Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!! Wow, this
past week has been a whirlwind… It’s going to take a while to share all the
stories and crazy experiences with you. It all started… well, wow, I guess it
all began several months before my trip began. I was shopping with my mom for
bathing suits and I found two that I absolutely loved. I just couldn’t decide
between the two. “Britt, why don’t you get both so that when we come to visit
you, you can wear one while the other is drying,” my mom told me. Little did I
know, that was God making sure we were prepared. His timing is funny sometimes,
if you stop and think about it.
My family arrived in Haiti on December 23rd. I
had been counting down to this moment for months. I planned it all out in my
mind; who I would hug first, what I would say… in my mind, our reunion was
joyous and lengthy. This is Haiti though. My family’s flight landed at 2:30 and
since the airport is so close and they needed to get through customs, I had
planned on leaving the school at 2:30 so we wouldn’t have to wait for forever
in the truck. Well, 2:30 comes and Edmond, our driver, is nowhere to be found.
No one knows where he went or when he will return. 2:40 comes and I’m
panicking. I know my family will be panicking if they walk out of the airport
and don’t see me. I don’t want them to be stuck, wandering around in an
unfamiliar place where they don’t know the language with six large suitcases.
Finally, a team member offers to drive me to the airport in our big blue truck.
Yay!! We get into the truck and…. hit a massive traffic jam. Keep in mind, I
have no way to contact my mom or dad since they don’t have a Haitian cell phone.
I can’t warn them that we’ll be late; in fact, I’ve promised them for three
weeks that I would absolutely, positively be there waiting for them when they
walked out. Do you see why I’m anxious? We sit in the traffic jam for about 45
minutes (it usually takes 10 to get to the airport.) At this point, I’m on the
verge of tears (a common theme for this trip). I just want to see my family. They’re
so close, yet I can’t get to them. Finally, we’re sitting in the last little
bit of traffic when a Haitian man comes up to my window, scaring the crap out
of me. “I have your people.” Ummm what? He points and there’s my dad! The only dude
out there over 6ft tall and the only one with white skin. I jump out of the
truck and run to greet him…. only to see him turn and walk away. Not quite the reunion I was picturing in my
head. (I found out later that he wasn’t ignoring me, he just had to go get my
mom and Jacob who he left to guard to bags.) We pulled into the airport parking
lot to wait for them to come back. After what feels like forever, but was
really only 3 minutes, they come walking to our truck. I hop out again and help
them throw the bags in the back, give mom and real quick hug, and then we hop
back in because we were blocking traffic, even though the Haitian parking
attendant told us to park there. We were so rushed and Haitians were yelling at
us to get the suitcases in and hurry up. It wasn’t like what I had planned or
imagined, and everyone was plenty frustrated with the way the day was going so
far, but I didn’t care. My family was here. The two things I loved the most
were finally colliding. I was on cloud nine.
Even though they were crazy overwhelmed, my family humored
me by letting me give them a tour of the school and introducing them to
everyone at the children’s home before going back to the hotel. The next day we
spent the majority of the day frantically sorting and wrapping presents for the
children. It took A LOT longer than anyone was expecting. All the big boys
received new Adidas sandals, shorts and a t-shirt, along with headphones, deodorant,
body spray, and a personalized backpack. The little boys all got a personalized
t-shirt, headphones, a matchbox car, a DVD and a donated item of clothing. The
little girls made out like bandits, with each of them receiving a personalized
t-shirt, several other skirts/dresses/tank tops/t-shirts, hair doodads, headphones,
nail polish, body spray, a DVD, lip gloss, make-up, and a small doll. The big
girls all got several new outfits, a personalized backpack, lip gloss, nail
polish, and headphones. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED!! This would not have
been possible without you, and I cannot thank you enough. I am overwhelmed by
how much you gave and I wish you could have been there to see the looks on
these kids’ faces when they opened up their gifts. I wish you could have seen
their eyes light up and you could have heard their squeals of excitement. We
tried to video it all to share with you but I’m not sure how it came out yet.
We let the kids open the presents on Christmas Eve, after a dinner of hot dogs,
mac and cheese, and chips. It will definitely be a Christmas Eve that I will
never forget. After the presents were opened and the trash cleared away, Mr.
Lackis set off fireworks!! So much fun! Finally, we had to say our goodbyes and
go back to the hotel for hot showers (amazing!) and a short sleep before
leaving early the next morning.
We had to be up and ready for Edmond to drive us to the bus
station by 5:30. Shew that time of day should be illegal. I was so incredibly
tired and not looking forward to a long day of travel. We were going to a small
island called Ile a Vache- literally, Island of Cows. It required a four hour
bus ride, a ten minute car ride to the harbor, and a 20 minute boat ride. We
all piled into the white pickup truck and loaded four suitcases into the back.
Jacob and I thought about sitting in the back, but as it was still dark and a
little chilly, we decided to squeeze into the cab with everyone else. Here’s
where our story gets interesting. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the bus
station and go to retrieve our bags, only to find two in the bed of the truck.
I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. Someone went and stole two of our bags
on Christmas Day. Christmas stinking Day! We realized that the thief got Mom’s
bag and Jacob’s duffel bag. Everyone, including Edmond, was in disbelief. I’ve
been in Haiti three different times, totaling about six months, and I’ve never
known anyone who has gotten their belongings stolen, especially out of the back
of a moving truck. We never stopped and only slowed down to about 15 miles per
hour. These guys were quick. So many emotions were going through my head. Anger
that someone would steal my family’s things. Relief that it wasn’t my suitcase
that was stolen. Guilt that I was happy my things were still there when my mom
and my brother were left with literally the clothes on their back. Sadness that
my family would probably now hate the country I had come to love, all because
of a desperate person. I’ll admit it, I cried. I felt as though it were partly
my fault that their luggage was stolen. I should have sat in the back. I should
have known better. I shouldn’t have asked them to leave home. If they were
still in America, they would still have their things. And then God spoke to me,
in a small, small voice. You know when someone tells you something you don’t
want to hear and it just makes you angrier? Yeah, that was me. “It’s just
stuff, Brittany.” God told me. “They only took worldly possessions that can be
replaced. They probably really needed it. Have faith, child.” Man, that lit my
fire. I was so mad. They needed it, so I was supposed to be okay with the fact
that my brother and mom lost the only clothes they brought with them? I was
supposed to be okay with it because it was just stuff? It’s Christmas Day for
crying out loud! They were already sacrificing a lot to come to Haiti to be
with me, now they had to sacrifice even more, and be okay with it? I spent the
rest of the morning alternating between tears of sadness and tears of anger. My
family, bless their hearts, were already laughing at the unfortunate situation we
were in and doing their best to comfort me.
Remember at the beginning of this post, where I told you
this story started with buying two bathing suits? Looking back at the story
now, a week after it happened, I can see God’s hand. . Mom lost the only pairs
of shorts she owned, several t-shirts and tank tops, two pairs of flip flops,
her favorite pajamas, and her bathing suit. All she had to wear were
sweatpants, tennis shoes, a tank top, and a sweatshirt. Now how are you
supposed to vacation in Haiti on a beach with sweatpants and tennis shoes?! But
God knew. God knew that I would need two bathing suits. God knew from that
moment, back in July, that my family’s bags would be stolen and He provided a
way for us all to enjoy the vacation. I’m thankful that, though two bags were
stolen, we were left with a girl bag and a boy bag. How awful would it have
been to have both girl bags stolen? Or worse, have both boy bags! Picturing my
dad and brother trying to enjoy a Caribbean vacation wearing my basketball
shorts and tank tops brings a smile to my face. I may not be laughing about it
yet, but hey, I still have four years and 51 weeks left :)
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and
not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24
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