Hushed cheers and not-so-muffled clapping speckled the plane
ride to Port Au Prince as we somehow got the Brazil vs. Chile FIFA game on the
backs of the chairs in front of us. It was pretty cool how the entire plane
(not just the group) was all cheering for the same team. Anyways, that’s all I
really have to say about the plane rides… I hate planes. You can ask my sister –
she dealt with my mini panic attacks and clammy hands for every ounce of turbulence,
takeoff and landing.
Oh, wait. There is one other thing I can say about the plane
ride to Haiti. I’m sorry, but you are reading the writings of a slightly crazed
person. A person who was literally brought to tears this afternoon when Mike
Emerson tried to walk down the aisle with a bag of Twizzlers. I’m not joking –
I smelled them and got all excited. He shared with me. Made my day. Sorry,
random… but awesome.
Any veteran mission trip-attender can tell you that this
time around at the airport was much better than the last time. We got our
luggage with relative ease, followed Ed to our driver, and there were many less
men this time trying to ask to carry our luggage for us, which was nice. Let me
tell you though, the ease and good feelings ended there. I can’t speak for
everyone of course, but there were a lot of moody teenage girls who were not
liking the heat and humidity that hit us like a wall when we walked out of the
airport doors.
I was soaked through the back of my shirt by the time we got
to Main Campus.
The actual driving was interesting. There’s no way to
describe the heat, or the strange smells, but the views are incredible. I liked
it anyways, but it seemed like it scared the newbies. Haha, no worries – they will
be more comfortable than they could imagine in a few days.
I know everyone wants to know what was for dinner. I have to
admit, it was not looking very appetizing. When we walked into the room with
the food, there was some questionable looking lasagna and a pathetic salad… all
covered in flies. But once they refreshed the options, the lettuce was straight
from the garden, mixed with tomatoes and cucumbers, albeit rather limp. But the
lasagna was absolutely delicious. I hope it wasn’t goat meat. There’s no way to
tell though…
As for the “AwkoTaco” part of this blog’s title, that’s
coming to you directly from Danni. Both the phrase and the reasoning. First,
she swallowed a bug and almost threw up on my bag. Lovely. Really. Second, we jumped
to a conclusion and assumed that some of the showers were like, coed. I just
asked Tami. They’re not. But we thought they were. And it was distressing.
Anyways, not much is going on currently. People are bonding,
playing weird games, and Ed read me my graduation present as if the little
crowd that gathered were a group of kindergarteners. It was hilarious. He paused
for dramatic affect and amplified his voice dramatically. It was precious.
Really. You should’ve been there.
So, I promise, the blog entries will get more interesting.
Today barely counts as a day if it weren’t for experiencing the heat and
humidity. I promise to post as often as I can. I bought WiFi for the week, so
we’re good on that end. I cannot promise however, that I will stay awake to
finish the blogs every night. For all you readers who want to know how your
family members are doing, keep reading. I’ll give updates throughout the week.
And please, everyone, feel free to comment. I can actually relay messages to
family members if you have no other way of getting in contact.
Love ya all! Pray for our safety, our message and our
journey.
Katie Finally Coming to You from Haiti
I laughed and cried when I read these posts - it's like Katie is sitting right next to us at the dinner table sharing her stories about her day! We are so proud of everyone for making the trip to Haiti - with all it's sacrifices and risk - God will reward you richly. Looking forward to hearing about the craziness of church tomorrow! Katie - please let us know if we need to relay any messages to family members in Michigan :) All our love (and air conditioning :) Mom
ReplyDeleteHi Katie
ReplyDeleteWe have just started reading your blog and are really enjoying your sense of humor. ;)
Please give a big hug from home to Ruth and Noah Casper. We know that they just left yesterday but we sure do miss them a lot.
Thoughts and prayers from home,
Jim and Miles Casper
...Pippa too
I'm so sorry for taking so long to reply, but it's been a crazy couple of days! I showed them your comment and they both lit up! It was awesome:) Thanks for commenting! Let me know if any other messages need to get to them!
DeleteHi Katie, say hi to Emi, love and miss you both. Praying for you, be careful.
ReplyDelete