Adventures in Haiti - Part 1

My husband and I headed off on our missions/work trip to Haiti this past June 28-July 5, 2011.  There is so much to tell that I could just write pages and pages, so I've decided to break it into several posts.  This was my first trip overseas and let me tell you....I will never be the same.

We arrived in the Port-Au-Prince airport and were immediatly hit in the face with a wall of heat.  The airport was filled with wall-to-wall people all scrambling to get their luggage.  We waited and watched for our luggage for about two hours and then headed out into the gaunlet of people all trying to "help" us with our luggage.  If you didn't have a tight grip, you were no longer carrying your luggage.

"The Wall"

We arrived to the compound where we would be staying and took a tour of the facility and work site.  Our main objective was to complete a security wall that was damaged in the 2010 earthquake.  We also painted three rooms and helped with a few other odd jobs.

Our living quarters seemed like a 5 star hotel compared to the living conditions of the rest of the city.  We had indoor plumbing, electricity and most importatnly, clean water to drink.  Apart from the occasional cockroach, we learned how to adapt quite well to our surroundings.

We started our mornings around 4:30 am--there's nothing like morning devotions on a rooftop overlooking the city... 

We ate our breakfast and had a short group meeting around 6:30 am and were at the worksite by 7:00 am.  The work was intense in the Haitian sun, but we had a job to do and everyone pitched in wholeheartedly.  We would break for lunch around noon everyday--which also served as "nap time" for some of us.

Sean and I had the pleasure of preparing dinner every night for the group.  Food in Port-Au-Prince is very expensive and in some cases, not safe to eat.  We planned the menu, went food shopping before we left (I love Aldi's) and everyone packed a suitcase full of food to take with us. 

We did actually do a bit of grocery shopping while we were there for some fresh veggies and hamburger that we were assured was ok for us to eat. 

 

Red Bell Peppers (about $5.00 American)



Haitian Grocery Store

After dinner we enjoyed taking it easy on the balcony or roof, singing silly songs or playing games (Settler's of Catan even made an apperance--I could write a whole blog on my love for this game). 

"Navy Showers" (turning off the water in between shampooing, etc...) became the way we ended our day.  There were two outdoor showers and one indoor shower--our water was gravity fed from large tanks on the roof and had to be brought in by truck. 

Rooftop Water Tanks (AKA our indoor plumbing)

We would meet again for group devotions and worship songs before heading off to bed--most of us crashed around 10:00 or 11:00 pm and if we were lucky--slept through the night....

More to come....stay tuned.....