We are here, having started the journey to Jeremie. . .some of us, at least. . .at 2 am yesterday morning. We made our way from Detroit to Miami on a 6 am flight, then had a 4-hour layover before flying to Port au Prince.
PaP has progressed from just chaos, to organized chaos. A new arrival hall replaces the ram-shackle Butler building that was used for luggage after the earthquake. That being said, baggage handling must be among the top10 occupations in Port au Prince, with teams of Haitians comprising a sort of relay of one's luggage in the 400 yards or so between the luggage conveyor and whatever vehicle you pile into! Friendly, helpful. . .ever-present, and persistent. . .but its really just another way of sharing our gifts with those trying to make their way in a difficult place.
We couldn't get to Jeremie yesterday and spent the night at the Palm Hotel near the airport. It has become a sort of crossroads for other mission teams as suspect as we that making it to or from Jeremie in one day is a bridge too far for the capabilities of local transportation. We happened across "Reverend Jerry" from a South Carolina methodist church with whom FUMC has worked in prior years. He was one his way out, we on our way in, and it was great to get his take on the state of things.
Pastor Chrisnel has 35 or so churches in his circuit, and his parsonage serves as guest house for mission teams like the one from South Carolina, FUMC and a host of other churches in southeast Michigan. For a while, we are his last gig, and I detected a bit o' relief in his manner when he met us at the Jeremie air strip a short while ago.
We are on Haitian time, as the scheduled flight to Jeremie was to depart at 11 am, based on arrangements made several weeks ago. At the airport, the charter staff offered that the plane would leave at 1 pm. . .then, after a little checking, OK maybe noon. . .and another staff member said they often leave early. . .take a seat, take a load off, it'll happen!
So back to today's blog title. . .every bag and EVERY PERSON has to be weighed before we pile into the 9-passenger puddle jumper. At least half of those reading this blog would be surprised to know the idea of standing on a scale, with a HUGE dial, visible to the entire Caribbean basin, was the last thing the ladies of FUMC wished to do. No big deal. . .so Jill weighs &^%, Mary weighs @#$, Nancy weighs?>{, and Lynn weighs +)*. . .there, what's the big deal?
We're sorting today, since we had 20 checked bags for the 8 of us, and the fur starts to fly tomorrow!
John Smith
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