Luggage is always fun at the Port Au Prince Airport. The last few time's we've come, we've flown with as many bags as they will allow us to bring. We end up paying for the maximum because getting supplies here any other way is so unreliable. So we have people from our church bring in nice clothes for both adults and children, a couple tents and luggage that can be left in Haiti. It's a great idea, the thing we always forget is to remember what our bags look like before we give them up in Tampa. Baggage claim is so frustrating. All the passengers from flights that arrive file into a medium size warehouse building that is the temporary (due to the earthquake) home for baggage claim, customs, and airline offices (I heard Douglas describe it to someone as a "chaotic, boiler-house/makeshift hanger filled with hot angry travelers yelling at each other in french), The airline opens up a garage door and the luggage gets dumps into piles. Hundreds of people all looking through piles of bags at the same time. Add to it that Douglas and I have very little idea about what we're looking for, the sweaty crowd yelling in french and creole… It's always my least favorite part of the trip.
Once we got our bags together we walk out into the masses of chaos. We fight our way through the crowd finally surrendering to the pushy men around us to carry our bags and find our people. Saul, a man who has become a very good friend here, was there to meet us and take us around. We finally make it to the car with all our bags and as we get there, we see him looking in the windows and feeling his pockets…no keys. He's lost them somewhere among the mob. After altogether unsuccessfully trying to retrace steps, a man in the crowd notices that we are looking for something. Saul told him in french that he had lost his keys and was trying to find them. The man asked what kind of car he drove. Saul points to his pathfinder. The man with great pleasure told Saul he drove the same car and gave Saul his keys to try. We took the keys (mostly to just be polite) and tried it in the car. And crank - the car came to life. We were all amazed. The man and Saul drove up to a hardware store close to the airport and was able to get a few copies made of the key and we were on our way.
We often come on these trips expecting one thing and receiving something very different. We came with the intention of being a part of a ordination process for our Pastor in St Louis De Nord. That still will happen but, God had some divine appoints for us to make first. We arrived in Port Au Prince, not knowing where we would be staying for the night. We had an idea of some things we were going to get accomplished, but enough times in Haiti has taught me to stick very loosely to any plans that have been made.
Before the trip, our church had been in contact with a organization that has found a way to build very cheaply, water purification systems that need very little maintenance over time and provides reliable, clean water (10 gallons a minute). We knew the name of the place (Water Mission International) and had the address to the organization, but other than that had very little info. But we knew that we at least needed to have a conversation to see if this system might be a possibility for our people in north Haiti. We drove up to the walled complex and banged on the large metal gate to see if we could come it. A Haitian armed with an impressive looking gun cracked the door. Saul explained in french who were and what we were hoping to accomplish. After a couple minutes of a conversation I understood nothing of, the gate rolled open and we were escorted to the front door. We made introductions to a Portuguese woman named Elsa. In english this time, we explained what it was we were doing in Haiti and asked if we might talk to them about our school and how we might be able to work together. She escorted us in to the converted home and invited us to sit at a big table out back. She also told Douglas (my Pastor) that if he didn't have a place to stay tonight he would be able to stay there. Not making eye contact with me, she politely told him that they only make accommodations for Pastors and had room for only one. Douglas chuckled, patted me on the back, and said in classic Douglas form, "Good luck dude - I'll see you in the morning."He eventually told her that we were traveling together and that we would need to find a place we could both stay for the night. She kind of shrugged and said - if your only needing one night, we can make some room. We made our way back to a room with 4 bunk beds and dropped off the load of luggage we had lugged around. We toured the small complex and we're introduced to the engineers and staff and were given a full run down of the system they build for villages in Haiti (and around the world). We made, what I think will become, a very important connection for both the church and for myself. We ended up very quickly (as is usually the case here) making very deep connections with people who have a shared passion for a radical faith and a life that Jesus spoke of. We sat around the table till late in the evening with people from Germany, Honduras, America, Africa, Portugal, and Haiti. We talked about life, love, passion, and faith. Like most every of these trips, these late night conversations with the most interesting mix of people and food are what make these trips sustainable and life giving.
Enough for now, I'll stop.
Grace and peace.
-Chris
-Chris
