Today is the day. I can't believe it. I didn't sleep at all last night. I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve, way too excited to fall asleep and constantly tossing and turning. It's been two years since I last was in Haiti. I am very expectant of great things from God... He provided $13,000 total for this trip and constantly opened doors and helped me guide and prepare for this trip. I trust fully that He has a great plan for it and I can't wait to experience Him in Haiti again.
Mica and I thought it would be smart to go hiking at 5:00 am so we would be tired when it was time to fly out at 10:00 pm. Shayamalan twist... we couldn't sleep on the plane and were just double exhausted. Good idea, poor execution ladies. We had a great hike and prayed at the top of the world - Laguna Beach though. I then went home and printed out 20 boarding passes for our flights to Haiti and got everything ready to go! We all met hours after that and boom, we are at LAX and getting ready to go through security.
First plane ride was terrible. I did not sleep at all. No one slept at all. We literally get off the plane and jumped on the next. It is light out in Florida now and I just know I will not be sleeping... I am so excited to see Haiti, to be in Haiti. We land. I get everyone through customs... and we are good to go. Hallelujah. Our bags are waiting and I had WiFi at the airport which was a blessing. From previous trips I know that leaving the airport is one of the scariest/most stressful moments for people who have never been to Haiti. It is just really busy and high pace... which I happen to love and thrive in, but I know it's going to be a lot to take in and experience for the 9 people I brought who have never been to Haiti.
They did so well. Ostanel spotted me from a mile away and yelled my name, he had everything ready and set up - we quickly pushed through the crowds and got all the luggage and team in the tap tap and in the jeep. I sat shotgun with Ostanel and got to reminisce about previous times in Haiti. I was glowing... beaming... ecstatic. I love driving through the city and the streets, seeing the culture and people right before my eyes. I have moments with the Lord while driving through Haiti that I don't have anywhere else. I just love the 3rd world. I love the simplicity and I simply just love this country and I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to come here. I'm constantly blown away by His goodness and grace towards me. I can't believe that this is happening... I actually got 10 people here... and we are actually in Haiti. After months of prepping and praying and fundraising, we are here. I couldn't be more thankful.
Right when we get to our house (aka Ostanel's house - which is amazing and such a blessing). We drop our stuff, change our clothes, and head off to the orphanage! We are all exhausted, but excited. We get there and the kids are singing a "we are happy to see you" song in English, which I thought was impressive considering they don't speak English. I immediately recognized 10 kids from 2010 and 2011 which I also wasn't expecting! And they recognized me which was so sweet and was seriously just a really touching moment for me on this trip. Talking with Previllon was a blessing to me as well. He also recognized me from previous trips and I was so excited to come back to him. (I will write a whole post on Previllon later).
Everyone did a great job pushing through the fatigue and culture shock. I was so proud of them and this was just a snippet of what an amazing and rock solid team we had. You don't really have to do a whole lot with the kids, they run right up to you. I had a little boy named Ansitho who immediately clung to me and eventually became my Haiti accessory. He was always on me (unless food was round) and I called him my chunkers, cause well... he is a little chunky. He is the cutest little guy and soon stole my heart along with 19 other kids. So it was easy for the team to love and press in, cause the kids really do all the legwork. I fell asleep in the car ride home and then woke up and walked inside and went back to sleep.
Bondye Bon - God is good.
Lindsay Kulick
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