We're off Again!

We're home from our adventure and a little under the weather, but I want to share our experiences while they are still fresh.

We packed our checked baggage full of supplies needed at Real Hope for Haiti on Monday night and then did our last minute packing Tuesday. Pastor Andy came to pick us up at 3 am . . . We prayed and then loaded up into a fully decorated van thanks to some of my sister chicks! Thanks ladies! We had fun and really felt special.

Travel to Haiti went really smooth. The airport in Port Au Prince seemed far less crowded and easier to work through than it had been last year. Well, that is until we got our bags and didn't see the man that would take us to Zach and the truck. We had all kinds of men that were trying to convince us to let them help us for a small fee. Additionally, Lynn was swept away because someone said they had seen the guy we were looking for and we had missed him in the airport. It's comical now, but I even had a man that had decided he would be our taxi service to the mission and that we should not wait for whomever was coming for us. In due time, we found our guy, Alexi. And he took care of all of our "helpers" for us.

Now, I had read lots of articles and seen news reports regarding the clean up and rebuilding, or lack there of, in Haiti. I was anxious to see if I could see any real changes since we had been to Haiti about 11 months earlier. Two days before we left the States, Zach was approached by gunmen on the road that he had traveled with us last year. It is only by the grace of God that the gunmen did not shoot and he and Yves (one of his right hand men) were able to speed away. SO, needless to say, we took a different route.

This was stuff I hadn't seen before, but it was so interesting. It felt like we went through more of Port Au Prince's market areas. Zach even stopped at a stand and we watched him haggle over the cost of rope. It's something I've never seen go down . . . Zach ended up with his rope and everyone was smiling after the transaction.

We were so happy to get to the mission, hug some necks, and have some dinner.

Going Back...

I have never felt compelled to keep a blog before. I think it's mostly because I can't imagine how the interworkings of my day might appeal to anyone else. I know our pets are only adorable to us.

All of that being said, I feel an overwhelming need to document our travels to Haiti. It could be because the work we do seems to matter more there than a lot of things in my life. Regardless, I am going to try to share our days in Cazale, Haiti once we return home.

We've been told by many that we may have more compassion or understand more than we did last year because we lost of all of our worldly possesions in a fire this year. I mulled that over and concluded that I just was not sure. We had a warm, dry place to stay immediately and within hours we had clothes and goods again. It seems to me that most Haitians go through crisis together (earthquakes, hurricanes, disease, etc.) and they're forced to degaje' (make do) with what they can. I think I was/am to cope with our current situation of uncertainty and flux better knowing just how blessed I am to live here.

We're going back to Cazale, Oust, Haiti to the Real Hope for Haiti mission that has it's hand in so many ministries in Haiti. We are hoping to learn a lot, help where we can, and love on our missionary friends and as many people as we can. We want our hearts to be broken all over again for these beautiful people. We thank you for your prayers and promise to do our best at giving you a glance at Haiti through our eyes.

We leave in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesay June 15 and will return home ridiculously late on the evening of Wednesday June 22.

So Much Love!
Sarah (and Andy)