Actually I ended up getting sick in the airport, so I asked for some guest bloggers.
(I hope to have a post ready for Monday.)
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Sharon's Take on the Day of Travel
Well, it has been 48 hours since we have been home! We had such a smooth experience until we started to board our plane home. As we started to get on the jetway in Haiti to come home, we were told to exit the plane because "someone passed out or passed away on the plane". Thank goodness someone just passed out! The things that get lost in translation! After what felt like an hour, we finally could board the plane. However, the woman who passed out was diabetic and had extremely high blood sugar. Everyone was very concerned about her flying because every time her sugars were tested they were crazy numbers. She had no insulin or medicine. They asked the woman to get off the plane and she refused, the Haitian police came, and she refused. Finally they got the woman off the plane so they could get her to a doctor and we could take off... Sounds simple but not exactly what happened. Apparently our plane had some sort of leak and they were working on fixing it. The captain seemed very optimistic, but after over two hours on the plane, they couldn't get the plane fixed. We were asked to leave the plane and agents would assist us. Well, there were no agents, no one directing us, so after some asking around we decided to head to the "lounge" to grab beverages and food. At this point, L.'s husband was texting us about our plane being canceled. He had more info than we did! J. continued to keep us posted and we discovered we would be settling in for a few hours.... At one point the power went out while we were in the upstairs lounge. We briefly wondered if this would delay us more, but it quickly came back on.
As we made our way to the waiting area it started sinking in it could be a long night in the Haiti. Airport fans were brought in. At one point we were slightly worried because the lounge shut down which was the only source of beverages and food. Later they opened a mini store on the main floor for us and eventually brought in food. To pass the time we chatted and played cards. We experienced screams in the gate as a large rat was spotted. Not much later, the largest cockroach scurried under our seats. I think I can safely say we were all relieved to finally board the plane almost 10 hours after our flight was originally scheduled. The plane they sent was fully loaded with amenities.
Our layover in Atlanta was not long enough for the hotel stay they were offering. We would just get there to turn around so we decided to try and rest up in the chairs and freezing AC in the airport. After a week of hot temps, the air conditioning was almost painful to us. Around 4:15 the sirens and lights started going off in the airport. We looked around, not sure what was going on. We all laughed but didn't even have the energy to move and see what the problem was. No one else seemed concerned so we just continued to try and rest. After having a slight crisis with getting assigned seats (only two of us had seats on the plane) we finally boarded and landed in MSP 15 minutes shy of 24 hours of travel. T. said it best when she said," we had the best group of people to travel with ...friends whom we now call family."
We had such a wonderful week in Haiti. I travel to learn and grow, challenge myself, stretch my limits, and foster and appreciation of both the world at large and the world waiting for me back home. I never know what adventure, scene, weather, hold-up, danger, or person the next day will reveal to me. However, each day it is always something or someone exciting, inspiring, and sometimes challenging that makes the trip amazing!
Haiti didn't let me down in my expectations and will forever be in my heart. When I was coming home from Hungary after doing mission work, I received the following story that I think sums up our Haitian experience. I loved the little story they included called "It's Not Easy Being Green"
It’s Not Easy Being Green…
Before going to a new place, you lived in blue world.
You were a blue person.
But, then you traveled to and lived in a yellow world.
There, you became a green person—a mixture of both worlds.
You never quite became yellow, since that is not your home.
And, now that you’ve come back to this blue world,
it doesn’t quite fit as well anymore. And, that’s OK.
Because, now you have a responsibility as a green person
to share what it means to live in a yellow world.
By sharing, you can help make both your blue friends
and your yellow friends a little greener than they are now.
All of us have pictures and stories to share. We fell a little in love with the people and country. Please bear with us when our blue world makes the adjustment a little uncomfortable. Thank you to everyone who supported this trip, followed our journey, prayed for us, and wished us well. We are blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people!
Join us at St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Sunday to hear about our Haiti trip and see more photos.
Also look for a mid-August Buffalo Journal Press Article.
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