We made it!

Day 1:

1:00 am and we began our adventure.  We loaded the van and headed to the MSP airport.  The 3 hour flight from Minneapolis to Miami went smoothly, and we all got a little nap in before our connecting flight to Cap Haitian.  Our flight got delayed slightly but we were all smiles headed onto the plane, excited to arrive in Haiti.  It was a short 1.5 hour flight to Cap Haitian and before we knew it we stepped out of the plane into the humid 90 degree air.  Expectations of what Haiti would look and feel like started to turn into a more realistic picture.  Still, we didn't quite have the full picture of what Haiti was like until we stepped out onto the streets.  But before that could happen, we had to get all 19 of our bags out of the tiny, crammed airport.  It was a struggle to say the least, we were the last ones out of that airport, but we managed to retrieve all of our bags...phew!

We piled out of the airport and walked into the crowed streets of Cap Haitian.  Next, we loaded all of our luggage in one truck and were told to "pile in" for the ride to Children of the Promise.

This was one of the highlights of the day, believe it or not.  It is hard to explain the sort of culture shock I think we all felt on that trip to Children of the Promise.  We all kept telling each other that it felt like a dream. Families crowded around tiny, beaten down houses waving and smiling at us as we rode by.  Young men worked hard on different projects around the city.  Young children wandered around all alone and yelled "bonjou" (hello) as we drove by.  It was interesting to see all the different reactions to foreigners like us.  We received so many smiles and waves from complete strangers, it was so nice to see them welcoming us into their home.

Juliens sister made us a delicious meal of rice, chicken, and plantains for dinner.

Overall, today a big lesson I learned was to approach every person as an equal.  People may appear rough, but many of them have such amazing spirits and are so much different than they appear.  I think it is easy to look at a person with less than we have and immediately think we are better than them. However, we are all sons and daughters of God and are equal in his eyes despite any financial or cultural differences.  We have a lot to learn from every person we encounter here, and I am so excited to continue on this adventure this week!  Thank you all so much for the prayers, we appreciate it. :)

Kayla Ulferts