Haiti: Day #1 (Missing Bags!)

Garett and I arrived home from Haiti around 1:00 am on Sunday morning, January 27. We’ve spent a few days trying to re-coup and catch up on rest. Garett is catching up faster than I am...am I getting old?! I’m thankful for all that Roger and our friends as well as our church family did to assist and help our family while Garett and I were away. It was a great missions trip, and I have much to share. As I have done in the past, I journaled while in Haiti. I’m going to write the days events in one post at time. This was a different trip for me as Garett was able to come along with me. I did an interview with him that I will be sharing at some point in time as well. It’s good to come home tired and exhausted, and we’ve enjoyed reflecting on all that God did while we were in Haiti. We so appreciate all your love, prayers, and financial support for our family. To God be the glory!

 

 

DAY #1
Saturday, January 19, 2019

It was an early morning as our flight departed from Portland at 6:00 am. Since the weather forecast is predicting about 2 feet of snow starting on Saturday night, we decided to come down to Portland on Friday evening. The kids were excited about the opportunity to stay in a hotel, and it makes it way easier on Roger if we don’t have to wake everyone up at 2:00am in the morning to get to the airport! Garett is excited about going, but he isn’t a hugely expressive child! He did tell me that he is so  thankful that God provided the money that he needed to have in order to go to Haiti. I’m excited to see what God has in store for Garett’s young mind and heart this week. 

Garett and I were able to get on the free airport to the shuttle, so that worked out even better than expected. Josh and Hannah met us at the airport around 4:15am., and we proceeded to check five bags between us-none of which were free!(Its frustrating to me that we have to pay for even the first bag!) My bag weighed in at exactly 49lbs, but I’m pretty sure that my backpack and carryon are even heavier! Josh and Hannah’s bags were right at 50 lbs. each, so we definitely made the use of every single pound we could bring! 

Garett and I both have carry-ons that are full of food because food is heavier than clothes! Both of our carryons were snagged at the security checkpoint. The lady who checked over my bag made a huge mess and wiped down about every granola bar, fruit snack, and animal cracker I brought. It was  also a challenge to get it all back into the carryon! The security personnel that checked Garett’s carryon opened up the bag, looked at all the snacks, and said, “This looks like an important bag for you!”, and zipped it back up! Garett was happy to have his carryon of snacks back!

We were in the very, very back of the plane on the flight to JFK. We had just enough time to grab a snack and pick up something sustainable for lunch. We need to be ready to hit the ground running once we get to Port-au-Prince as we would like to make it all the way up the mountain to Seguin today. And unlike the U.S. there are no fast food stops along the way!

We are on the plane for our flight to Haiti. It’s about a four-hour flight. I’m excited to see what the week will bring and what God is going to do. 

Evening entry:
We hopped off the plane, filled out our customs forms, and paid our $10.00 per person to enter the country. It is a bit crazy to me every year that everyone has to pay $10.00 (U.S. money and cash) to enter the country. The vast majority of people coming into the country are bringing humanitarian aid, and the rest are probably visting family still in Haiti. But on we went to the baggage claim,  joining the long line of others headed that way. 

One bag, two bags, three bags...but not bags four and five! The attendant kept asking us if we were “finny” (finished) as he probably wanted to push the baggage cart and get a tip! Finally the baggage carousel stopped turning, and we knew that we had a problem-missing bags! Hannah was missing the bag that had a bunch of stuff for the clinics as well as her clothes. I was missing my suitcase full of  small gifts for the cooks, extra clothes for those in need, and my clothes! My stuff isn’t as important as Hannahs bag, but this is Haiti! We can’t stop at a Walmart or Target on the way to get what we need! And we both would kinda like clothes to wear this week! (A lot!) We managed to head to the service desk to fill out a missing bag report. The attendant said that possibly our bags would get to the airport tomorrow on a different Delta flight. Well that was better than the first report we had received as they had said our bags would come on Saturday-next Saturday! 

Well, that wasn’t how we had prepared or planned, but God choose to allow this to happen. A bad attitude and a grumpy heart won’t solve a cotton-picking thing! We left Port-au-Prince around 2:00pm with 8 Americans and 2 Haitians in a nine passenger van. In Port-au-Prince  we met up with four other Americans that had come from South Carolina. Josh’s sister, Kasey, and her husband, Marcus, as ell as Grandpa Faulde (Pastor Kevin’s  Dad), and Tara, also a family member in the Faulde family. Tara and Kasey are Physicians Assistants, and they will also be working in the medical clinics. Luggage  was loaded unto the roof, and some under the seats or on our laps. 20 minutes later we pulled up to the side of the road, and the driver says that these people here on the road need a ride up the mountain with us. “ These people” consisted of five more Haitians and all their luggage! It was a packed vehicle! I don’t know where the seat belt even would be in that van, and we were packed in like sardines. I was glad that Garett was able to sit next to the window (with me practically on his lap). He was soaking in all the sights and sounds and smells of this new experience. I’m so thankful that he will be able to have a part in this week. 

 Traffic seemed to be terrible this year as we tried to get out of the city. It took us almost four hours to get to Cay Jocmel, and we still needed to get up the mountain (in the dark) to Seguin. In Cay Jocmel, we switched vehicles as there was no way that van would make it on the roads to Seguin. Instead we loaded into a pick up type Land cruiser. By the time we left, we had 18 people on the small truck with all the luggage..and it was dark! The driver was a competent one, and we made good time. I mean, we still hung on for dear life on the back of the truck, but we all survived. It did sprinkle a bit, but it wasn’t a pouring rain. We were all thankful to arrive at the mission house! The mission house was so full of people! The dedication for the mission house had been earlier today, and there was a great turnout of people...albeit a bit overwhelming! Garett and I hung back a bit as we don’t really know most of these people. I see uncertainty and insecurity written on Garetts face, and oh, how I’m praying! I know he’s tired too! 

Hannah and I took inventory of what we have between us. I had put my sleeping bag into Garett’s bag, so that was a blessing! We both had pajamas in our carryons. I had a small ziplock baggie with extra socks and underwear. I also had put my running shoes in my carryon and I had a summer skort. Krissy (from North Dakota) had brought a small travel towel, so she gave that to me too. I see lots of washing out of our clothes in the next few days, but oh well! I’m praying that at least Hannahs bag will arrive at the airport tomorrow as we will need it for the clinics. But God already knows what He is going to do. Personally, while Hannah and I both like clean clothes and the others things that we packed, we can both laugh our way through this. We will rejoice in the memories we are creating, and praise God for what He’s going to do! 

Prayer Requests on day 1:
-Our bags
-Garett
-The medical clinics and the Gospel message that will be presented
-Unity and Harmony on our team