Saturday, busy Saturday

This past Saturday was a busy day for the mission team and it was all over shadowed by the threat of ice. Thankfully, for the most part, the ice held off and all activities were able to go forward as planned.

Packing in Sterling

The day started off with both the Haiti and Dominican Republic mission team members meeting at the First Church in Sterling for packing day. This is the day when all the medication, medical supplies, cloths, and toys are spread out in the the activity hall to be packed in large duffle bags that the mission team will bring along as checked baggage. Each bag can hold up to 50lbs of supplies and with 51 people signed up for the Dominican Republic trip that adds up to a lot of supplies.

There were not quite as many supplies for the Haiti trip. As it looks right now each person will have only one duffle and I know one of duffles I packed for the Haiti group was not filled to weight capacity. This was a bit disappointing, but hopefully more supplies will be donated before the trip and we can get to the two duffle per person limit.

Enjoying the Fundraiser

Packing lasted from about 8 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. and can take a lot out of a person, but this was only part of the mission team activities for the day. After packing and a team meeting I left the First Church in Sterling for a quick stop at home (I had to clear some snow off the roof) and then I headed for the Haiti fundraiser at the Concord Elks Club. This fundraiser was championed by Ken and he did a great job. By the time I got there the place was pretty much set up: the raffle prizes were out, the tables were set up, and the music was ready to go. I helped set up a few things and then was handed my "outfit" for the night: a hat, badge, gun, and handcuffs.

Caught in the Act

I was meant to play sherif for the party. One of the fund raising activities that Ken had planned was a "prison". Anyone could have another person arrested for a small fee. For an additional small few the person could be released. But first, it was my job to arrest the person, take them to the prison, get them dressed in stripes, and take their picture. This turned out to be pretty fun for the guests and I had a good time as well.

The fundraiser went great and included authentic Haitian food, great music, dance lessons, and brilliant raffle prizes. The evening ended with the picking of the prize winners and the announcement of the total collected for the evening. It was a great way to end a very long day even if I didn't win a raffle prize. Many thanks for Ken to putting the evening together.