Forrest started the trip off on the right note by telling the group the bus would be stopping at Chick-Fil-A on the way to the airport for breakfast This caused an immediate cheer from the youth on board who always seem to be in need of food. Once the cheers subsided Forrest informed the group he then was only kidding, which just about got him thrown off the bus by youth group. Why do you build me up buttercup......?
As one might expect, the Jax airport was not very crowded at 4:40 in the morning, but that also meant the American Airlines counter was short staffed as well, so it took a little while to get all of our bags checked in. Each team member was encouraged to pack a carry on bag and/or a backpack with the majority of their clothes and other personal items and take those on the plane with them. That allowed our larger pieces of luggage to be packed with jars of peanut butter, linens, shoes and other items needed for the children at the Christian Light School (www.christianlighthaiti.org), our hosts during our stay in Haiti.
Our flight from Jacksonville to Miami was on an American Airlines regional jet, and on take off it jumped off the runway like a scalded cat! We hit cruising altitude quickly and made it to Miami about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. However this left us with a two hour plus layover in Miami where we could get any last minute items before our flight to Haiti.
Needless to say, getting a bunch of teenagers up at 3:00 in the morning to go to the airport means were traveling with a tired group to be sure. Many used the layover in Miami to catch up on their beauty sleep, which would come in quite handy once we made it to Haiti.
Around 9:30 we boarded a packed American Airlines 767 for the 1 1/2 hour flight to Port-au-Prince Haiti. Clearing customs was easy enough, but getting all those pieces of luggage filled with peanut butter, etc. gathered and loaded on the truck to the school was quite an event. Doug handled it like a pro, but it's still nothing like we are all accustomed to when we fly inside the continental U.S.
We traveled from the airport to the school in the back of a large truck with a caged-in rear area with bench seating along each side. During the ride to the school we saw many vivid images of the poverty in Haiti. People everywhere along the edge of the road with stands selling just about anything they are able to accumulate from small electronic devices to cut chicken pieces (without ice or refrigeration). Small huddles of people over open air fire pits filled with charcoal cooking food alongside the road just next to areas of scattered trash and waste water just a few feet away. Needless to say that this is far from a tropical paradise and far different than sanitation conditions we experience in our daily lives.
The rest of the afternoon was spent getting settled in to the berthing areas and acclimated to the surroundings. The youth took the opportunity to play with the children at the school, and the squealing and yelling of children could be heard throughout the compound.
Later in the day the school staff served a wonderful dinner of spaghetti, salad, corn and garlic bread. We all ate on the porch area just behind the kitchen. The porch has screen windows on two of the four walls, and as luck would have it neither of these windows are able to let in the prevailing breezes which come from the other side of the building. The Caribbean air is very humid and it becomes quite sticky when you can't get catch a breeze, but everyone on the team handled it well, and thanked the staff many, many times for the wonderful dinner and fellowship.
After dinner we gathered on the roof of the school for a brief devotional led by Claire Berry. With the sun down for the evening, the breeze made it very comfortable as we sat in a circle, youth and adults, and discussed God's word for us and our expectations for this trip. The expectations expressed by our youth members were quite profound, and we were all excited about where God is leading us during this adventure.
The evening finally came to a close and everyone got cleaned up and headed for their beds, each equipped with its own mosquito net! You can't be too careful here, and with so much standing water it is much better to be a little uncomfortable now than suffer greatly later on.
A full first day, but fulfilling for everyone on the team. Friday will be the last day the youth and adults will be together until we leave from Port au Prince next Thursday. Saturday morning the youth along with Forrest and Claire will be traveling to LaGonove Island to spend a few days with the people there. More on their island adventures in the coming days.
Good night from Port-au-Prince!
