August 6, is my dads birthday. He would have been 94 this year. I really dont know what he would say about today if he were here, but I hope he would be supportive of my move to Haiti. This is the day of the move. It started out very early arriving at the airport in Birmingham at 4:30 am. I was told I could not take 3 checked bags as I checked in even though I told the clerk I had verified 3 times that my allowance on a first class ticket was indeed 3 bags. She would not budge. So in the floor of the airport Laura and I opened two suitcases and tried to figure out what to combine and what to leave behind. I was upset at leaving things I felt were necessary behind but had no choice. I recognized this as just one of many bumps that would be encountered on this journey and asked God to help me cope. I admit the first flight had a few tears as we lifted off and I said good bye to Alabama, my family, friends, and third suitcase. When I arrived in Miami I went to find someone to register my complaint about the baggage. God smiled on me. He placed a loving compassionate employee named Ms. Thompson in my path. She said I was right and the agent in Birmingham was wrong. Ok so I was really unhappy now. I spent the majority of my layover trying to submit a written complaint. We shall see what comes of that in the days to come. During the lay over I met Travis and Ashley Will and their five children. They were on the same flight to Port Au Prince and we were all headed to CLS. We boarded the plane at 2 pm. Shortly before our departure time of 2:40 we were told we would be delayed because a passenger failed to board the plane and the luggage belonging to that passenger had to be removed from the plane. Apparently all the luggage was removed to find this piece which was one of the first put on the plane. I watched out the window as the luggage was reloaded and noticed a dark cloud approaching. Then a bolt of lightening and all the baggage handlers disappeared with bags still perched on the conveyor belt unprotected from the storm. And the rain fell. Finally the rain stopped and the baggage was loaded. The plane backed away from gate at 5:05pm, got in line behind others and finally lifted off at 5:25. During this 3 hour sit I was unexpectedly calm. I know God had quieted my soul and answered my prayers to help me cope. I was given a glass of diet cola only to see as I lifted my glass that it had a huge crack in it. It was immediately and apologetically replaced. Finally as we leveled out at 30,000+ feet we were served our lunch! So good! Chicken salad with lots of goodies on it, a hot roll and yummy cookie. Then as we approached the island we flew under thunder clouds with breaks in them allowing the sun to peak through creating the most gorgeous golden sunset Ive seen from the air. I even saw a heart of gold I know God put there for me. We arrived in Port Au Prince very late, almost 8 pm. We cleared customs,collected 26 bags and got loaded into the two trucks. I was asked if I wanted to ride in the front of the truck with Edmond and David said it was because he thought I was a wimp. It was good to be teased and I know there will be many laughs in the days to come. When we drove through the ravine the sights and sounds and smells did not assault me as they did before. Arriving at CLS to the warm welcome and generous hug of Ms. Sherrie, I felt an excitement that was different. Its already begun. This adventure is miraculous and its just started! I will try to post some pictures soon.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 12:28:26 +0000
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