from FLL

my Rebo Mocha at the airport

Well, I made it safely to Fort Lauderdale.  On to Dallas and then Austin next.  Should be home around 10pm CT.  While waiting to board my flight in Port au Prince, I wrote this on my ipod:

Easiest Port au Prince airport experience ever! Seriously. Maybe 30 minutes from start to finish (honestly, I keep waiting for something to go wrong). So much for sabotage, intentional or otherwise!

Ryan dropped me off at the airport a little after 8, and immediately I was surrounded by the usual group of red caps wanting to take my bags. Because the only cash I had on me was a $20 bill, I had decided I was just going to awkwardly get all my luggage on my own. Not ideal, but doable. However, one guy absolutely insisted on carrying two of my suitcases for me for free (and I checked 3 or 4 times to make sure he knew I couldn't pay him), so we trekked on in to the first security check-point,

really leaving...  :(

no problem. There wasn't even a line, which was weird in and of itself. Most of the time you have to wait forever in various lines each step of the way. Today, no lines whatsoever. Whoever you are that's praying for my journey today, thank you. Your prayers are felt!

Anyway, by the time we got up to the first security belt, I had two guys helping me. They put my bags on the belt, and that was that! No insisting that I give them something after all, just smiles, a compliment on my Kreyol, and a wish for a "Bon voyage"!!! Amazing.

Port au Prince

bel Ayiti

I went through security to get into the airport, and within 3 minutes, I was standing at the ticket counter checking in. Again,  amazing. No line there, no line for immigration, minimal line for the next two security checks. I was beginning to get nervous that I'd missed my flight (not that that would be a bad thing...maybe then I could stay after all!) or that it wasn't actually until much later or something. Never ever have I had a quicker, easier time getting from the car to my gate (and if you've ever traveled to Haiti, you know this is saying something)! I don't know what was going on--if maybe everyone decided to check in super early today, thereby clearing the way for me when I got there on time--but it was great! Well, except for the whole I'm-leaving-Haiti-and-that's-why-I'm-here part. Did not like that. Still don't.

----
So, so far so good.  I've spent a lot of time today continuing to think over these past two weeks and pray about where I'll be going/what I'll be doing from here on out.  More on that in a future post...





In the meantime, here's the video of Christina that I took yesterday morning (was that really only yesterday?!).  We were sitting on the floor and she was on my lap, playing and talking.  Is she not the cutest ever???  :)