Red and blue dots lined the floor like a twister game to separate the lines into foreigners and native Haitians Most of our team lined along the red dot floor, fresh off the plane from Atlanta. My memory was still fresh of my 2010 arrival on the hot tarmac, staring at the jagged crack traversing the airport's main wall. If the Port-Au-Prince airport was any indication, Haiti's healing was evident.
After a two hour flight delay, our fearless Miami cohorts arrived safely as well. Glwa pou Bondye (Glory to God)! While we settled into the guesthouse, a nice breeze cut the edge off the heat. The neighboring lot looked sketchy at best from my perch on the balcony. Would the mangy goat nuzzling through the rubble be a photo op or a victim of photo shop?
Two young teens in polo shirts and slides arrived on the scene, un-phased by the goats, let alone the chickens maneuvering the glass shards and mangled ribbons of metal. Within 15 minutes, a 3 on 3 barefoot soccer game broke out. Jean Simon wore red. Long and lean his shots were sweeping; dragging dry dust clouds as a hot rod out of the gates. The first team to score "twa" (3) was awarded chiclets. A better celebration was not had for a recent suburban basketball tournament trophy I had witnessed in suburbia last month.
Celebration: Safe arrival for our team
Celebration: A team united to serve
Celebration: Happy hollers amid the squaller
Day 1.... Haiti is Healing.... us.
John Berge
Way to unleash the Creole in your first post. I hope the class pays off for you. I'll be thinking of you and Luke this week and watching for updates. I pray you both have an amazing trip.
ReplyDelete-Jeff