Where I Belong

Thursday August 1, 2013 
1:22 p.m. 
The hustle and bustle of travelers mingling with the sound of hundreds of voices swirls around me as I open my pink notebook and pick up my pen. From my vantage point at the Delta departure gate, I look up for a moment to study the people around me. There's a definite mix of cultures and it's interesting to watch people interact with one another. 

Once my curiosity is satisfied I turn back to my notebook to jot down my thoughts. I love traveling; I love the excitement and anticipation hanging in the air, the different cultures and people groups blending together, the power of the aircraft on takeoff, the bird's eye view from the window as I fly, and meeting new people and hearing their stories along the way.

My thoughts turn to our own flight and checking my watch I notice that it won't be long until boarding time. Our flight from Port au Prince to Atlanta is scheduled to leave in less than an hour now and I can feel a mix of emotions churning inside me. In 50 minutes I'll be leaving Port au Prince behind with her brightly colored buildings, tropical temperatures, waving palm trees, friendly people, crazy traffic, burning trash piles and blue skies and in less than 24 hours, God willing, I'll exchange all that for the warm embrace of family and friends, paved highways, fresh air, evergreen trees, open fields and most likely a drizzle. 

 After trying unsuccessfully to grapple mentally with the changes soon to occur, I give up. Over analyzing is one of my weaknesses and I know it, so I chose now to simply relax and enjoy this time. 

Friday, August 23, 2013 (three weeks later) 
1:22 p.m. We've been back in Haiti for five days already and I'm still mentally processing our two and a half week trip. To give you a little glimpse of some of the sights we saw, I uploaded some of our favorite pictures of our time there. 

 Leaving Port au Prince..

Sunset in Atlanta, Georgia.

Spending time with family.

Catching up with cousins.

Having fun on the baby swing. He was just a teeny bit upset when it was time to get off.

Big brother growing up fast.

Double trouble.

Down he goes.

A new skill learned.

Watching sunsets.

It never gets old.

Lightning strikes and forest fires.

The beautiful Fraser Valley.

Flowering fields against the backdrop of blue mountains.

Babbling brooks.

Beautiful hikes.

Breathtaking views.

Wild flowers.

Family photo.

A monkey in a backpack.

Boat ride courtesy of the almost brother-in-law.

A hike to the waterfalls.

"I can do it all by myself."

Looking up.

Down below; freezing glacier water!

Rafting trip.

Some of the views we saw along the way.

And then just like that we were back in Port au Prince again. Okay, not exactly just like that. We got stuck in traffic on the way to the airport, then it took an hour to pay the lap tax for Justin, we almost missed our flight from Miami to Port au Prince as we didn't realize we had to recheck in, and then were told our luggage wouldn't make it on the same flight. At that point I closed my eyes and prayed that by some miracle our luggage would get on that flight as it had meat in it and I didn't want to picture the sights or smells if it remained in our suitcases indefinitely in tropical temperatures. 

 God answered that prayer with a yes and we watched in amazement as every single one of our suitcases came off the conveyor belt in the Port au Prince airport. 

And about those crossing culture questions I've asked myself for years; I found the answer. I no longer need to ask myself where I belong, whether that be in Haiti, Canada or somewhere else. Phil 3:20 says "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,:"