Bonjour! Praise the Lord we have arrived in Haiti safely!
Part of our team meet at Lakeside at 3:30AM to carpool to
Cleveland Airport. Thanks to Nick Kovalchik and Jerry and Patty Emich for your
willingness to deliver us safely to the airport so early in the morning! We met
the Boyers at the JetBlue terminal and began our journey.
For some of our team it was their first time on a plane.
Others it was their first time out of the country on a missions trip. For all
of us, we are looking forward to new experiences that will bring us closer to
our Lord as we encourage and serve the people of Haiti.
Flight to Boston
At the gate, we were greeted by a JetBlue flight attendant
that asked about our trip to Haiti. She quickly asked if we were Christians and
declared the joy of meeting fellow Christians! She encouraged us as brothers
and sisters in Christ and said she will be praying for us all week! It was a
great start to our trip.
We all had seats close to each other on our first flight. I
had the privilege of sitting next a gentleman who has retired from the
electronics industry. It was a joy talking to him about Cleveland Sports,
Browns history, American history, but most importantly about our trip to Haiti
and what we are doing here this week. I enjoyed our conversation and the time
quickly passed.
We made it to Boston with plenty of time to make our
connecting flight to Haiti.
Flight to Haiti
It’s always a praise to report that the flight was
uneventful. We encountered two other groups on mission on our flight. We made
it to Port Au Prince airport, through customs and down to the baggage claim
with no problems.
We met Scott Hodges there, who will be our team leader and
guide for the first part of our trip. He was super helpful in organizing help
to gather our twelve bags of stuff. We then met up with the other church of 19
people from Arizona that we will be serving with.
Leaving the Airport
As we quickly walked single file through the exit, many
attendedants tried to grab our bags and help us for a quick buck. We didn’t
want to be rude, but we had it handled. Outside we met up with June, one of our
translators from last year. It was so good to see a familiar face! He led us to
the truck where his brother, Kalipso was waiting.
We piled into the back of the truck, the same one from last
year, but this year we are like sardines. I’m proud to tell you our team did
such a good job with the trip, and didn’t even seem phased by the crazy Haitian
traffic patterns.
The Guest House
We made it safely to the guest house a little after 1pm.
They had a taco salad lunch waiting for us. After we ate, we had the afternoon
to get settled and relax after the travels. Our girls took no time at all to
find the popular hangout spot on the roof.
The roof provides an excellent view, a nice breeze and at
night it is the coolest place to be. By coolest, I am speaking in temperature
terms. It is hot and humid here. No air-conditioning for us, but we are
thankful for personal fans.
After dinner we had a time to gather as a big team. We spent
time sharing who we were, where we are from and why we are on this trip. It was
a blessing to hear how God has “hand-picked” each on to be on this team. I am
looking forward to getting to know each of our team members this week.
Valley of Hope
Tomorrow we will be heading to the same village church our
team went to last year. I am looking forward to seeing if I recognize any of
the children and church members I met last year.
Tomorrow will be mostly travel to the villages, church
service and spending time with the children. As we enjoy a Sabbath rest and
worship, pray that we can encourage our fellow brothers and sisters in the
Lord. Pray that we can share the love of Christ with the children of the
village and leave a lasting Gospel testimony on their lives.
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