Haiti Trip, Day 2

We had a really interesting day today.  Our flight left the US for the Dominican Republic (DR) at midnight, and we arrived at destination at 2:30 am.  We cleared customs and loaded on a bus at 4:00 this morning for a six-hour ride to Haiti.

We arrived in Haiti at 10 am and had a chance to play with the orphans who greeted us when we got off the bus.  We then had an orientation with Mike Fox and Trace Thurlby of The Global Orphan Project (C3).

After that, our team split up.  Most of the team, including Bob Mell, went to Les Cayes (an additional five-hour drive!!) to run a medical clinic.

Lance, Derek, Mike and I left immediately with Beth Fox to pick up some orphans in Port-au-Prince (PAP), taking a form of transportation known as a “tap-tap.”  A tap-tap is essentially riding in the back of a covered pickup truck.

Due to the large volume of traffic going into the city, a trip that should have taken an hour took us five hours.  One cool thing that happened was that the 82nd Airborne took us into their convoy as we made our way downtown.  Seeing those guys gave us a great sense of pride in our country.  The traffic delayed us enough that we weren’t able to pick up the orphans today, but we will be going back on Tuesday to gather up to eight more!

The damage to PAP was shocking.  Whatever you may have imagined, it’s worse.  It’s like a war zone, and in many places, the smell of dead bodies still fills the air. We saw large numbers of tent cities as people scramble to find shelter.  It is estimated that up to a million people have left PAP, creating significant logistical problems elsewhere. However, there does seem to be enough food now, due to the relief efforts and the mass exodus of people from the city.

Tonight, after 36 hours, we finally got a shower (Lance needed one – he was really funky!) and a hot meal,  and we are looking forward to sleeping in a bed.  Due to the aftershocks, however, like many Haitians, we are opting to sleep under the stars.  Nothing like camping out!

Please continue to pray for the country of Haiti and for our team as we assist the folks at The Global Orphan Project.