Haiti Trip Report: Part 1

Here's a bit of a report on my trip to Haiti last week. Some things I just summarized; everything in italics is taken directly from my journal. It's a bit choppy as I haven't really taken the time to edit it, but for whatever it's worth, here it is.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

- Kery and I met up in Fort Lauderdale and flew to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

- When we arrived in the DR, we took a cab to a hotel that our fantastic driver, Dmitri, recommended to us. Though Dmitri only spoke a little English and my Spanish is very limited, we had fun talking with him. Dmitri suggested that we try to fly to Port au Prince rather than take the bus, and so we arranged for him to take us to the airport the next morning to find out about the flight.

- We had dinner at a pizza place and then walked around for awhile near the hotel. This was my first time in the Dominican, and of the different countries I’ve visited, it probably reminds me most of Ecuador.

Wednesday, February 17

- Dmitri picked us up at 6am, and we drove across town to the airport. Dmitri pointed out various landmarks along the way and told us some of the history of the city. When we got to the airport, we discovered that though there was a flight that would get us to Port au Prince pretty quickly, it would cost us each $250. So, Dmitri took us to the bus station.

- We bought our tickets, and then an hour or so later, the bus headed out. Kery and I were both really tired, so we ended up sleeping for a lot of the 7-hour drive. About 5 hours into the drive, we got to the Haiti/Dominican border, where we stopped for an hour or so while our passports were processed. It was very nice to get off the bus for awhile (and warm up; the bus was freezing!).

- The Haiti part of the trip went relatively quickly. We both slept a little more, and then about an hour from the end of the trip, we started seeing the damage from the earthquake. It’s hard to explain what that was like; it was like the photos, except that it was right there in front of us. Still hard to fathom what we were seeing and what it meant for so many people.

- I called Gertrude (who runs Notre Maison) about an hour before we got to the bus terminal in Petionville, and she said that she’d send her brother to come pick us up. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes or an hour for him to come; in the meantime, we talked to several people who were hanging around, including one guy whose wife and child were killed in the earthquake. He asked me if I had any construction work he could do; I said I wasn’t sure but got his name and phone number just in case. He is just one of many struggling to survive in the aftermath of the earthquake.

- Germaine picked us up, and we drove down to Notre Maison. We saw more damaged/destroyed buildings, and we drove past several tent cities. It was pretty surreal. We got to Notre Maison, and it was so good to see Gertrude and the kids again. . . Gertrude and I talked a lot about her experience during the earthquake and about what she’s planning to do now. She is so amazing. Despite all she’s been through, she’s able to say that God has a plan even in the midst of all the suffering, and she’s so grateful for all of the miracles God worked even during the earthquake. I was really blessed and encouraged by talking to her and hearing what she had to say. I’m really excited about (hopefully) being involved in helping her with whatever she needs done.

Thursday, February 18

- I spent the day alternating between playing with the kids and helping sort clothes and other items in Gertrude’s storage room. When we started organizing, there were piles and boxes and suitcases of clothes everywhere; the goal was to get them sorted according to gender and size. It was a little daunting at first, but little by little we were able to put things where they needed to be so that Gertrude will be able to more easily find them when needed.

- I’m thoroughly enjoying spending time with the kids. This is the first time in years I’ve been here long enough (at Notre Maison) that I’ve gotten to really spend time with the kids. Usually I’ll be here for a few hours and then have to leave; now I get to be here all day. It’s so fun getting to know them better; these kids are so sweet.

- Before dinner, Kery and I walked through the neighborhood for a little while. We passed several little tent cities. It’s so hard to imagine what it must be like for those living there.