Just yesterday I got back from a week long odyssey to Haiti.  I went with a group named New Life for Haiti, headed up by my friend, Pastor Fran Leeman.  We flew from Chicago to Miami, then on to Port-au-Prince.  We stayed overnight at the Matthew 25 house, which is run by a great couple, Patrick and Vivian.

In the morning, we were driven by a wonderful old nun to the airport and then we flew to Jeremie, Haiti, which is on the southern peninsula of Haiti.  Wow, what a culture shock!!  The airport had one landing strip and the actual airport looked more like an abandoned gas station in the US.

We were picked up at the airport by Steve Moore and Josh Ridgely.  Steve and his wife, Joline have lived in Haiti for 14 years now, and the are amazingly fluent in Creole, the native language of Haiti.  Creole is sort of a phonetic French.  Josh is in the middle of a month long stay with his wife, Shauna and there boys, Jacob and Quinton.  They are considering becoming staff members of New Life for Haiti.

We drove the 12 miles from Jeremie to the little village of Marfranc.  While the driving distance was short, it took about an hour, as the roads are NOT what we in the US think of as roads.  They are rough and rugged and filled with roosters, pigs, and people with water jugs on their heads.  AND…there are seemingly no rules for driving in Haiti.  If you can drive there, you drive there, period.

I will share more about the trip later, as I’m just starting my emotional and spiritual processing of the significance of my journey.  But for now, I can say this for sure: the people of Haiti have left a permanent impression on me and God-willing, I will return.

Father, watch over my new friends in Marfranc, Moron, Jeremie, and in Chameau.  May we in the USA never forget why we are blessed…so that we may be a blessing.

Peace,

Neil