Two weeks ago I landed in Haiti for my first foreign mission trip ever and I am going to be blogging about my experience everyday just like if I had been able to do it while I was there. I technically left on Wednesday but we flew from Dayton, OH to Dallas, TX and then to Miami, FL where we stayed for the night. This picture of me was taken just outside the airport at Dayton and as someone on my Facebook said, “That’s what this trip is all about right….. Porter Serving!!!”
Here is what I wrote in my journal….
WOW! What an experience! I cannot believe that I am actually here in Haiti. I am amazed that I am in a foreign country for the first time and humbled that it is Haiti that God brought me to. I have already learned that waiting and not expecting anything to happen as planned are the two key things to learn, and if you don’t then you will be quickly and easily frustrated. Stuff happens on “Haiti time”.
I rode in the back of a tap-tap through a part of Port au Prince as we went from the main airport to a smaller airport, so that we could fly up to Port-de-Paix in a plane. This would be what I would come to find out is a luxury tap-tap. We flew via Torug’ Air in a 19 passenger plane. It was a great way to see the country of Haiti, which is very beautiful! I love it. I was amazed as we flew at the beauty of it all.
When we landed in Port-de-Paix we got onto the back of a really big truck to take us to St. Louis du Nord. This once again was a luxury tap-tap.
It was such a fun ride! The 8.5 mile ride only took us about an hour to drive. This was such a neat way to see the lives of the Haitians. They honestly seem very happy despite their very impoverished conditions. That is a lot more than I can say for a majority of Americans who have much more luxuries and yet seem so miserable. I wonder if I could be as happy as them if I had to live like the Haitians do?
We saw a voodoo parade (Rara band) as we drove through one town. (I found out later that not all Rara bands are voodoo, because some of them are just carrying on the tradition of doing these over Easter weekend. Much like many Americans who will go to church on Easter Sunday, because it is the “thing to do”.) They are celebrating the fact that Jesus died on Good Friday, but I pray that the living Jesus would reveal Himself to them.
When we got to Northwest Haiti Christian Mission they were preparing for a mass wedding of 22 Haitians. That was such an amazing experience to witness. All the brides and grooms were dressed up, because people have donated suits and wedding dresses to allow this to happen.
One of the coolest things was hearing all the children “blan”, which means white, as we drove through the streets. It made you feel like you were some kind of a celebrity rolling through town. It was also very cool to go up to the baby orphanage at the main mission and hold some of the babies. They are so cute!
It is day one and I cannot wait until I can come back. Especially if I can come back with Kimmy.
