Driving to the airport in order to catch a 12:15am flight to Toronto came with a mix of different emotions. Sadness in that we are going to be away from Edmonton for a month, excitement in that we are about to embark on an adventure that would probably change both of lives, and peace in that we both knew that, no matter what, God is in control and everything is going to be alright, no matter how crazy Haiti is.
From D: My first real experience of heat happened when we stepped out of the airport in Fort Lauterdale, Florida. It was about 97farenheit there and humid on top of that. I knew that this was/is going to be a hot trip, but I never could have mentally prepared myself for this. Other than a nice band, the heat was really my 'welcome to Haiti' as well... (that and some army trucks and a very chaotic baggage claim area.)
The YWAM base that we are at is not located in Port Au Prince, it is about a 2 hour drive North. This drive really opened my eyes... we passed through many cities as well as villages... some of these cities (now called 'tent-cities') are just that: tents housing refugees. Many of those people lost loved ones in the earthquake and now live with their families in tents. Along with this, these tent-cities are quite dangerous (especially in PAP), as there is not much avaliable and everyone has to share what little they have.
We did not arrive in St Marc until it was dark, which was difficult because we were not really able to adjust to being in this new place and had to kind of 'guess' where everything is. The base is beautiful, across the street from the ocean with a large grass field, a swimming pool, an arena and lots of room for tents... we were put up in a concrete room with a large open door and large open windows, this made our first night quite difficult... I will let Kirsten tell the rest of the story:
Kirsten: I thought that my worst sleeping memory of my life was going to be in Kyle's single bed with Daunavan on our 2nd last night of our honeymoon, but last night trumps, hands down. Kyle, I will voluntarily sleep in your bed with D, anytime! Haitians are quite loud at night, and we heard that for every 4 or 5 church services at night, there is 1 voodoo service. So, needless to say, we were the ones at fault when we thought that on the packing list when they said earplugs, we said nah... so the sun sets here at 7pm and by then it's completely dark, which is nice because our mornings start at 6:30am. Thank you for your prayers as last night I was ready to wake up and book a flight out of here as soon as possible!
Anyways, today was a way better day as we enjoyed each other and got used to the heat and the people. Prayers for safety in the heat and with the bugs would be appreciated, as well as spiritually as well. The days will get better, it just took some time getting used to everything!
Love you all lots!
- D and K
No comments:
Post a Comment