Bon Voyage

Feb 9,
Bon Voyage

Yesterday we said good-bye to Caroline and Trish. But not before taking them to a 2 hours church service followed by a 3-hour clinic where we saw over 100 people in the countryside outside of Port-au-Prince. Nothing like leaving a couple of people dirty, sweaty and tired at the airport doors, milking every last second of their time in Haiti for what it was worth.

I can’t help fighting the quiet in their wake. They were the first friends to come to visit with whom I have previous history. There is comfort in being around people who know you well, to share experiences that translate easily between friends. We shared many a conversation on the roof-top over the past week that I’ve been yearning for for months. There is nothing like your girlfriends.

The truth is, Patrick and I are community people. It is hard to have an experience of such magnitude like living and working in Haiti without friends and family to share it with. We yearn to share the experience of Haiti, for the people we love to know what it tastes like, smells like, feels like, and sounds like. We attempt to reach out in words, but know the senses that largely make up this experience get lost over the internet wire. So to have a friend smell the stink of the sewers and the smoke on the air, hear the crow of the rooster, the roar of traffic and the sound of classrooms reverberating in song, to taste the sweet of coconut water, the starch of plaintains and the salty sweat of hard work, to see the piles of trash and the smiles of children, to feel the sweat in the afternoon heat, wiping dirt off our hands in between tasks, to experience the internal struggle that comes from facing a different culture, lifestyle and reality from which we come…. That is the gift beyond compare. We cried together, laughed together, fell into the conversations that come from being challenged, moved and shaken, from inspired introspective moments and from turning our perspective outwards.

The hardest part of this missionary experience will always be how difficult it is to share it with others, how to convey the sorrow and the joy that creates a colorful mix to our days. How do you explain the unique flavor of love and hate, dispair and hope, and perpetual entertainment that is life here? Regardless of the trash, of the stink, of the heat and the heart-break, of the constant ache that comes from missing family and friends, we love living here. Our work has a unique purpose, the people have an incredible perspective, our days are filled with reflection and self-discovery.

So thank you for reading, for sharing with me in this experience of life. I welcome to share your own thoughts, your own passions and struggles as you are so inspired. Because what is life if we can’t share it, if we can’t learn from each other, laugh with each other, teach each other and hold each other up.

And for those of you so inspired to travel, we will greet you with open arms.