Haiti here I come!

So in a week and a bit, I'll be on my way to Haiti.  This comes as a surprise to even me.  This trip was not something I planned, but I definitely know that I was meant to be a part of this team.  I am surprised because I thought I would be going back to India or Africa long before I was back in Haiti.  I loved Haiti while I was there, however, I didn't miss it on a daily basis like I do India and Uganda.  I loved it, but it didn't capture me and take me in the same way other countries did.  I'm not sure how to even put this into words, but that's just the way it was.  And I'm not sure why.  Maybe it was because there was more of a language barrier, or because it was my first true cross cultural experience and I was overwhelmed and amazed by all the sights and smells.



I know that the Haiti I visit this time will be a very different Haiti than the one that I left 2.5 years ago.  You see, last time I was there in 2009, the earthquake had not yet occurred.  I still witnessed a lot of pain and poverty, but the country hadn't been devastated by its largest natural disaster at that point.  Because of this, I'm not sure how it will feel to go back.  Will I be overwhelmed?  Time will only tell.



I'm going to be helping at two ministries called Haiti Arise and Heart to Heart.  I'll be helping with the design of a water and wastewater system for a technical school at Haiti Arise as well as a church that was damaged by the earthquake at Heart to Heart.  I don't know a lot of details yet, but will fill you all in once I find out.

Just today, I found out that the surveyor I worked with in Uganda is coming as part of the team.  I am so very excited!  Patrick is like another father figure to me, and we worked through some very difficult conditions together.  It will be great to be a part of a team alongside him again.

And so I leave you with this.  Although I will only be gone for a week, I am very excited about returning to the first country that flipped my worldview upside down and sideways. I'm excited to learn from the Haitian people and from my teammates.   I know I will come home a little bit different, and I know that will be a good thing.

"To the homeless, the poor, the beggar, the victim of AIDS and Alzheimer's, the old and the humble, the prisoners in their prison and the wanderers in their dreams, it is our sacred duty to stretch out our hand and say, 'In spite of what separates us, what we have in common is our humanity'."
-Elie Wiesel