Haiti Mission Possible: Day 1

Saturday, January 26, 2010 - WOW…I don’t even know where to begin. After about 8 hours of travel (air and land), I finally made it to Haiti. I didn’t really know what to expect or how I would feel; I simply knew this would be a completely foreign experience, and I hoped I would handle it with grace. The airport process was actually a lot smoother than I would have guessed, but everything else was a completely unpredictable.

As we walked out Port-au-Prince’s airport gates, I had an overwhelming sense come over me as if it were letting me know that my world education had just begun. From the cargo truck we boarded that would take us on our 1 ½ hour drive to Cazale, to the many tent villages that line the city streets, all I could think about is what would I do if that were me. Within 5 minutes of the ride, I saw a man bathing himself out in the open behind his tent, which was exposed to the street. All it took was 1 ½ hours for me to become quite acquainted with the polar extremes of the have and the have-nots in the world.

Along this ride of social awareness, it occurred to me that the one thing I noticed in the demeanor of all the Haitians we drove past on the streets was a certain zealous spirit that touched my heart and kept me from bursting out into tears. There’s a certain resilience these Haitians exuded that made me far more invigorated to help as opposed to my self-righteous pity for how I thought they should be living.


We made it to the Zachary’s in one peace and even beat the rain. There was a rainbow along the horizon just as we arrived in Cazale, it seemed tailor made by God, as a sign that we were in the right place at the right time with the right heart and the right frame of mind. We’d answered the call to duty and that rainbow signified our favor in God’s eyes.


After meeting the Zachary family, meeting some of the sick children being cared for, breaking bread and getting acquainted with one another and the Real Hope for Haiti staff, it was time to turn in, but ironically, sleep was the last thing from my mind. All I could do was rewind all I’d seen within my first 6 hours in Haiti. Now on to day number two…


“God grant me the strength to change the things that I can, the serenity to accept the things I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.”