Diane's Journal:
We are on the way to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for a wekk with the United Methodist Church as part of a volunteer mission. I had thought about and considered the idea of going to Haiti, but I don't know if I really thought it actually possible to be a missionary until now. The group consists of 7 of us and the tentative plan (we won't know until we show up) is to finish building a church in Dond Douze which is west of Port-au-Prince and at Petit Goave. Our team leader is the pastor at the Clinton, CT, United Methodist Church and 3 others besides me are also from Clinton. There is also a fellow from New Mitford, CT, and another woman from New Paltz, NY. We were allowed one carry on and one checked bag free of charge and some have packed coloring books, crayons, soccer balls, medicines, etc. to have distributed to the various areas once we arrive.
Upon arrival at Port-au-Prince we found a small airport with one side backed by mountains. This is the first trip like this to an off-beat location for many of us and the first experiences at the airport were a little bit of a learning experience for us all. Once we find our driver, we pile into the back of a truck filled with padded seats and, with all our luggage, ride to our guesthouse in the nearby suburb called Petionville. On the way we see vendors selling vegetables and fruits by the roadside, including onions, mini limes, plantains, mangoes and tomatoes). We also pass many schools (all private) and buildings in various places and sorts -- some affected by the earthquake and some not. The guesthouse we are going to is a meeting point for other mission groups and will be the first and last place we stay in Haiti as the majority of our trip we will be working outside of the city.
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