We Made It

After a five and a half hour red eye flight across the country, a one hour lay over at JFK in New York (that place was crazy busy at 5 am) and a another four and half hour flight, we are here in Port au Prince, Haiti.  We tried to sleep on the plane, but I don't care what Jet Blue says, they may have a little more leg room, but their seats are hard and they make you sit up straight, even when "reclined".  Needless to say we dozed on the first flight and maybe really only slept for an hour or two.  So, we're tired.  Too wired to take a nap, but too tired to want to be awake.  We were the first of our group to arrive, so we are vegging out on the couch enjoying the warm air and the cool breeze.

Getting off the plane in Port au Prince was quite the experience.  I was very nervous about the airport because we were told that there will be a lot of folks trying to help us with our bags, wanting a tip.  We made it through customs and down to baggage claim with no problems.  The signs in the airport have English on them and there are at least 2 Haitian airport employees on every corner to direct the silly white folks where to go.  Baggage claim was chaotic, but we managed to get our bags without any problems.  We learned that you just have to force your way to the carousel and not worry about being rude.  When we came around the corner and saw the guy with the Heartline sign I felt a huge sigh of relief.  Actually getting out of the building and to the car was a whirlwind.  We were trying to follow our driver and his son to the van through a see of Haitian folks all trying to help us with our bags and asking us if we needed a taxi.  The next thing I knew there were 3 guys walking with us talking to our driver.  I thought they were with us.  When I went to lift my suitcase over a broken curb one of the guys grabbed my bag and I let him because I thought he was with us.  When we got to the van the 3 guys were still with us and one of them looked at Shad, put out his hand and said, "Give me something."  That was when I realized that those 3 guys were not with us.  Shad gave them each a dollar and they were a happy with that.  Lesson learned, just because they are walking along with us does not mean they are actually with us.

It was only a mile or two to the guest house we are staying at.  But it was a long, treacherous drive.  There are no rules to the roads.  Everyone is in a hurry and everyone is the same amount of the most important.  There was a lot of passing, trying to pass only to get blocked, driving over curbs, coming almost bumper to bumper head on with another van until our driver cranked the wheel and went around and a lot of honking.  The roads are not paved, they are dirt and gravel, hence the bumpy ride.  But through all of that we made it to our guest house without dying.  It was an extremely overwhelming 30 minutes.  When we got to the guest house, I was trying to get my bags put away and decide which bed to sleep in and I found myself just standing there staring at my bags wishing we could just go home.  But now that I have had some time stretched out on a comfy couch, dozed a little and had some lunch, I remember what we came here for and it was not to be comfy and cozy.

Tonight we will lay low as we are still waiting for the rest of our team to arrive, all their flights were delayed.  Tomorrow we go to a Haitian church and then a big dinner of some kind.  Shad and I are tired but feeling well and already making connections with some Heartline folks.  My biggest prayer request is that we both avoid any gut problems and that this mild cold that developed in me a few days ago would go away.  I'll try to blog tomorrow night.