for half of the way on BUMPY roads (which had been affected by the hurricanes from 9 months ago), and then made our way through riverbeds with lots of craters, finally arriving at the foot of the Chermaitre hills. We have no idea how the cars survived without a flat tire, but our drivers were heroes.We arrived later than expected at the base of the mountain and had to hike up to the school, which is located on top of a VERY large mountain, with our head lamps on. Luckily, we made it up in record time. For most of the group, this was our first time seeing the school we have all worked so hard to support. It is hard to express just how overwhelmed we felt to see the school and most importantly the children's faces. We slept inside the school inside our mosquito tents after a hearty meal of beans, rice, and GOAT. yum.We were woken up to the sounds of mass being conducted in a nearby church at....3 am. Not joking. And that was only the first round.In the morning, it was very exciting to finally see the school in the daylight.From the school, there is a 360 degree view of breathtaking mountains and cloud forests (although heavily deforested). After a breakfast of spaghetti, we set to work on medical evaluation of all our little angels. The evaluation was comprised of height and weight measurements. A girth measurement was taken of childrene xpected to be suffering from malnourishment. We had prepared for each and every one of the 300 children. In the meantime, a second group played soccer, jump rope, cards, football, and a host of other activities with the children as they waited for their turn.The afternoon was filled with song and dance in the nearby church building. After, we had a crucial meeting with the school director and teachers to discuss the progress of the school. By 7 pm we were all ready for bed.For all of us, our experience in Chermaitre was thought provoking to say the least. Many of us were emotionally and physically overwhelmed. We can't wait to return and turn our fresh thoughts and ideas into action.At 7 am this morning, we walked down the mountain and loaded back into the vehicles we arrived in. We drove for 45 minutes and arrived to our present location, the clinic in L'Acul. We are spending the day helping Dr. Etienne provide consulation to the many patients who began lining up this morning at 6 am. When we arrived, we unloaded and stocked the clinic with all of the medical donations so generously provided by the Trinity Church members in Fishkill.  We will be doing the same tomorrow after which we will begin our journey back to Cap, spending a night in a "hotel" in Gros Morne on the way.Speak to you soon!P.S. To the friends and family of Mario, Livia, Anh, Claire, Samin, Claudia, Charlene, Lauren, Janeen, Pam, Caryn, Caitlyn, Fiona, Andrew, Lila and Kristen: We love and miss you all! We will be back home soon with lots of stories and pictures.