The Pella Christian High School short-term has safely arrived in Haiti. They have not stayed still for long as they trek through Pignon, taking in each new encounter with wide eyes. Keep these young people in your prayers. For the next week, they will need open minds and soft hearts to experience everything God has in store for them.
January 2: First Day in Haiti Recap
After arriving at the La Quinta hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at around 12 a.m. the night before, we all rose bright (in actuality, dark) and early at around 5 a.m., ate a quick breakfast, and by 5:30 we were once again on our way. We took a 20-minute shuttle ride to Missionary Flights International, where we were swiftly brought through, introduced to the mission, and boarded onto the plane. We were all set for the four hour trip over the ocean to Haiti, almost there after the long and unexpected day of waiting the day prior. However, the plane ride was not enjoyable for most. It was extremely rough and nausea inducing for many of the team members, and it was evident that everyone was grateful when we finally arrived in Cap-Haitian for customs. We were through and back onto the plane in under 10 minutes and then departed on our final 12-minute flight before we reached our destination: Pignon, Haiti.
We began our experience by meeting Craig and Christi and some of the other leaders we would be staying with while in Haiti, and after a short time of greetings and visiting, we took two trucks back to the compound. There, we were introduced to the rest of the leaders and Haitian helpers, and were served sandwiches and grapefruit juice for lunch. After being introduced to the rules of the house and the basics of our stay, we left the compound to go to the market, where we bought things like rice, beans, and spaghetti (or in Haitian: diri , pwa , and spaget ) for ten families. Once we were finished at the marketplace, we were shown around the new market, planned to opened in March. While we were there, we met what you might call a flock of Haitian children, who were shy at first, but at the end of our exploratory journey through the new market were holding hands with the girls on our team, following us, and running through and around us wherever we went. Unfortunately, it soon came time for us to leave, and we left to deliver our food and supplies to the MH4H quarters.
We were all set again – sweaty and tired, but water bottles full and ready to continue. We drove past the sugarcane fields, and stopped to go on a short hike to a suspension bridge, where we enjoyed a respite, taking pictures and enjoying ourselves. After some time by the river, we hiked back to our trucks, and went to our last stop: the paint shop, buying paint for our painting project later in the week. We were finally finished, and we drove back to our new home, the compound, for dinner. We were served a wide, amazing spread of fresh chicken, fried ochre, scalloped potatoes, baked plantains, and were all refilled and refreshed after a long, hot day. This was ended by a time of singing, talking about tomorrow’s plans and highs and lows, leaving us all feeling satisfied and ready to face a new day.
Braden Meiders
