Okay, so I decided that it is finally time to tell you some stories from my trip.
It started off smoothly with my good friend dropping me off at the Vancouver airport for my LONG trip... first stop was in Dallas, then onto Atlanta where the problems started! I arrived in Atlanta at 1:30am and was scheduled to leave at 6am. I woke up from what can barely be called a nap at about 5am and went looking for a bathroom. On the way, I came across a lady from my previous flight and she asked me if I was on my way to Miami. I said yes, and she said that our flight had been CANCELLED! What! So the two of us went out to the ticket counter and had to wait to see what could be done.
I had been rescheduled for a flight that was supposed to leave at about 2pm. This meant that I was going to be missing my connection in Miami and I needed to contact Ronel and tell him that I would not be at the airport at noon. I couldn't get through to Haiti on my cell so I tried calling my mom to get her to call Ronel on Skype. I bought a calling card and tried to call my mom but since it was only 4am in BC, she didn't answer. But, needing to get through to Ronel, I called my youngest sister and asked her to keep trying to call Mom to get her to check her mesages. Well, it turned out that Leslie had to drive over to Mom's and wake her up. She send me a text message once Mom was awake and I called her so that I could help her get through to Ronel. It was quite interesting being able to hear my mom, sister and Ronel all at the same time but Ronel was not able to hear me. So knowing that Ronel knew I would be late I set out to wait for my next flight.
Well, it got delayed and ended up leaving almost an hour late which meant that I arrived in Miami like 15 minutes before my flight to Miami was supposed to board. So I rushed down to the next gate only to find out that the flight to Haiti was also delayed!! (not that it was a huge surprise! Flights to Haiti out of Miami are frequently delayed! This is one reason I prefer to fly through Fort Lauderdale!) So we finally boarded the plane only to sit on the tarmac as some lady searched for a missing purse. At one point, the flight attendant came on over the loudspeaker and said to everyone that if they didn't all sit down and we left within 10 minutes that we wouldn't be leaving that day! Well that got people's attention and soon we were on our way!
We arrived in Haiti about 5:30pm - only 2 hours after my rescheduled arrival and almost 6 hours after my original time. I was surprised at the changes to the Port-au-Prince airport and was quickly through immigration and at the carousel waiting for my luggage. My carry-on came out quickly (they had gate checked it in Miami) and then one of my two checked bags. I waited and waited for the second and as the bags dwindled, it became clear that my bag was not arriving. So I went over to the counter to report my missing bag and was given a number to call the next morning. I then went through customs and headed for the outside. As soon as I got through the doors I saw Ronel's smiling face and that totally made my day! I was so thankful to see Ronel that it almost made the long journey and missing bag okay! (but not quite!) We greeted each other (I'll spare you the detail! ;P) and then I greeted Jean Jean and Gerald and saw our niece and Ronel's youngest sister (she's 8) who had been visiting in Port au Prince with family. We then loaded into the truck and headed for home. -- funny side story -- When I told Ronel that one of my bags was missing and that it might be brought in the next morning, Ronel asked if I wanted him to spend the night in Port so he could pick it up in the morning. I quickly said "NO" The suitcase was not that important to me! And we'd figure something out the next day but we were definitely heading home together. I know he was only trying to help as it is almost a 4 hour trip to the airport but I just wanted my husband by my side.
We got to Borel about 9pm (which is late in Haiti) and headed straight to the house. This trip we stayed again in the same compound where we stayed after the wedding but a different house this time. This time we stayed in the house where I lived when I first moved to Borel to work with Karen & Kevan. It was kind of nice as it was a familiar space and this was where the previous missionaries had lived so it was quite americanized - fans in every room, it had an inverter (which meant that we had electricity even without the generator - as long as the batteries lasted) so the fans would still work at night and it was fully furnished.
Ronel & I unpacked and shortly after headed to bed. I was EXHAUSTED! and hadn't slept well in 2 nights. It was SO NICE to be back with my husband and just be able to curl up in his arms. Friday morning, Ronel kindly let me sleep in. We started what turned into our routine - just hanging out with each other and enjoying being together. Early afternoon we called the airport to find out that my luggage had arrived and we arranged for Marc (a good friend of ours) to head out early Saturday morning to pick it up for me (by early I mean 3:30am!!) He got the suitcase and got right back on the bus and came home - he got in about 4pm! As I said, he is a GOOD friend and a real blessing to us! When I opened my suitcase, I discovered that it had been opened and items had been stolen - some of which were gifts for Ronel, others were items for me - like my conditioner! Atleast they didn't take my shampoo!!
Friday afternoon about 3pm we headed up to the orphange to see "my kids". It was so fun to see their faces when they saw me. Moyiz just came running down the driveway calling my name with the biggest smile on his face. All the kids were so happy to see me and it turns out that they didn't know that I was even coming to Haiti so it was a total surprise! The staff were also happy to see me and all of them asked me when I was coming back to live and work there. It was so nice to see them but also reminded me that God had called me back to BC and that it was no longer the place that God had for me.
Okay - so that is my first 3 days and I'll be back with more stories and photos....
It started off smoothly with my good friend dropping me off at the Vancouver airport for my LONG trip... first stop was in Dallas, then onto Atlanta where the problems started! I arrived in Atlanta at 1:30am and was scheduled to leave at 6am. I woke up from what can barely be called a nap at about 5am and went looking for a bathroom. On the way, I came across a lady from my previous flight and she asked me if I was on my way to Miami. I said yes, and she said that our flight had been CANCELLED! What! So the two of us went out to the ticket counter and had to wait to see what could be done.
I had been rescheduled for a flight that was supposed to leave at about 2pm. This meant that I was going to be missing my connection in Miami and I needed to contact Ronel and tell him that I would not be at the airport at noon. I couldn't get through to Haiti on my cell so I tried calling my mom to get her to call Ronel on Skype. I bought a calling card and tried to call my mom but since it was only 4am in BC, she didn't answer. But, needing to get through to Ronel, I called my youngest sister and asked her to keep trying to call Mom to get her to check her mesages. Well, it turned out that Leslie had to drive over to Mom's and wake her up. She send me a text message once Mom was awake and I called her so that I could help her get through to Ronel. It was quite interesting being able to hear my mom, sister and Ronel all at the same time but Ronel was not able to hear me. So knowing that Ronel knew I would be late I set out to wait for my next flight.
Well, it got delayed and ended up leaving almost an hour late which meant that I arrived in Miami like 15 minutes before my flight to Miami was supposed to board. So I rushed down to the next gate only to find out that the flight to Haiti was also delayed!! (not that it was a huge surprise! Flights to Haiti out of Miami are frequently delayed! This is one reason I prefer to fly through Fort Lauderdale!) So we finally boarded the plane only to sit on the tarmac as some lady searched for a missing purse. At one point, the flight attendant came on over the loudspeaker and said to everyone that if they didn't all sit down and we left within 10 minutes that we wouldn't be leaving that day! Well that got people's attention and soon we were on our way!
We arrived in Haiti about 5:30pm - only 2 hours after my rescheduled arrival and almost 6 hours after my original time. I was surprised at the changes to the Port-au-Prince airport and was quickly through immigration and at the carousel waiting for my luggage. My carry-on came out quickly (they had gate checked it in Miami) and then one of my two checked bags. I waited and waited for the second and as the bags dwindled, it became clear that my bag was not arriving. So I went over to the counter to report my missing bag and was given a number to call the next morning. I then went through customs and headed for the outside. As soon as I got through the doors I saw Ronel's smiling face and that totally made my day! I was so thankful to see Ronel that it almost made the long journey and missing bag okay! (but not quite!) We greeted each other (I'll spare you the detail! ;P) and then I greeted Jean Jean and Gerald and saw our niece and Ronel's youngest sister (she's 8) who had been visiting in Port au Prince with family. We then loaded into the truck and headed for home. -- funny side story -- When I told Ronel that one of my bags was missing and that it might be brought in the next morning, Ronel asked if I wanted him to spend the night in Port so he could pick it up in the morning. I quickly said "NO" The suitcase was not that important to me! And we'd figure something out the next day but we were definitely heading home together. I know he was only trying to help as it is almost a 4 hour trip to the airport but I just wanted my husband by my side.
We got to Borel about 9pm (which is late in Haiti) and headed straight to the house. This trip we stayed again in the same compound where we stayed after the wedding but a different house this time. This time we stayed in the house where I lived when I first moved to Borel to work with Karen & Kevan. It was kind of nice as it was a familiar space and this was where the previous missionaries had lived so it was quite americanized - fans in every room, it had an inverter (which meant that we had electricity even without the generator - as long as the batteries lasted) so the fans would still work at night and it was fully furnished.
Ronel & I unpacked and shortly after headed to bed. I was EXHAUSTED! and hadn't slept well in 2 nights. It was SO NICE to be back with my husband and just be able to curl up in his arms. Friday morning, Ronel kindly let me sleep in. We started what turned into our routine - just hanging out with each other and enjoying being together. Early afternoon we called the airport to find out that my luggage had arrived and we arranged for Marc (a good friend of ours) to head out early Saturday morning to pick it up for me (by early I mean 3:30am!!) He got the suitcase and got right back on the bus and came home - he got in about 4pm! As I said, he is a GOOD friend and a real blessing to us! When I opened my suitcase, I discovered that it had been opened and items had been stolen - some of which were gifts for Ronel, others were items for me - like my conditioner! Atleast they didn't take my shampoo!!
Friday afternoon about 3pm we headed up to the orphange to see "my kids". It was so fun to see their faces when they saw me. Moyiz just came running down the driveway calling my name with the biggest smile on his face. All the kids were so happy to see me and it turns out that they didn't know that I was even coming to Haiti so it was a total surprise! The staff were also happy to see me and all of them asked me when I was coming back to live and work there. It was so nice to see them but also reminded me that God had called me back to BC and that it was no longer the place that God had for me.
Okay - so that is my first 3 days and I'll be back with more stories and photos....
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