Haiti:11 Project Saturday, July 23, 2011

Well, we made it with no problem. God blessed us with a much less stressful trip than last year. We left from WHBC at a little after midnight and drove to Atlanta via the windy roads by way of Fort Payne in a 4 van convoy. We managed get all of our extra bags checked in at T-gate and had a little time left for breakfast. We had a lay over and lunch in Miami, and arrived in Port au Prince at about 2pm. Most of us caught up on sleep during the flights, but a few got ahead on our reading assignment: "Radical Together" by David Platt.

The weather was in the low 80's and overcast when we arrived (which was much cooler than last year). We were familiar with the airport and what to expect, so we gathered up our bags and made it to the bus without incident. There were fewer porters aggressively vying for our bags, which made it much less stressful. The way to the bus was also paved with a new sidewalk. We had a chance to talk and chill out while we waited on another group to arrive on a later flight.

We drove to Mission of Hope by bus, through Port au Prince and up Route National #1. What I saw looked much the same as last summer. There were still densely packed temporary shanties filling former public spaces. The road conditions were also very poor near Port au Prince, and the refugee camp, "Obama Town", on the hillside outside of Port au Prince was still there. Blue tarp covered structures everywhere.

Huge changes were evident, however, when we arrived at Mission of Hope. They have been busy. We are staying in a brand new two-story dormitory building that did not exist at all last summer. There are four groups (counting us) this year versus two last year. Our barracks building from last summer is now the kitchen and public area, freeing up more space for interns and permanent staff farther up the hill.

We unloaded our gear, set up our rooms, ate dinner, met the staff, and finished the night with a little time in prayer. God blessed us with a cool breeze most of the day, which was very nice.

Kirk