I'm Back!

I feel like I am doing this backwards since I am going to tell you about my trip back, but don't worry I will post my journal from each day so you don't miss a single thing! Just remember that as hard as I try my words just don't seem to explain everything that I experienced while I was in Haiti.

It's June 21st about 6:30, the night after we survived a "code red" tropical storm (which I will tell everyone about on the June 20th blog) and it is yet again pouring rain. We all ate dinner and rushed into the chapel on the roof which provided somewhat of a shelter from the rain. The roof of the chapel is make-shift as it is multiple tarps attached together, and the sides are open so some rain is blown in through the sides as there always seems to be a breeze up on the roof. All of us restore retreat teens are finding ways to amuse ourselves since we are stuck in the chapel until the rain stops. We end up having a "talent show" which really was more like a weird human tricks show. At about 8:00 we started our last session of the trip, which was only made more moving and amazing as the thunder rolled in the background, the rain continued to pour down, and lightening struck through the beautiful countryside of St. Louis Du Nord. After the session concluded we said our last goodbyes and everyone loaded into two old school busses about 10:30 p.m.

As we load the bus sitting two to a seat, we packed the busses full. Most of us learned on the way up that the last three seats on both sides are not a good choice so the slow pokes that weren't ready to leave got stuck in the back; I was near the back but not in one of the last three seats. As the last two people board the bus and make their way to the last seat there is a loud scream and everyone turns around and sees a giant spider above the window in the last seat; and when I say a giant spider I am talking about a spider as big as my hand. Boys and girls both were screaming until someone got up enough confidence to kill it. After the spider fiasco we were on our way! As a lot of you probably can assume most of the roads in Haiti are not paved; they are dirt, therefore when there is a lot of rain dirt soon becomes mud. As we begin to travel we quickly realize how much mud there actually is and the bus begins to moan and groan as it tries to wade through it all.

We had to stop at three police checks as it was late in the night and with the poor road conditions there were a lot of police. At the third police check we were told we could not continue as the road was split in half ahead and the detour for the road was flooded. We were also told there was no other way to get where we needed to go from there. The police said they would try to get some work trucks out here to help us, and they left us at the top of a mountain at midnight all alone. We waited for a good 45 minutes and then our driver said he knew another way to get to Port-A-Prince but we would have to go back the way we came and almost start all the way over. We backed all the way down the mountain (which is a one lane road) in the dark, getting very close to the edge multiple times. Once we got to a spot in the road big enough to turn around the bus backed up and when he shifted gears and pushed the gas to go forward the tires just spun in the mud. We were stuck in the mud, and the other bus had not even begun backing down the mountain yet. We waited there stuck in the mud for about an hour and the other bus arrived and pulled us out.

We backtracked all the way to Port-de-Paix (which is about 30 minutes to an hour away from the mission where we departed from at 10:30 p.m.) to try to take an alternate route. We are disappointed to learn that the alternate route is also closed due to flooding and mud. By now it is 5:45 and still being 6 hours away from Port-Au-Prince everyone with an 8:00 A.M. flight is already going to miss their flight. The leaders conclude that to make sure that we make it home today we are going to have to fly from the private airport in Port-de-Paix to the international airport in Port-Au-Prince, and since we are already in Port-de-Paix we only have to pray that they can arrange enough airplanes to fly our rather large group in such short notice. By 7:00 A.M. the mission’s worker who arranges flights for the missions at that airport has worked out an arrangement for three planes to fly us to Port-Au-Prince and has already rescheduled the people who will miss their flights. We finally boarded the plane about 9:15 a.m. and landed in Port-Au-Prince around 10:00 a.m. As only part of our group got to travel together we had to wait in the airport for about an hour and a half for the rest of our group to arrive. We left the smaller private airplane at about 11:30 and headed to Port-Au-Prince.

Once in Port-Au-Prince we had to unload luggage and get our tickets, go through customs, and we had to go through three airport security checks where they hand patted you down each time. We had a quick sandwich and most of us slept until we boarded our plane to Miami at 3:30. Once we landed in Miami we were home free, all we had to worry about was missing each other and staying true to everything we had learned.

No matter how hard times got on the way back I never really heard any complainers in the group. We had all been truly humbled and even as I tell this story, I do not want it to come across as complaining but rather an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and a lesson of how truly lucky we are to have paved roads, air conditioned cars, roadside assistance, and police officers who are always willing to help. I learned so much in Haiti, and stay updated on my blog here to read more about my trip and see pictures!