Officially Reporting From Haiti!

Sorry we were not able to post yesterday, we had a pretty crazy day.

We woke up Friday with good news that we would be able to leave for Haiti bright and early Saturday morning! After playing tetris with the luggage we finally got all of it into the vans and headed for Ft. Pierce, Florida. We were blessed to be able to make a pit stop at the Wycliff headquarters and toured the visitors center. It was a learning experience for us all and gave us a deeper appreciation for Catherine's ministry in Papua New Guinea. Then after arriving to Ft. Pierce we were able to spend some time basking in the sun at Ft. Pierce beach on the Atlantic Coast. We then headed back to the hotel and prepared for take off the following morning.

This morning (Saturday) we had a 5:00 wake-up call and departure half an hour later. We ate breakfast in To-go bags and drove to the small Missionary Flights International airport where we were ushered onto the plane and took off for Exuma in the Bahamas. We flew through traces of the tropical storm, causing a lot of turbulence and more than one used sick-bag *ahem, Ang and Scott.* After a brief stop in Exuma to refuel and scarf a second breakfast, we completed the second two hours without the bumps. Customs in Haiti took a long time; they weren't very organized and random people took the job at different times, tearing open our bags and pawing through them before finally sending us on our way. The luggage was loaded into trucks as groups of Haitian men argued about pay and little boys begged us for dollars. It was a rare treat for us to ride in the back of the pickup with the luggage and the handlers instead of in the cab! The drive to Bouis de Lance was roughly 25 minutes and gave us an eyeful. We have never seen such a place before! You see the pictures and videos, and know that Haiti is a Third World country, but it doesn't seem a reality until you are surrounded by it. We drove at 50 along a road flanked by ditches filled with garbage. On one side were fields of corn and palm trees, cattle farms and ruins. On the other were rows of dilapidated shacks built from splintered wood or tin. Clothes were drying on the bushes and little children were playing naked in the mud puddles. All along the dirt road were vendors selling wares in their stands and Haitians rode on motorcross bikes, donkeys, and horses. When we stopped for gas, we noticed two men carrying shotguns, guarding the gas and making sure everyone paid.

After we got to Open Door church and unpacked, we ate a quick homemade lunch and went to the orphanage to do our work project, which was painting. We hadn't gotten far when we looked behind and saw a sea of dark heads in our wake. The whole afternoon the village came in waves to watch and get underfoot as we painted, but we've never had such a great time! During the afternoon we would attempt to talk to the kids in Creole and listen to their broken English, refusing their entreats to pass along a bandana or sunglasses. I (Grace) was pleasantly surprised to meet a couple guys that spoke Spanish and was able to practice with them. It was a great time of service and relationship-building.

After we arrived back at the Open Door Haiti compound we got together for a short debrief, we discussed what we each have noticed so far in Haiti. We noticed many things about the culture that are much different then our lives back at home in MN. We then headed down and awaited an amazing home cooked dinner. While waiting we all gathered and chatted with a group of young men who take part in ODH's students-in-training-ministry. They laughed at us while we tried speaking Creole and failed miserably. We then were able to eat an amazing dinner filled with food that we were unsure of what any of it was. Then shuffling off to a church service we stayed for a few minutes to see their worship, which was unlike anything we had ever seen before. We are now sitting upstairs sweating like crazy ready for what is hopefully a goodnights rest so we can all be ready for the beginning of our equip training tomorrow.

Ang & Grace