Arrival in Haiti

Wednesday, February 12
Guest post by Daniella M.

We arrived in Haiti on Wednesday at about 2pm. After waiting an hour and a half for one airplane to leave causing us to miss our connection in Miami, we were very happy to finally reach our destination!

The girls were good travelers and we were very excited as we began to see the first glimpses of Port-au-Prince. As we deplaned the heat hit us; 37 degrees Celsius, what a change from frigid Alberta!

We were quite relieved to see Jason waiting for us; with him in the lead, we scurried through the line-ups and were soon looking for our bags among many other Creole speaking Haitians.

My excitement soon turned into nervousness as we stepped outside the international airport. Holding tightly to my girls' hands, we stumbled over the uneven, broken concrete as baggage handlers jostled to carry our bags. Thankfully we soon reached Jason’s vehicle and after cramming our suitcases into the back, we headed out into the city.

Our jaws dropped as we bounced over the rough, busy roads. Weaving our way through a maze of cars, motorbikes, tap taps, people, and kids in school uniforms, we saw a totally different city than ours. 
 
Brick or cement walls surrounded everything.  Small storefronts were colourfully decorated, while merchants dotted the sidewalks selling everything from clothes, food, and sugarcane to household appliances. Between the stores, tiny cardboard and tin shacks, dotted the overcrowded city.

As he drove Jason told us stories about city workers who filled a drain with cement but soon after other people came with pieces of cardboard and stole the still wet cement!

We made many turns on a variety of unmarked roads, some newly paved, but most still rocky and bumpy. After 2o minutes or so, we arrived at the Kruls' home. After a honk the big metal gate opened and we drove in to see a nice house and a yard with brown grass, and dry, dusty trees. We soon heard that rain had been very scarce in the past months. 

After touring the house and settling in our room, we hung out outside and watched the kids climb trees, warning them not to fall since a hospital in Haiti was not the place they would want to end up in!

Jason later told us many more stories about their time in Haiti and what it was like during and after the earthquake. One that really stuck out to us was how clearly the Lord watched over them during the earthquake, as most of the houses around them collapsed and theirs remained standing. Also, how they had all been in the house at the time and not other places that were completely destroyed where many others lost their lives.

After a delicious spaghetti dinner and discussing some plans for the week, we went to bed, tried to cool off a bit, and 'enjoyed' the many night time sounds of Port-au-Prince; dogs barking, cats fighting, goats bleating, horns honking and roosters crowing.