Saturday June 7,2008

My trip to Haiti actually started on Friday. We all met up in Boiling Springs at the Crossroads Worldwide office. Most of us stayed at a local hotel there that night and it gave us a chance to get to know each other over dinner and to go through all the supplies we were bringing and get them into suitcases, making sure to keep them under the 50 pound limit. We all brought one suitcase for our personal items and one large suitcase to bring supplies. Some of the supplies that we brought were: soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, laundry soap, clothing, toys, and food. We had SO much stuff! It was actually difficult to keep all the suitcases to 50 pounds!

Saturday morning we woke up at 1AM! I don't think anyone actually went to sleep, since it was so late that we stayed up and then SO early! We had to be on the van by 1:45 so that we could make the drive to Charlotte and get checked in for our 6AM flight. Lets just say we were the first ones in line at the airport. We flew from Charlotte to Miami. Here a lot of us tried to get little naps in. From Miami we flew into the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Everyone was so excited that we were almost there!

Once we got in Haiti we all got our luggage and headed towards the bus. All of our luggage went on a flat bed truck and we all went on the bus. There were 2 Haitian men that packed our luggage on the truck and we were all amazed at how good they could pack! After everyone was on the bus and settled we headed for the New Missions compound.

Right away we experienced the poverty of Haiti. There were people everywhere and garbage filled the streets. It was close to 100 degrees with high humidity. It hits you right away and you're totally shocked. Homes are nothing more than 10x10 tin shacks and they are everywhere. All the people are gathered along the street selling anything and everything. The rules of the road in Haiti are pretty much there are no rules. Honk and try to squeeze through any little space you can.

We went by the local market and it's there that you really see the extent of the poverty. There are tin shacks by the thousands and tons of people. Rotting fruits and vegetables are everywhere. A sight that repeated itself over and over as we drove. We would also see this sight continually over the week.

The New Mission compound is located on the Leogane Plain, about 25 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. The area is much more rural and surrounded by farm land. It took us about 3 hours to travel the 25 miles to New Missions. The compound is located next to a small village called Bord Mer. Today there is a large school, a church, the main office, a medical clinic, the DeTellis home, and the Missionary Area where we were staying all on the original site that the DeTellises started. There are 6 cabins and a eating hall/kitchen in our area. Girls stay in 3 cabins located on one side of the area and boys in the 3 cabins on the other side. Each cabin has beds, a shower, a sink, and a working toilet. Beds are twin size and come with your own mosquito net! There are mosquitoes everywhere in Haiti and they are out all day and night. So the netting is a life saver. Literally! There is no telling how much deet we all had in our body when we got back home.

Oh yea, how about the tarantulas!!! They were everywhere! Definitely something that we were not expecting!

The first day we mainly just got accommodated with being in Haiti. We were all so excited to be there and getting to know our surrounding and the people that would become our family for the next week! It was a great first day and a very eye opening experience!