We are in Haiti, and wow it’s hot! Our travel was very smooth. Our layover in Miami wasn’t very long, so we were very grateful the flights were on time.

Immigration and Customs were borderline chaotic. We shuttled in a bus from the terminal to Immigration, which was a huge metal building. Needless to say, it was very stuffy in there with all the people and the heat. Once through immigration, we went to the other half of the building to get our bags and clear customs. This area was a mad house. It was pretty small and there were a lot of people. We eventually found all of our bags and headed to Customs. I think the Customs agent was tired and hot because he simply waved us all through.

We then headed out into a sea of people to look for some guys from Haitian Christian Mission (HCM). Once we found the driver, we witnessed some type of bartering/arguing over which baggage guys would help us to the bus. It all ended well, but it was a little tense for a couple of minutes. Next, we made the journey across the parking lot. Although we had some help, most of us were lugging two bags full of supplies. We arrived at the bus, and it was an old yellow school bus that looked like it should have been retired many years ago.

After everything and everyone was loaded, we made the two-hour journey to HCM. Traffic was an adventure, but we arrived safely. We enjoyed a great dinner and then a time of fellowship with a team of college students from California.

All in all, it was a successful day of travel. We are looking forward to participating in church tomorrow morning and then preparing for the week.

Haiti Team Update #1