Haiti 2010 | day one
it’s actually our 3rd full day but I’ll post these as I get the internet. :)
Yesterday we had a lay-over in NY, an overnight… went smooth. JFK was pretty easy to navigate, the team is having a blast getting to know each other better. We got to the hotel in the evening and ordered some NY style pizza… fold it up and put it down, so good. :)
We woke up and had forever to chill at the airport… I remember being tired and so excited to get back to Haiti…
We got into Haiti right before lunch, the plane landed and we actually walked off the plane on a jetway, i think that’s what it’s called. Last year they just opened the door and we walked onto the tarmac, this year, there’s obviously been some money put into the airport. As we’re walking off the plane you can look accross the runway and see the little US base with a few military choppers and transport vehicles, kinda crazy.
Imigration and baggage claim was set up in a temporary barn… no A/C… seriously intense heat. the baggage claim was honestly one of the crazier things i’ve ever done, seemed like 1,000 hot and sweaty Haitians and a few white people all clamoring for bags as they SLOWLY roll out of the conveyor.
They only lost 4 of our 16 bags, which isn’t bad, but 3 of those bags had dinners in them… haha… guess we’ll stretch those pancakes out a little farther. :)
that night we got to the apartment, settled in, and went to bed pretty quick, it was gonna be an early morning at church.
There’s another guy, soon to be joined by another two guys also staying the apartment with us… he’s a Canadian, so you know he’s crazy. He’s heading up construction on an addition they are putting onto the Clinic… very cool.
This morning we woke up really early to head to church… that was awesome. It was a special sunday, so they had the WHOLE church, kids and all, packed into the cafeteria-turned-church. They grew so much that they had to move from the actual church building… what an AWESOME problem… God is doing such cool things through Aurthor (the missionary here) and the men and women that he has leading the church… just amazing.
They asked us to do a song, Kris, katie and myself pulled off glory to god forever… nothing like a little FEE in a church in Haiti.. haha.. I had to sing hunched over a podium playing a guitar with a strap I could barely fit around me… Haitians are thin :) but it was something I won’t soon forget.
after lunch we hung out for a bit, then we all took a walk through the village right next to double harvest (Koupon) with Curtis. Curtis has been in Haiti for months, teaching english and creating soccer teams… he is a rock star in that village… you’ll see when I post some video and pics soon.
It always blows my mind walking through Koupon. I hope it’s marked in me forever. And this being my second trip just makes it even crazier… because you KNOW people… you REMEMBER faces… crazy. Tinom showed us his house, he’s a kid that plays on Curtis’ team… must be like 18 or so… he lives in a stick and mud hut with a friend. they both sleep on a twin size bed. crazy.
we stopped at an assistant coach of Curtis’ house, Woodley, to watch the 2nd half of the world cup. Now that was really crazy… the world cup on a porch in Haiti. INSANE.
then tonight I drove aurthor’s truck and followed Curtis and the Koupon soccer team to a village about 20 minutes away. A few adventures all in one… driving was really something… and the soccer team was out of control excited.
Curtis has these guys so disciplined, they warm up together just like a team you’d see in the US… it was impressive to watch. They played beautiful soccer. Passing… teamwork… crazy talented guys.
Then what the real craziness is was when we drove back it was dark, and we drove down through Koupon with the team hanging off the trucks yelling… as we got into the village kids and adults started coming out of the woodwork yelling. It was out of control! Honestly one of the coolest experiences of my whole life.
