No idea what this blog is going to look like and where I should even start. Guess I will start from the beginning and walk through our entire journey in Haiti. Sorry in advance for those of you reading this because it may be lengthy and not a typical blog post but I need to record ALL of this experience for our family and for Esther to read in the future.
After lots of preparation and hard work we left our kids
behind and boarded a plane to Miami on August 18, 2012. We opted to stay in Miami that night instead
of Port-au-Prince(which was a GREAT choice).
We were greeted by my parents and got to spend the evening with them and
enjoy dinner before we had to fly out the next morning. Sunday morning we left
Ft. Lauderdale at 4:30am and headed to the airport where we got on a plane to
Port-Au-Prince. To our surprise, we were greeted by the flight attendant, and
thanks to Melinda Morgan, we were upgraded to First Class for this flight! The
flight was a few hours long and before we touched down in PAP I was already in
tears just looking at the conditions and devastation below was hard to swallow.
Chris said, “you can’t get be getting emotional before we even touch down.” Too
late – it was already tough so I knew this was going to be difficult and I
counted on those back home to be praying us through!
This was Chris’s first time in a third world country and
there was nothing I could say to prepare him for what he was going to face once
we exited the plane. Sure enough, we
were “greeted” by many, many friendly faces all wanting to “help” us with our
luggage. We quickly learned Creole for
“don’t touch” and moved on through customs (those of you that know Chris and
can imagine this scene are probably laughing out loud right now). We were greeted by Ivinge, our escort and
adoption worker in PAP and he and his driver took us to the little airport to
catch a hopper flight to Cap Haitian. We
waited in this airport for over 2 hours and it hit us that we weren’t in Kansas
any more Toto. The language barrier was
THE worst part of this experience. It’s
just such a sick feeling not being able to communicate at all. Finally our plane arrived and we headed out
to Cap Haitian on a small commuter plane with NO air and packed with
people. I get VERY motion sick so I knew
right away this was going to be an issue and WISHED, in all the madness of
preparing to leave, I had gotten a motion patch prescription from the doctor
(my biggest regret of the trip). I managed to make it without getting sick (the
flight was only 25 minutes). We were
greeted at the airport by Nick the director of COTP and he speaks English!!!!
We took the long and bumpy road (on the motion sick stomach) to the
orphanage. There are no words to
describe what I was feeling as the gates opened and we drove in. Much like going through a pregnancy, I had
spent the past nine months talking about, planning for and anticipating this
first meeting with my little girl. The
only difference for me is that I have known all along that I will have to leave
her behind when I go home and I can’t come visit her and there is no
“discharge” date for her to be able to come home with me.
As we got out of the car and took a good look around I was
flooded with emotions that I can’t even describe. There was a stench in the air that I can’t
get out of nose even today. We walked
into the volunteer house and met the staff and volunteers (many of whom were
leaving the next morning after serving there for several months or weeks or
even a year or more). Right away one of
the volunteers brought Esther to meet us and I was not prepared for that
meeting at all. It was very awkward and
she was very tired (it was her nap time).
We just said a quick hello and then they put her down for a nap. Next we were given a tour of the entire
compound by Nikki (one of the directors).
It was great to see the place in person and see what God was doing there
and how lives were being transformed in this tiny village because of the work
opportunities given to them by the orphanage.
“Share in
suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in
civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An
athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the
hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.” 2 Tim.
2:3-6
Now we were basically on our own to pitch in and serve
wherever we could. Since we were only
there a VERY short time it was hard to really engage fully but we did the best
we could. I didn’t feel like myself at
all. My stomach was queasy the entire
time and I had a migraine (all from that little plane) that I couldn’t shake,
but I did the best I could. We went to
Esther’s room and they were having snacks.
We got to take some pictures and say hello and let her warm up to
us. The conditions are good for an
orphanage but horrible in the eyes of an American that even if I were homeless
would have it better than any person in this village will ever have. I found that many times I just had to walk
out and by myself and pray. However,
I did enjoy getting to know the staff and their hearts for these kids and their
vision for the future of COTP. All of
the volunteers had dinner together and then all the girls played a game of Fish
Bowl. We went to bed with no air and
mosquito netting around our bed. At
4:30am I took the netting off to try to sleep and felt a roach crawling up my
leg. At that point sleep was impossible
and I just got up and spent time in prayer before others got up to say goodbye
to a long-term volunteer.
Mondays are “Crepe Day” and a cook comes in and makes
homemade crepes and fresh fruit for the staff and volunteers for breakfast.
They were far from gluten free but I ate them anyway and was thankful for the
food! Chris took a ride into the city with
the director to conduct some “business” and his eyes were truly opened as to
the blessings we have and how much we take for granted and how we can do MUCH
more for those in need.
By the next morning Esther had warmed up to me and was
crawling to me quickly with arms raised every time she saw me! These moments
are ones I will treasure forever. Some of the volunteers take monthly pictures of the kids and Esther was in the hospital when they took them so she missed picture day and I got to be there for her photo shoot this month - that was a HUGE treat! Chris
didn’t get to spend much time with her because he had four little ones that
“claimed him” quickly and never let him out of their site! Twice daily the
nannies sing, dance and read scripture with each other and the kids. I LOVED this time! They sang in Creole and I
joined along in English and it was an amazing time!
Here is a clip- I was participating so it was hard to video
– but no worries you don’t have to hear me sing in this one!
The next afternoon we headed back to the airport on a long a
bumpy road (remember the motion sickness?) back to the airport. We got on our plane to Port-Au-Prince and
this time I wasn’t so fortunate. Thank
goodness Chris had a Ziploc bag in his backpack – that’s all I will say about
that. We were, once again, met by our
sweet friend Ivinge and our driver and they took us to a “hotel” just down the
street for us to stay the night. Oh my –
I use the word “hotel” lightly. It was
one of the best in the area (we were told) and we were lucky to have air and
electricity and television. We had to
pay $20 extra dollars to get the remote for the air/tv and a can of raid for
the bugs. They went in our room and
sprayed our bed with Raid and then two minutes later we could go in, once the
bugs died, and brush off the bugs on the bed L. I guess we were lucky to having running water
and their was a “nice” restaurant at the hotel with a guard in the tower
holding a shot gun. I was so hungry but
my stomach was yuck – tried to eat but NO WAY.
Our Embassy appointment was at 7:00am the next morning. Our driver said he would pick us up at
7:30……..yep we were on Haitian time.
That being said, my iPhone alarm was set and I got up and rinsed off and
washed my hair and someone knocked on our door. It was 6:36am (so I
thought). I found out my phone never
switched time zones and it was 7:26.
Chris was still in bed and my hair was wet and we had to leave. He threw on clothes (bad smelling ones) and I
put my hair in a ponytail and off to the Embassy we went. My hair was dry by
the time we arrived!
The Embassy was an Oasis in the midst of devastation. We waited about an hour and half and they
called our name for our interview. They
asked us 5 questions, took our paperwork and that was that. We found out that day we were out of IBESR
which was HUGE news to us and an answer to prayer! Our adoption worker there
also told us that thought we would have Esther home by Christmas (I take that
with a grain of salt but it is good to have hope). We are praying that is the case and that
prayers are being lifted up and answered!
Chris and I took our driver and adoption worker to lunch and
though there was a huge language barrier we still had a great time and they
were so thankful for the food! They took us to the airport and we had 3 hours
before our flight. This airport is
NOTHING like airports here in the states. It was packed with people (not sure
how they get so many people in one small space). Our flight was completely full and we had the
last flight out so we were praying it wouldn’t get canceled. It was delayed only fifteen minutes and we
were headed back to the states. My
parents met us at the airport and took us to eat and didn’t complain about our
smell or the way we looked at all! I
took a hot bath and got a good nights sleep enjoyed breakfast the next morning
and headed home.
I was SO excited to see Parker and Eden and SO thankful for
all that we have been blessed with. With
that excitement also comes many other emotions - sadness, longing and hurt to
have to leave another one behind. I am grateful for COTP and the care that she
is getting but just want her home so that she can begin her life with her
forever family.
That was my brief account of our journey of 1818 this time
around! Thanks for all your prayers, donations, calls, texts, emails etc.
Without each of you and your support we would not be able to do this. We will
find ourselves being content with what we have and continuing to pray and seek
direction on what the Lord wants us to do to continue to help “the least of
these.”
“Keep your life
free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I
will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb. 13:5
Blessings,
Tiffany
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