Hello Family and Friends. I must say that our trip was a very productive. Despite the tragedy that the people of Haiti suffered, they are moving forward and trying to get back to a normal life.
This is a summary of each day of my journey. Some entries may be a bit boring, yet others are a little graphic and may not be suitable for all readers. Please know that it is not my intention to offend anyone, but to only convey what I witnessed during our survey of the island. Our purpose was to set up a network that will assist us in helping the under served, and to effectively deliver supplies.
Day 1
We began our mission at O’Hare International Airport – CJ, Clarence, LQ and me. The first hurdle we had was to balance the weight of our bags and then decide what we might have to leave behind. Fortunately, Clarence packed about 30 lbs. under his max weight, so we were able to shift a lot of items to his bag. The goal was to take as much medical supplies as we could, but have enough room to carry our personal sustenance for the duration of the trip. To our knowledge, there was no fresh water where we were headed and the orphanages where we were delivering supplies to, did not have much food for themselves, let alone the four of us. We were taking prescription and over-the-counter medicines, syringes, bandages, sterilized medical tools and non-perishable food items.
Day 2
Our day started at 5:00 am, which is 4:00 am according to my body clock. We departed from Landmark Aviation Airport, a small airport that is used by private jets to fly chartered flights into the Caribbean. Our preference was to go with a commercial airliner, but they were only flying in relief supplies and medical personnel. Nonetheless, we knew people were flying into Haiti -we just had to find a company that would take us. Through a 
mutual friend, we came upon ‘Kings Wings’, a small company that was flying relief workers in and out of Haiti. That morning we were introduced to Leah, a young lady, probably in her twenties, who would be flying with us to Haiti. Her sister was already there doing medical relief work and Leah visited her frequently to help run a youth camp on the island as well as teach English. We were all worried about the weight, though we had checked it over and over again, but when we saw the small Cessna 415 that was taking us, we wanted to make sure we did not go over. We started to think about what we would leave behind from our personal belongings, since we really wanted to get the supplies to the people in Haiti. Fortunately, we only had to leave behind a case of water. Steve and Jeff, our pilot and co-pilot looked a little surprised that we had so many bags, but we swore we only packed to the weight specifics that we were given. Between the five of us onboard, we had about 15 bags. Somehow they got them all on, squeezing them in any available storage compartment imaginable, such as in the nose and the wings. A number of the bags were loaded in the cabin with us and made me think about how a Flight Attendant would freak out since none of them fit under the seats.
Soon we were off to Haiti. The flight started out smooth, but mid-way through, things got a little bumpy and began to feel like an amusement park roller-coaster. Then we encountered freezing rain. I had no idea that you could run into freezing rain flying to the Caribbean, but I guess at 17,000 ft. the air could be very chilly. The frozen rain droplets ricocheted off of the windshield and sounded as if we were flying through a gravel pit. It was a bit much for two of our passengers, but they prayed through it and no one got airsick. Earlier we found out that we had to stop in the Turks and Caicos Island to refuel, since they wouldn’t be able to do it in Haiti. That stop took about two hours and allowed us to take a much needed washroom break. Shortly after that, we were on our way again.
Once outside of the building, we were bombarded by men that wanted to hustle up and carry our bags. We repeatedly said 'No', since we had no idea if they would take off running once we turned our heads. ‘No, we don’t need your help, but thanks anyway’. Nonetheless, Jackson, an older man with one arm, remained persistent and really worked on me, because I guess I just have that kinda face. However, being from Chicago and familiar with the hustle game, I did my best to keep saying no. But Jackson wouldn’t give up and followed us to our car. Now even if Jackson was running a con game, because he threw in that he lost family in the quake, I wasn’t there to judge anyone. My desire was strictly to help those I came to help. There were thousands of Jacksons roaming the streets and if I took heed to every one of them, I might as well have dropped the supplies in the middle of the street, turned around and went home. But that is not what we came to do. Though it pained me to see Jackson compete for his hustle against younger and faster men with two arms, I had to stay focused on the children that we were going to see. Nonetheless, being the softy that I am, I slipped $2 to Jackson.
Once we got acquainted with our contacts, the pastors whose organizations we were sponsoring, we headed into town. Not too far from the airport, we passed by a hot spot on the street where a number of men were waving large rolls of money at us. I couldn’t help but ask where did these guys get all this ‘cake’ (I was told by our youth group that cake is a new term for money)? The pastor that I was riding with explained how a lot of the banks collapsed – literally! Also, since a number of the government buildings collapsed or were damaged too, they couldn't print enough money for people that wanted to make withdrawals. Therefore, these guys were changing other currency for Haitian money, slightly above the national rate. They were hustling to survive as many of the natives were doing since the quake.
Driving through the city, the scenes were horrific. Haiti already had its problems before the quake, but now combine that with piles and piles of rubble and you have something that resembles a city dump rather than a thriving city. As we drove down the street, we saw rows and rows of tents and thousands of people. I assume there were so many people around the airport because that is where a lot of the relief supplies were stored and disbursed. It was like nothing I had seen before, but the Haitians seemed to be adjusting as best they could. One of the strangest things that I saw while driving past a tent city was the shower spot. There was a long line to shower using a water dispenser set up by the UN. The strange thing about it was that it was not curtained off and under the shower was a naked woman washing herself as if she was in a private washroom - right in the open, on a busy street.
As we drove on, complete blocks had been leveled. But on some blocks, only every other building had been destroyed. There were also blocks that seemed to have been missed by the quake altogether.
One of the pastors that met us (Pastor Bob) gave us a couple of lodging options: in a tent on a piece of land they owned or a hotel that somehow was in good condition. Of course we chose option two. It was a nice little place that still had a sound structure. No one can explain it, but the buildings on each side and across the street had collapsed, but this one was still standing. They offered us the rooms for $100 a night. It was a bit steep and out of our budget, but better than sleeping under the stars with no toilet or shower. Besides, when you’re one of the only games in town, you can get away with charging triple of what the room is really worth. In addition, they displayed official documents stating that their building was structurally sound and habitable. We thought that we would be fine there. The staff is very pleasant and if I didn’t know any better, I would not have thought that I was in a city that just suffered a major earthquake.After a debrief of today’s events and tomorrow’s preparation, we dined upon delicacies such as canned oysters, packaged tuna, Ritz crackers, canned corn beef and fruit cups. We hoped to get some sleep that night, because we have a very busy day ahead of us.
Day 3
Today started off with breakfast, some granola bars and boiled eggs. The hotel served food, but we were all a little leery about eating anything in Haiti. Nonetheless, we thought boiled eggs would be a safe choice. While eating we met a state senator from Massachusetts named Mark Montigny. Lodging is so scarce that even a state senator had to settle for the humble accommodations we were staying in. He shared that he had been working hard to clear up the bottleneck in the food distribution, but gave up and just started working with vendors to buy supplies and take them where they are needed in the outlying areas. He encouraged us to press through any red tape and help the people as much as we could. He said he hated the fact that Haiti has gotten such a bad rap for being a violent and depraved country. He said his experience has been quite the opposite. The people are friendly and kind, welcome the assistance and he hasn’t felt threatened at all. We all agreed that we need to spread the word that you can’t believe everything we see on TV about Haiti.
Once our ride arrived, we headed for our first destination – a small school supported by Pastor Bob’s organization - Remember the Children. Pastor Bob had also coordinated a mobile clinic of doctors and nurses that went into areas that were overlooked by other relief efforts. As we drove down the streets, we saw more and more collapsed building. Some blocks were not so bad, while others were in complete shambles. On the blocks that had large buildings that had collapsed, the stench of death filled the air – evidence that there were still decaying bodies underneath the mounds of bricks and cement.
Though we were no more than 10 miles from the school we were visiting the ride seemed to take forever. Coupled with the devastation we were observing, the roads were not the best for some stretches and 7 of us were cramped in a early 80’s model Mercedes Benz – and its luxury days were far behind it.
Upon our arrival at the school, we walked into the little building that had no electricity and we were greeted by a group of about 50 children of various ages singing a French song welcoming us to their class. It was so precious to hear sounds of joy coming from one of the poorest areas of Haiti that had recently suffered an earthquake. Though none of the children spoke English, they seemed to be captivated by our every word and even more excited as Pastor Bob translated. The school was run by Pastor Romaine, a Haitian gentleman that has been pastoring in this area for over twenty-five years. The crowd outside of the building grew and grew, because word had spread through the community that we were in town and they believed we had supplies to give out. Unfortunately, we did not have nearly enough to share with everyone, but I couldn’t help but wonder why the UN or Red Cross were not anywhere in sight. The teachers of the school shared with us their needs, we prayed for them and headed to our next location.
Before we arrived at our next stop on the agenda, we passed by a cement factory that had been converted into a rice distribution center. It was manned by UN and US soldiers. We stopped to ask how we could get some of the rice and were told that citizens (women only) had to go to the mayor’s office to get a ticket. Once they got a ticket, they have to come back to the distribution center.It takes two tickets to get a 55 lb. bag of rice. If you don’t have a family member or friend with a ticket, then they would pair you up with someone else in line that didn’t have a partner. Organizations, such as orphanages, are put on a waiting list and have to wait until they get to them. Even though that may seem ridiculous (and it is), it is a way they are managing the chaos. I say it is ridiculous because people are hungry and need food. To tell children they have to wait, when you know food is available, is a hard pill to swallow. This is why a lot of faith based teams, like ours, have taken the initiative to get supplies to the underserved ourselves. As we watched women struggle to carry out the heavy bags, we saw some open up their bags to split the rice. Shockingly, we saw some women give the bags to men who then opened the bags and began to sell the rice. I was annoyed by that at first, but later change my perspective, as I understood it may be a necessary means to an end. We then moved on to our next location.
We soon arrived at Pastor Bob’s house and office for Remember the Children. It had been condemned by the government. He explained that many of his staff lost their homes. They were living in a structure next door and we got a chance to meet Sindu’s family. Sindu was a young lady on Pastor Bob’s staff that accompanied us on our visits as an interpreter and guide. CJ took the opportunity to talk to Sindu’s niece – a sweet little girl about 10 years old. She spoke English and seemed very bright. CJ struck up a conversation and I’d catch a glimmer of smile from the little girl every now and then. CJ could tell from their conversation that, like many other Haitian children, she had not fully processed the devastation and loss of life. We again prayed and moved on. Later, Pastor Bob shared that the little girl was afraid to go back to school, because so many of her friends were killed in the quake and she probably felt the safest place was with her family.
The VIP Ice Cream shop was a little restaurant owned by a church lead by Pastor Jose – a Haitian-Canadian. Pastor Jose has a church in Toronto as well, but was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. Unfortunately, Pastor Jose lost his brother and his brother’s entire family in the quake. Nonetheless, he was full of smiles and was very excited to see us arrive. Pastor Bob and Pastor Jose were now working together as part of a growing network of pastors, doctors, nurses and other volunteers. Pastor Bob and Pastor Jose met on the night of the quake when they were paired together in a rescue tent.
Pastor Jose took us into his restaurant. It was a small place that seats about 25 people at a time. He and members of his congregation prepared meals three times a day and sold them to the people of the community for 1 gourdes (Haitian dollar), which is about .14¢ USD. You might be wondering why Pastor Jose didn’t just give the food away, and I thought the same thing. Though rice and beans are free, a lot of other things are not. It is hard to find safe water and you have to have a means to cook the meals. Haiti’s economy is severely fractured and one of the best ways to stimulate it is not by giving everything away for free, but having them exchange money again. This will get the economy started again, allowing people the ability to rebuild their lives – the means to an end I mentioned earlier.
After being introduced to his staff, we prayed for them and headed back to our hotel. The sun set at around 5:30 and much of the city was still without electricity.
That night, we feasted on MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) - chicken teriyaki! It wasn't bad tasting for a meal in a bag. We concluded the night with a debrief and then prayed, hoping to get a good night’s sleep before heading out again.
Day 4
After another breakfast of boiled eggs and toast, we headed out to visit the major organizations that set up camp. The first camp was the World Medicine Group staffed with American, Greek, Spanish, and Portuguese doctors. It was basically a tent hospital. We asked how could we get medicines and were told by the camp administrator that we had to register with the UN and then with the Ministry of Health for Haiti. After that, we could come back and get as much medicine as we needed. Easy, right? Well, finding the right people to contact to get that process rolling is the hard part. This was the red tape that the senator was talking about. They pointed us in the direction of a Red Cross facility that was set up in a warehouse not far away – it was Roja Cruz de Dominicana (Dominican Red Cross). We approached the door that was guarded by a young Haitian man. He was told we were from America so he let the ladies in, but held me back. He thought I was Haitian. Once he was told that I was American too, he allowed me to enter as well. At the end of the warehouse, stocked with medicine, milk, juice, rice, canned fish and other foods was Vito, a young Dominican man that was the supervisor of the facility. He spoke only Spanish, but LQ, who is fluent in Spanish, was able to communicate. She explained that we were Americans who wanted to get supplies for two orphanages. He asked the name and location of each and then he asked if we were registered with the UN or Haiti. We explained that we weren’t, but witnessed the desperate need of the people that haven’t the faintest idea about registering with the UN. He then asked where we would take the food and medicine. We gave him the addresses and he said I will see what I can do. LQ, who is also a nurse, asked what she had to do get the medicines. Vito said he could not just release medicine to us. LQ then showed him her credentials and gave him her passport. Vito then offered us some Enfamil, water and juice. Then he gave a disclaimer about the Enfamil. He said women were mixing it with local water to make it stretch, which in turn was making the children even sicker. LQ said as a medical professional she could not be a part of distributing something that would not help the people, but do more harm. We all decided not to take that, because without the proper education and monitoring, more children’s lives would be in danger. Vito then took a walk and we sat down on a case of water. He walked over to us minutes later with a sigh and just covered his face with his hands. He told LQ, in Spanish, that he was very tired. CJ asked LQ to ask him how long he had been in Haiti and he answered, one month. CJ then asked LQ to ask him how he was doing with managing the place and has he dealt with what he saw when he worked among the people. He said it been a lot and he’s tired of it. She asked if we could pray for him and he said yes.
We prayed and when we were done, he said he didn’t understand a single thing we said, but he felt a tremendous peace. Vito walked away and then came back and told us that he was giving us whatever we needed and his team would deliver it. He would send a truck to follow us to the exact locations and they in turn would deliver the supplies we requested. Praise God! After that, we lead a pack of vehicles to the designated locations and the Roja Cruz de Dominicana committed to making weekly deposits to those facilities.
Our final stop was at an orphanage we had promised to visit, but hadn’t had a chance to make it their location. It was run by Pastor Romaine and his wife. After all we had accomplished, the day was far spent and it was apparent that we would not make it back to our hotel before nightfall. We were a bit apprehensive about this since we hadn’t been out after dark before, but CJ felt we needed to press and see them, so they would not think we had forgotten about them. It was actually the orphanage where we were invited to pitch tent and sleep on their grounds. Once we arrived, we saw that this campus was hit harder than any of the others we visited. They have about sixty-six children and they were all sleeping in tents erected around the once beautiful home. As at the other places, the children were all curious as to who we were - especially since we arrived in the dark. They walked us to the back of the property and we were amazed. Almost the entire back half of the house had collapsed. Amazingly, no one was killed, because many of them were inside. The pastor shared that one of the young boys crawled through a series of tunnels left after the structure collapsed and in another case, one of the boys was thrown forward of the collapsed portion, escaping being crushed. They knew it was the hand of God. The surrounding wall had fallen in several places as well, but again, no one lost their life. We stood in the center of the courtyard embracing one another’s hands and we prayed – giving thanks unto God! We then delivered milk and water and gave them an offering and headed back to our hotel.
Tonight for dinner we had beef stroganoff and green beans – all from a bag (MREs). It tasted better and better every time we came back. State Senator Montigny stopped briefly to say good bye, as he was headed back to the states. He had two friends with him, Dave from Airline Ambassadors and Jon Jon – a Haitian TV producer. We swapped stories about what we had done over that last couple of days and exchanged contact information. Jon Jon was eager to stay in contact and hoped to hear from us again soon. He adopted me as his brother, because he said he knows I have a Haitian bloodline because I resemble the natives so much. We laughed and said our good-nites.
Day 5
Last night we agreed that we would sleep in, and I took full advantage of that. I was tired and had ridden in the hatch back of a Nissan Pathfinder the previous day. It was a much needed rest and we had seen all of the people we were scheduled to see.
That morning, the Pastor Jean from the first school we visited came to our hotel. He waited patiently from 7:00 am until about 10:00, when I finally emerged from Clarence’s and I room. He humbly approached me with another young man and greeted me joyfully. The young man was Tony, a teacher at his school and a law student in Haiti. I invited them to sit down and have coffee. Tony began to interpret the pastor’s conversation. He said that he and the children were so blessed by our visit that he wanted to come and thank us again. He also shared that he is an independent church with no supporters. He wanted to network with us to get support for his church and school. The teachers, like Tony, get paid very little and he hadn’t been able to pay them in several months. CJ and I shared that we were honored and would take his request back to our leaders and see what we could do. My heart immediately wanted to commit, but I knew I wasn’t in a position to do so. I saw the condition in which he was teaching the children and the community that he has been called to serve. My prayer is that God will direct me on how I can best help him, his teachers and the children.
Soon after, Pastor Bob arrived. We loaded up in the Pathfinder again (me in the hatch back) and headed to the orphanage we visited the night before. We wanted to get pictures of the house in the daylight. Next, Pastor Bob wanted us to see the downtown area, where thousands of people were killed. En route to the area we had to pass through one of the worse slums in Haiti. It was crowded and really unbelievable. People were buying, trading and living in some of the worse conditions imaginable. The smells we nauseating and the exhaust from the cars in the heavy traffic were overwhelming. The herds of wild pigs feasting on the piles of raw garbage and sewage, to the people walking barefoot in the same garbage, made me wonder, 'How could something like this even exist in the western hemisphere?'
We arrived downtown after making a quick left turn from the slum. It was surreal. I felt like we had been time warped to war torn Europe. Buildings, after building was reduced to mere rubble. At moments it appeared deserted and you could imagine the agonizing shrills of people that were trapped underneath the tons of concrete. Then, out of nowhere, people would be walking down the street. Some just wondering round, and other as if they were headed somewhere in the city.
Despite the destruction, many people were acting as if nothing and happened and it was business as usually. As we walked deeper into the downtown area, we could see tears welling in Sindu’s eyes and each step seemed to bring back memories that will probably haunt her for a long time to come. Among the heaps of mortar, brick and cement, people had taken refuge. The rainy season is coming soon and many must feel they have nowhere else to go. But knowing that there are still bodies trapped underneath the mangled wire and concrete sent chills through my body and I couldn’t comprehend how someone would walk and sleep in the midst of that. They had to still be in shock. It was like the Haitian voodoo stories - they were zombies, walking among the living.
Nonetheless, my heart grieved for them because we all knew they needed trauma counseling and the help of our Lord Jesus Christ. Another sobering image that will always be etched in my mind is that of a little boy that came walking briskly beside us. Pastor Bob asked him where he was gong and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, 'no mama, no papa'. He had a box with a large bottle of Moet champagne in it. The bottle was empty, but I guess he believed the bottle had some value. He came across an older boy that tried to take it, but the younger boy struggled to keep it and wouldn’t let it go. I wanted to intervene, but chose not to get involved at the time. Had it gotten worse for the little boy, I would have, but he seemed to handle himself and got out of the situation.
We then returned to the downtown square and joined hands in prayer. Our hope is that Haiti will recover from this disaster somehow and restore what has crumbled to the ground.
We arrived back at the hotel sobered, but enlightened. We were truly touched by the infirmities of the people and could undoubtedly empathize with them. This is no easy thing to get over and no easy task to rebuild. But we hope that their resiliency will prove strong.
Tonight is the last time we will see Pastor Bob and Sindu. We prayed for them and said that we hoped to send another team soon. I feel so compelled to stay, but know that I have to return to my life back in Chicago. This is truly an experience that I will never forget, but I know this is not the end of my relationship with Haiti.
Psa 60:2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
Psa 60:3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
Psa 60:4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
Psa 60:5 That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
Day 6
Well, it’s our final day in Haiti – at least we think it will be. After an early breakfast with Pastor Romaine and one of his students, we headed out to the airport. This was going to be a long day. Since commercial flights had just resumed, we were still hoping to fly standby on another missionary charter. MAF/MFI has been flying relief workers in and out of Haiti since the earthquake. It’s on a first come, first serve basis on the day of departure. We arrived early enough to be placed pretty high on the list. They flew a beautifully restore DC-3 and a couple other smaller single engine planes. We waited patiently, hoping that we would be among the fortunate to get on a flight. When they called our names and asked for our passports, we knew we were going to get on. Once the shiny DC-3 pulled into the terminal, the coordinators had us gather our bags and head out to the tarmac. Just when we thought we would be headed for U.S soil, we were informed by the coordinator that we weren’t going on that flight, but would be flying on the caravan flight. I immediately thought that it would be a downgrade from their DC-3, but how much further down can you go from a 60 year old plane? Surprisingly, it was actually a newer plane. It was a single engine plane that seated 5 passengers. Pat was the captain, and Chris was his co-pilot – a missionary the lived in Morocco and was on sabbatical, but decided to help Haiti anyway he could. Though we didn’t have to make any stops, the flight took five hours. As I usually do when I’m in vehicle, I buckled up, prayed to our father for his traveling mercies and went fast to sleep. I woke up about mid-way through the flight to the other members awake and enjoying the flight. This one was not nearly as bumpy as the Kings Wings flight. We passed around the left over beef jerky and tuna packages from our trip and created our own in-flight meal. Around 8:30 pm we were at Ft. Pierce airport in Florida. Our journey back to Chicago, still had a few pit stops, but we were happy to be on American soil. We traveled down to Miami where we spent the night at a Comfort Inn. My first order of business was to order a pizza! I threw some Buffalo Wings on the order as an added treat. After that, a nice hot shower was on my agenda. It was so satisfying, after a week of cold showers.
Day 7
Sunday morning at Miami International can be pretty hectic with all the passengers from cruise ships and others who just wanted to escape the cold. Most of the flights were packed, but we were en route to Houston and then Chicago.
During our sit time, we began to discuss our trip and reflect on the moments or people that had the most impact on us in Haiti. For LQ it was Vito, the young Dominican that helped us get shipments to the orphanages. For CJ it was Senator Montigny. She said that she really felt his heart and compassion when he allowed us to pray for him. Clarence said that Pastor Bob had the most impact on him. He remembered how we stood in the square of Haiti, praying for restoration and revival, and seeing tears flow from Pastor Bob’s face. For me it was Pastor Jean from the school. His commitment and dedication to the poorest area in Haiti was very commendable. He expressed so much joy when we visited and prayed for him and the children and wanted to learn more about our ministry and what we do.
All in all, I know that Haiti will continue to be in our hearts, especially the people we met, and we will find ways to get them the help they need.
When I arrived home, I was so happy to see my family. My daughter had made me a nice T-bone steak and we talked a little about my trip. I seemed fine, but as I talked about it more my emotional status shifted and I began to weep sorely. I had open the flood gates of my emotions that I had pent up while I was in Haiti. I was humbled as my wife and children showed sincere concern. I regrouped and we finished dinner.
Once the team reconvened for our debrief, I shared the experience that I had with my family at the dinner table. I mentioned that it seemed to become overwhelming for me when I discussed my experience in the center of town. I described the encounter with the little boy that had the champagne bottle. Even then it was hard to hold back the tears. I thank God for his strength and mercy. I know that what we did is only a drop in the bucket in comparison to all of the help the island needs, but I believe that God will bring revival and send more help.
Back home, Crusaders Church was still collecting items to be shipped over. It has been a difficult task, but we hope that the items will reach everyone that needs it. We look forward to going back and checking on the progress and doing more work to help restore this broken nation.
I want to thank everyone for assisting me on this journey. May God keep you and bless you is my prayer.
Pastor Joseph Huggins
