In the days after the January 12 earthquake, a staff member from CRWRC Disaster Relief who happened to be staying with one of colleagues, coined the phrase "Crack House" to describe the post-earthquake state of our mission housing. The home of our colleague, Howard and Ruth Van Dam, was actually so cracked that they decided to move out an into another nearby residence. Our home was definitely cracked--a spider web of some small and other not so small cracks eminated from windows and corners on the first story. Thats why we were relieved when two visiting engineers from Grand Rapids-based Partners Worldwide declared that our cracks were only superficial and did not affect weight-bearing structures (like reinforced cement columns and beams). However, cracks are cracks and they certainly don't add to one's peace of mind. After six months of on and off work, today Zach finally finished the repair and repainting of the larger cracks. We got a lot of help from three gentlemen from Jamestown CRC (Hudsonville, MI) who helped Zach repaint most of the house last April (see above). The repairs have been completed just in time for our family to return to Haiti on the 30th of July. Please pray that our children will be able to make the transition to life again in Haiti. They will no doubt have a lot of questions about earthquakes and the few small cracks that remain in the house. It will be nice not living in "Crack House" again.
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