And we're off!!!

Haiti Mission Team Members October 2008!
Harriett
Stoney
Billy
Dave,
Mandy
Ed
Matt
Chris
Brewster
Brian
Leslie
Julie
Cynthia
Laura
Me

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
Now this day actually never started because I never fell asleep from the night before! I was soooo excited and nervous that I did not get a wink of sleep. The thing I was most worried about was my bag. I had packed and repacked at least ten times making sure I had everything. I was so scared that I would forget something or that my bag was going to be too heavy. Of course I was anxious about the trip too!
I finally got out of bed at 4:55 am and started getting ready and pack yet again! My Dad offered to take me to the airport. He is so sweet considering I had to be at the Myrtle Beach Airport by 6 am. Dad actually called my cell phone at 5:18am and said "I am outside and ready to go when you are." I rushed to get everything together and gave Dad my bags to load up the car. I then said goodbye to my Mom, my dog Pebbles and our family dog Belle.

Dad and I had a nice slow trip to the airport. We stopped at a gas station and Dad bought me two scratch off lottery tickets, hey you never know! Well, I didn't win anything. I was too nervous to eat or drink anything at this point for fear of vomiting it all up later! (Sorry if that was too much information, you'll get used to that soon if you don't already know me!) FYI: I get car sick/air sick very easily. I keep Dramamine in business! Dad and I were actually the first people to arrive at the airport. As we were unloading my bags and walking into the terminal I saw Gary and Laura! Gary and Laura are dear friends of mine and we go to the same church. Laura was coming with me on the trip (which I was super excited about) and Gary was dropping her off.

Dad insisted on staying with me in the terminal until I was literally on the plane, just kidding. He did stick around to meet the entire team just to make sure I wasn't going with a whole bunch of crazy people! Apparently he was pleased with the team and gave me his blessing! Dad helped watch bags, carry things, etc. I know Dad was nervous about me going on this trip (especially considering the fact that the last trip was cancelled due to violence, etc.) he just wanted me to be safe. He's a Dad, it's his job! It made me feel really special that he stuck around to make sure I was okay! Thanks Dad, I love you!

Soon all of the team members arrived. It started getting a little crazy trying to keep us and all of our luggage in place as well as everyone else that was traveling that day. I just decided that the best thing for me to do was to stay out of the way until someone told me to do something. Remember, I had never done this kind of thing before, so I had no clue what was going on.

Harriett took on the role as our fearless leader. She has been on so many trips to Haiti she has lost count. She was responsible for all of the planning, flights, communication; pretty much everything I would never have thought about to do. Harriett is amazing! Harriett asked for all of our passports so we could get checked in to the airline. We received our boarding passes and then they started weighing our bags! My bag fit the measurements perfectly but they didn't even weigh it!!! My bag was totally fine, all of that stress for nothing!

I then officially said goodbye to Dad and we made our way through security. We had no problems what so ever, yeah! Once we made it to our gate people bought some coffee, drinks, breakfast, etc. Before we knew it, it was time to board. I got on the plane and was able to handle my luggage fine. I carried on a book bag and then my carry-on wheeled duffel bag. I got a window seat and sat next to Matt and Laura! All I knew about Matt before this trip was that he went to church and was an emergency room doctor. I know that is pathetic, but this gave us the opportunity to get to know one another better. I was so glad I got to sit next to him!

The flight was fine but I didn't feel the greatest the entire time. Even though I took my Dramamine before the flight, my tummy was not very happy! No worries, I did not have any upchucking! Anyway, we made it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FTL)!! We claimed all of our bags, they made it! Praise God! We were going to stay in FTL overnight to then catch the very first flight to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (PAP) in the morning.

The Team waiting for the shuttle

Brewster taking pictures, of course!

Look at all of our luggage/supplies!

Harriett, Billy, Stoney, and Leslie stayed at the airport to speak to the airline we were flying on in the morning to try and convince them to let us check more than one bag a piece. While they were trying to work their southern charm, the rest of the team took a shuttle to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 10:30am but they told us that we could not check in until 3pm. We hung out in the lobby and were able to store all of our big supply boxes in an unused conference room. Soon the group that stayed at the airport arrived at the hotel to tell us that they were not successful. Oh well. Of course Harriett came to the rescue and worked her magic, we were able to check in extra early!!
My carpal tunnel is getting bad, so I have to stop. I hope to finish up the first day on the next post. Peace!