For the OnCall team of nine who arrived in Haiti on Wednesday, the trip has definitely been “extreme missions” at its best! Following a no hassles arrival in the airport in Port-Au-Prince they drove to a local airport to take a single-propeller plane piloted by MAF (Missions Aviation Fellowship) which shuttles missionaries around the world to remote areas. The plane ride was 22 minutes of adventure. One that some in the team were dreading. The first team to go prayed through the dips and dives through the landscape of mountains and valleys to get to Hinche. And just when they thought they would land the pilot had to make a turn and go up again to wait for a truck full of people to clear the makeshift, unpaved landing strip that serves as a road in the middle of the town. Needless to say, their prayers were answered. A team member on the second team of five learned that weight can sometimes be a plus as she got to ride next to the pilot with headsets on and has since determined her second dream is to become a pilot (that is after missionary).

Hinche is a rough little town with hilly, winding roads some paved some unpaved. We visited the market just as it was about to close and a torrential rain, what we now know is a daily event around sundown, poured on the team members who had hoped rather to soak in some of the local color. The people are welcoming and warm. The children absolutely beautiful. Our host ministry has a compound that includes a team house with a large open kitchen where we eat meals cooked by a team member from California whose sole role is to cook for our team, as he puts it “This is how I serve. I cook for the Lord, you just happen to eat it!” A total blessing.

The team met the team from California they will be working with and it was instant bonding. Our hosts, Harold and Natalie Bither of the Haiti Endowment Fund welcomed us with joy. Their humility and total dependence on God to provide all things has already been hugely inspirational to us all. More about the clinics we have done on the next post.

Stay posted.