Pastor Kenold's Day Trip to Washington, D.C. ~ by Mildred Green

On Saturday, April 25, 2009, three members of the Haiti committee, Mary Ann Allen, Mieko Timmons and Mildred Green with Pastor Kenold, met at the Amtrak Train Station for an early departure for Washington, D.C. We got off in Alexandria and experienced the Metro to the Smithsonian Station. (Pastor Kenold's first ride on a subway!)

In Washington, D.C., Pastor Kenold's desire was to see a museum. Well, the Smithsonian is the largest museum complex in the world... made up of 19 museums. We went into a number of them, the typical tourist (smile) trying to see everything. He was fascinated by the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History. Pastor Kenold was thrilled! We could not have asked for a better day. Perfect weather, a little hot at times.

Taking in the Sculpture Garden, with the flowers in bloom, was picturesque. We walked the National Mall, went to the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the White House and the Museum of African Art. We had lunch at The Castle Cafe in the Smithsonian Castle, which gave us a chance to energise, cool off and outline the rest of the day.

Picture taking was ongoing. Pastor Kenold has some memorable shots to take back to Haiti. One of the pictures: on the street was a life size cutout of President Barack Obama. Well, Pastor Kenold was so excited to see this. We took a picture of him with his arm on the shoulders of the stand up of President Obama and he gave a big smile. He said all the people in Haiti love the President and danced with joy when he won.

It was a spectacular day and enjoyed by all. We had a late snack, recapped the day and headed back to Alexandria, VA. We arrived back in Richmond safe, tired and exhausted. I am sure that Pastor Kenold has a lot to talk about when he gets home. As we moved about so freely, think about him walking for 6 hours one way to get to a location in Haiti. It is difficult to imagine the effort it takes to get anything done in Mirebalais, Haiti. We pray for Pastor Kenold and all of the children at New Jerusalem Orphanage.

We hope to have a Sunday after Mass to show all the pictures taken on this day trip to our Nation's Capital.