Note: This is the first in a series of journals that will be written by members of the SRU Athletes for Forgotten Angels group that will be in Haiti Jan. 12-17 helping the country recover from the earthquake that rocked the country two years ago. For more information and links to all journal entries, visit the Forgotten Angels homepage


Hi from Haiti!!


We got an early start Thursday morning, waking up at 4:45 a.m. and making it to Missionary Flights International by 6 a.m. On the van ride over you could feel the anticipation of the group.  Kirk entertained questions, and we had many of them. Upon arrival at MFI we watched a short video on what to expect as far as the flight would go and found out we were going to be making a pit stop for fuel in the Bahamas! We boarded the plane joined by another couple that was going to be headed to Port Au Prince to be doing some other mission work. After a prayer we waited our turn on the runway to take off. Once in the air we were offered donut holes, coffee, hot chocolate, and Kool-Aid from the flight attendant. The majority of the group slept the entire plane ride until we landed in Exuma, Bahamas. While they fueled the plane we went through security and were held in a small room with two gift shops and other vacationers waiting for their planes. Even though it was only about a 15-minute stop, we enjoyed our time in the Bahamas and the warm weather. We then boarded the plane one last time and headed on to our final destination. Flying into Haiti we saw beautiful blue water and mountains, but as we continued to descend we were struck by the amount of poverty in the country.

We landed in Cap Haitian, Haiti, which is on the northern coast. Don and Karen greeted us as we walked off the plane. Don and Karen are the Missionaries that we are staying with during our time here. While we waited for the okay to enter customs we stood under the wing of the plane for shade. While looking around you could see the beautiful mountains filled with poverty stricken people. As we waited we started to hear singing coming from a nearby mountain. As we looked around we saw roughly 100 people walking and singing at the top of this mountain. Once we got the okay we entered into customs and waited while Alexandra Fleagle was stuck on the plane searching for her passport. Jokingly we all said "see you next week!" and entered customs. But the missing passport was located and the pilot escorted Alli into customs. After getting our passports stamped we waited for our luggage and boxes of donations to be brought in. The customs building was nothing more than two small rooms filled with government workers and other missionaries. Once our boxes and luggage was brought in it was a bit of chaos. Having to watch our luggage and donation boxes proved to be challenging in this tight squeeze. After some bartering we were able to bring our 16 donation boxes of clothes, shoes, and sports equipment into the country.
    
Once we cleared customs we loaded our bags onto the back of a cattle truck and headed out into the Streets of Haiti. Driving through downtown Cap Haitian was at first a little intimidating. We saw areas of immense poverty, open markets and streets filled with trash. We also saw the UN headquarters. We quickly learned that there are no rules to the road over here and that their roads are very poorly paved. To our surprise Karen told us that the road that we were on was actually considered "good" and went straight to Port Au Prince. Once we made it to the compound where we are staying we felt a little relieved. We quickly unloaded the truck and moved into our living quarters for the week. It was about 2 p.m. and we were all very hungry so we made sandwiches and rested for a bit before we headed off to EBAC Orphange.

We walked along the streets of Haiti to get to the orphanage, which is not far from the compound.  People were smiling and waiving as we walked by making us feel more welcome. Once we entered the orphanage the children ran up to us and immediately and started talking. Some entertained us with back flips and cartwheels while others just wanted to hold our hands and talk to us. We were warned that some Haitians do not like their picture taken so to politely ask first but once the cameras were out the children loved them and did not want them to be put away.

Ashley Martin started a soccer game with the older kids at the orphanage, which gave other members of the group a chance to be one on one with the younger children. We only spent about an hour there and upon leaving the children followed us chanting our names and could not wait for us to come back Friday.

We walked back to the compound and the group cleaned up before Pastor Fanfan stopped by with Rueben and Daniel. Pastor Fanfan and Daniel are also police officers and Rueben was an orphan who grew up at EBAC and now works there. These three men will be helping us with our soccer clinic the next 2 days. While Noreen, Ashley and Kirk met with Pastor Fanfan, Teresa Elliott, Sarah Cadwallader, and Alli made our gourmet meal consisting of spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. We enjoyed the meal with Karen and Don and discussed plans for the rest of the week before heading to bed.

Here we are now writing this blog to you on our last hour of power. Here in Haiti, all electricity gets shut off at 10 p.m. So far everyone seems to be warm and welcoming and glad that we are here to help. There is still a lot of poverty in this area, yet the children all have smiles on their faces and are praying and hoping for the best. Our first day in Haiti just happens to be the second anniversary of the earthquake that devastated this country. We can't wait to spend the rest of the week helping in any way we can.

Until tomorrow!

- Teresa and Alli