First, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to continue this blog. I'm a novice at this and fight with the technology every time I tackle it! Please forgive my slowness!
On to day two in Haiti. . . . .
Tuesday began for us at 3:30 a.m., and the couple hours of sleep were precious to both Sterling and me. We freshened up and had our bags packed and down in the hotel lobby before the 4:30 schedule demanded. Our taxi driver raced us back to the Miami airport where we checked in, went through the boarding process and finally had the time to get a decent breakfast. (It was airport food, but it tasted great!) We had missed a great dinner scheduled at the Port-au-Prince hotel the night before.
The airline had chartered a special flight back to Haiti, and it was scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. The flight went very well; on time, peaceful and smooth. Haiti's airport is known for luggage-napping and passport theft, so we were alerted to keep our passports close and pay attention. Sterling and I had been advised to pack lightly, so we each had very heavy backpacks and one carry-on piece of luggage. We avoided the possibility of lost luggage by keeping everything with us. Others on our trip were not so fortunate. All the luggage of those from Nashville was lost en route to Haiti! We waited a couple hours as the authorities searched for it, but were forced to continue on with our trip without it.
Our itinerary was completely amended due to the flight changes, and we flew a chartered small plane to the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien. We missed our first project visit, and after a hair-raising drive through the streets of Cap-Haitien, we arrived at a Compassion Project. We were not prepared for the grand welcome that we received! Mothers of the project's children met us at the van doors with handmade corsages for each of our tour members. They were wearing banners that read, "You are Welcome!" Everyone was gathered around, smiling and waiting for us to join them. They had a program planned that included songs and speeches and testimonies of how Compassion had changed their lives. It was a very big deal! The children crowded all around our group, pressing close and holding hands with us all. It was so precious!
This project included a Child Survival Program, which includes pregnant ladies and ladies with children up to age three. Every baby was wearing a hand-made hat that said "You are Welcome", too! The airline had chartered a special flight back to Haiti, and it was scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. The flight went very well; on time, peaceful and smooth. Haiti's airport is known for luggage-napping and passport theft, so we were alerted to keep our passports close and pay attention. Sterling and I had been advised to pack lightly, so we each had very heavy backpacks and one carry-on piece of luggage. We avoided the possibility of lost luggage by keeping everything with us. Others on our trip were not so fortunate. All the luggage of those from Nashville was lost en route to Haiti! We waited a couple hours as the authorities searched for it, but were forced to continue on with our trip without it.
Our itinerary was completely amended due to the flight changes, and we flew a chartered small plane to the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien. We missed our first project visit, and after a hair-raising drive through the streets of Cap-Haitien, we arrived at a Compassion Project. We were not prepared for the grand welcome that we received! Mothers of the project's children met us at the van doors with handmade corsages for each of our tour members. They were wearing banners that read, "You are Welcome!" Everyone was gathered around, smiling and waiting for us to join them. They had a program planned that included songs and speeches and testimonies of how Compassion had changed their lives. It was a very big deal! The children crowded all around our group, pressing close and holding hands with us all. It was so precious!
The program includes teaching for these young moms on early childhood development, nutrition, cleanliness and health. I was so impressed by all the smiles.
We were invited by one of the mothers whose child is enrolled in the project to visit her home. I wish I could take you along the road we traveled and then the paths we walked to see this home! It had rained for two days, and there is no drainage system to take care of the run-off. The cement block homes, most with leaky tin roofs, fill with water and flooding is widespread. Below is the home of a man and wife and their TEN children. They were forced to go stay with friends during the storm the night before, the same storm we encountered as we attempted to land in Port-au-Prince.
Below is our group walking to the home above. Those are family homes behind us.
We enjoyed our first full-sized meal of the trip al fresco at a quaint cafe' in the city of Cap-Haiten. Always mindful of what we were eating and if it would be safe for our American digestive systems, we passed on the fresh salad, and ate fried chicken, french fries and corn. Many of our group would suffer from traveler's digestive reactions as the week wore on. We were strongly warned to eat only hot, cooked foods and to drink only bottled water or bottled beverages.
The day ended at a beautiful hotel overlooking the city, and far from chaos and crowds. We lodged high up on a hill where it was quiet and peaceful. Each day ended with a debriefing meeting and a time of group sharing and fellowship. I found it very challenging to process the myriad of images of the day, from the intensity of Port-au-Prince to the abject poverty of the slums of the cities. The roads were beyond description. Drivers were weaving from right side to left side in their attempts to dodge the craters of potholes in the roads, horns constantly blaring and vehicles barely missing pedestrians on every side. Venders lined the narrow streets and garbage was everywhere. U.N. trucks and Humvees patrolled the streets. Motorcycles, commonly with four passengers, zipped between and around traffic incessantly. It was dizzying!
Truly, the pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll end with this for today.
Blessings,
Kathy
Kathy
1 comment:
Once again. Wow! Sounds like a busy but blessed day! Can't wait to hear more of what God did & is doing!
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