Haiti — Packing the Bags

Bonjou! (lit. "good day")

Tonight the Haiti team (minus Ruth Scott, who is already in Haiti) will be assembling our suitcases for the trip. Seasoned travelers know that packing for overseas travel is not always simple. Not only does the bag have to survive a tumultuous trip in the plane's baggage compartment that lasts hours, but there are customs agents on both sides of the ocean to contend with. When one of those countries is a third-world country known for its crime and corruption... good luck, bags. Actually, LJ reassures me that travel inside Haiti is much safer now than it has ever been. After the earthquake last year, millions of dollars and thousands of foreigners have poured into Haiti. LJ tells me that Taiwan has helped build roads and infrastructure, including work on the road that leads from Les Cayes to Jeremie — a road we will travel on Saturday. When I was there in 1995, it took nine hours of boulder hopping to traverse the mountains between Cayes and Jeremie. Now it takes about five. Whew! What a relief. For those who wonder, the distance is about 20 miles. That's an improvement from... let's see.... 2.5 miles per hour to... umm..... 4 miles per hour. We're practically speeding!

In our suitcases we're packing an assortment of goods for our sister church. We have dishes and glasses for pastor Benoit and his wife, hand fans for the ladies of the church (it's hot and humid, like, all the time), sidewalk chalk, sporting goods and assorted trinkets for the kids, and medicine provided by you, good Christian, to benefit the church and community. Pastor Benoit and those he trusts will be charged with administering the medicine as they see fit. Physical demand is high in Chambellan after the earthquake because of the number of refugees.

So please say a prayer for us as we pack the suitcases tonight. We're trying to fit a lot of stuff into 55-pound or less suitcases, two per person. In addition to our own personal stuff, it's always a challenge. Also pray for our bags to not only make it to Port Au Prince but also easily clear customs.

Mesi ak fave a renmen! (Thank you with grace and love)

— John "Jean" Newton


UPDATE — (9/7) — Well all our bags are packed and we're ready to go. Tomorrow morning we're leavin on a jet plane. Sometime after one o'clock, I believe. Guess I'd better check, eh?  Seriously, we're all excited to be heading south to see our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a wonderful team (kinda like an improv comedy troupe at times) of diversity in ages (I'm the pup at 34) and stages of life. It should be quite an adventure.