Into Haiti and a Family Reunion

Day 1 in Haiti:
I started the morning very early running around a couple pharmacies in Santo Domingo looking for anti-malaria medication for two team members that had not started taking it before arriving. Don’t worry... I put them in time out first. :)
At least we were able to test out our radios... they work really well!

I also met up with my dad and brother. It’s SO nice to see them again, but really, how come our family reunions are always during a disaster? I guess it comes with the territory of having missionary parents.

Our experience getting into Haiti was scary. Even though the roads are badly damaged and there are cracks and rocks all over the place, the drivers believe they must drive 120 mph all the way through – 4 hours of near-death turns and dips is a harbinger of what’s to come. I’ve been to Haiti before the earthquake, so it’s nice to see that some things haven’t changed a bit. Our convoy created a little dust storm all the way…

My brother and dad and I didn't really say much to each other, no catching up on the long drive in. I think we were all just anxious to get in. Though I gotta share a cute and typical story. So along this 4 hour or so drive, the guys are all getting out to pee off the side of the road (EVERYONE is doing this guys haha). But of course, not me. Finally I have GOT to pee and tell my dad. We drive and drive with nowhere in sight of a bathroom or a good hiding place as there are military trucks and such running up and down the roads. I give up and fall asleep. My dad wakes me up. He got our whole convoy to drive off a beaten path to some farmer's house and paid them to let me use their bathroom. My dad is cute. And I love him :)

The environment changed dramatically at the border. First, there are no guards. The border is open. And everything literally turned gray once we crossed the border.

What I saw was bleak. I'll let the pictures tell the story. Click on this link for photos http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051992&id=1379850505&l=a8cdc4ee28

Today is President’s Day, so the Embassy is officially closed, and all coordination is being handled privately, possibly leading to the severe disorganization evident – lots of confusion about flight supplies coming in, directions to the mission’s camp, coordination with UN on pickup of donated goods.

The first night inside Port-au-Prince was very tense. Since there are no lights, as soon as the sun goes down, it turns pitch black and everything gets eerily silent. I couldn’t even hear any bugs. All I heard were the stray dogs barking. And their barks echo through the night. There seems to be hundreds and thousands of them. It was difficult to sleep because every once in awhile I felt like the dogs were barking in my ear.

But I'm relieved to finally be in Haiti and ready to get to work. Driving around town today, I wanted to jump out of the truck a bunch of times to do something about the horrible things I was seeing.