On June 7th I left for Haiti for the first time since August of 2010. Almost two years. My heart raced with nervousness. Would he still like me? Would be be angry that it had been so long? I prayed. You all prayed. God worked an amazing miracle--it was THE BEST visit we have had. There were many what I would call pivotal moments during our visit that I would like to share. I want to give each one its own limelight, so I am going to write a series of posts about this one visit. The first pivotal moment of course was our reunion.
The Arrival
We arrived in PAP made our way through customs and baggage retrieval. Then we regrouped and prepared for the onslaught. We knew once we left the safety of the terminal and began our walk down the outside corridor towards the parking lot we would be met with a barrage of helpers. Porters desperate to help you in hopes of payment. We gathered our group and prepared to say our "no mesi's". I led the way out and instantly they were grabbing my suitcase trying to pull it away--"no mesi, no mesi" (Creole for no thank you) my grip tightened. Suddenly there was a commotion towards the back of our group--they were trying to pull suitcases off our baggage cart. We were saved further "help" when Jacnel our driver showed up like a knight in shining armor. Brandishing his Creole like a sword, they backed off. As I turned forward once again my heart skipped. There he was. He had been standing right in back of me during this whole altercation. He had on a bright blue polo shirt and a big smile. I squealed and hugged him as best I could with all my baggage. I squeezed and kissed those adorable cheeks. His hand found mine and we continued on our walk to the vehicles. Jacnel had brought two vehicles- a flat bed and passenger car. Wisler wanted to ride in the flat bed. I must confess I did not mind- after being cooped up in a bus, two airports and two airplanes since 4 a.m. fresh air- even fresh air choking with exhaust fumes and other unpleasant Haiti smells was better than squeezing into yet another stuffy vehicle.
We arrived at Wayoum Timoun about 30 minutes later. Hauling our bags to our rooftop rooms we were re-aquainted with a permanant state of being in Haiti- sweat. Dripping. Slimy. Sticky. Always sweating. Anyway we started unpacking donations for Marta (our incredible amazing super awesome cook) and Mimose (head mama extrodinaire). Wisler was pleased with his surprises-legoes, crayons, markers, some stencils, books, some small balls, a toy motorcycle, dried fruit, peanutbutter crackers (staple treat) and organic fruit snacks. Of course his absolute favorite thing to play with on visits is a small digital camera that I bring along just for him to use. He loves to take photos and videos and I love to look through his lens and see his perspective of our visit when I get home. Dinner and bucket showers, and bed soon followed. It was a miraculous reunion.
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