Launch in the Dominican Republic was great. The entire P
squad was reunited, team Crash was reunited (my team), we ALL were reunited
with the staff and leaders… good times! The last few days of launch, we found
out that four teams would be going to Haiti for month 1, and 7 teams would be
staying in the DR. My team was one of the four that went to Haiti!
Month 1 began with a bang! The bus was over two hours late
to pick us up and was too small for the amount of people and luggage we had.
But we crammed all 4 teams in and somehow managed to fit all of our luggage in
too! The trailer attached to the back was so full that we had to strap MANY of
the packs to the top of it! So we finally hit the road, excited to get to
Haiti. An hour or so later we pull over because our rear tire was giving us a
bit of trouble. With that taken care of we were on our way again. A few hours
later we pull over again because our brakes were giving us trouble! This time
the break was welcomed because the bus was soooo hot! And stuffy! But with all of these breaks and the
driver showing up late to pick us up, we had only 3 hours to get to the Haitian
border, but we were 5 hours away! So our bus driver, trying to make up time,
goes FLYING down the road SUPER fast… and we got to the border just after it
closed! Ha! Thanks to Aaron, one of the AIM staff, and his nifty Spanish
skills, we were able to get through the border, exchange our pesos for gourd,
and make it to the AIM house by the border to spend the night! The Aim house
was awesome! There was internet (kind of), an awesome dinner, and we were able
to sleep on the roof and gaze at millions of BEAUTIFUL stars!!! The sky was so
clear and the stars were so bright.
I also got to talk to my mom and dad and Ike on skype! Night one was
great!
The next morning we all piled into a school bus, threw in
all of our luggage, and headed out for our individual ministry sites. Driving
through Port Au Prince was hard. The school bus was insanely hot, there were
many foul smells, many sad sights, and LOTS of traffic. I was relieved when my
team got off the bus, got into a van, and headed for the mountains! Fond Blanc
was the name of the village/area where we would spend our time in Haiti. A
beautiful oasis hidden in the mountains of Haiti! We would be staying at an
orphanage, which was also a church and a school! When we arrived at Fond Blanc,
which means Kind White in Creole, we played with the kids a bit, introduced
ourselves to the adults, set up our tents, ate some beans and rice for dinner,
and went to bed! Our first month on the World Race, in Haiti, had begun!!!
More to come in the Haiti adventures soon… then Dominican time!
