Bon jour from Haiti!
J squad arrived safe and sound in Haiti. Four if the teams are at mission of hope and the other two are at a place called Together We Can. MOH is an amazing place to start off this race. We have been here for less than one week, but we have done so many incredible things already.
Before I begin telling that, I have to tell the truth. At launch I was so excited to begin this journey. I had zero nerves about anything. I was just ready to go. 11 months in the field? Pshh that’s nothing. I can do that no problem.
Until I actually got to the field. That first day here in Haiti was rough.
September 8 I woke up at 7 am. We had a full day if sessions and worship at launch in Atlanta. That night at midnight we loaded into vans and buses to “sleep” at the airport. Yeah right. I got no sleep that night. We had a 7 am flight to Miami. So at this point I had been up for 24 hours. From Miami we had a 10 am flight to Port au Prince. We landed there at noon and had an hour bus ride to MOH. I was exhausted. I don’t do well with no sleep. Up to now I had slept for maybe a total of 30 minutes. And by slept I mean that I was just barely under the surface so that my dreams consisted of the conversations going on around me. Once we got to MOH we had dinner, orientation, and then a church service. I was nodding off the entire time. I began thinking how in the heck am I supposed to do this for 11 months? I didn’t feel like talking to anyone or doing anything. After about 37 hours of being awake, I just wanted to sleep. At 8 that night I headed to bed. I planned to read but before I even turned on my kindle I was out. I slept until 6 the next morning.
Sleep was exactly what I needed. I felt so much better the next day and every day since. It had been so great here. We have dorm style housing. We have running water, electricity (18 hours a day), a toilet that flushes, and a shower in our room! Living the life here. We even have dessert at every dinner. I didn’t know chocolate cake on the Race was a thing. After dinner we all hang out and play cards or just sit and talk. There had been a ministry group here from Portland. They just left today but while they were here they held a worship service every night on the roof of our dorm. It was my favorite part of the day. We all say up there singing while several people played different instruments. I can’t begin to describe the view up here. Mountains all around and the ocean off in the distance. Lights from the surrounding villages way off on the far mountains and the stars. It’s incredible.
We have been busy in our ministry days. We went to a construction site where we formed one giant assembly line and moved heavy pavers. It was boring and monotonous and so hot. But it was a great day. We all laughed and told stories and sang songs and played games. Another day my team helped clean the super clinic here on campus. It’s basically a hospital. It’s not up and running yet because they haven’t had the funds for staffing. One of the workers here said she almost cried when she walked in and saw all the cleaning and organizing we had done. Another day we went to do door to door ministry on a nearby village. 5 minutes in we had a group of about 20 kids following us around. They were climbing all over us, wanting us to pick them up, holding our hands, and playing with our hair. Well, playing with everyone else’s hair. They had a hard time tying to play with mine. We taught them songs and dances and they taught us some of there’s. In the afternoon we went back and played games with them. I got to join in on a soccer game that was going on. Playing barefoot on the rocks and dirt, in a long skirt, with a little girl clinging to you is an entirely new level of soccer!
There is so much to say already about this place. MOH had a great vision. “As an organization following Jesus Christ, we exist and seek to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti.” They are working to provide the means for the local people to build their nation. We are here to help get things rolling and then eventually step out. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to start this trip. I am excited to see what else this place holds for us this month.
