Now for the final installment!  After finishing our stay in Virginia with my (Kyle) parents, we knew the last part of our journey back to Haiti may be just as crazy as every other part.  The reason for this was because we were going to have to stay a night in Port-au-Prince, which we had never done before.  But also because this would little Micah’s first flights in airplanes, and we just didn’t know he would react.

Our flight was to leave Reagan National at around 6am.  This is extremely early, especially for a young family with a two-month old, but nevertheless it was the time of our departure.  The nights leading up to this we tried to get more sleep than normal, but it just didn’t happen, because of how much time and energy it took to figure out our suitcase-packing scenario.  The scenario is that we had to get all of our stuff, plus all of Micah’s stuff, plus all the stuff we need for our new house, in four suitcases that weigh less than 51 pounds.  Yikes!  We had a tough enough time last spring when just Lorraine and I went for just 4 months, and this time all three of us are going to be there 2 years.  We had to go out and buy a scale to make sure everything would fit, and then were constantly in the process of taking stuff out or putting stuff in different suitcases; it was craziness I tell you.  We finally got our things in order and so we next just had to wait and see how things would be at the airport at check-in.  When we arrived everything was a bit crazy with so much luggage, but all of it ended being the right amount and our first worries were subsided.

After leaving DC, we knew had over a 5 hour layover in Miami.  Long layovers are never fun no matter what airport you are in, and especially for us in the Miami international terminal.  We waited and waited and finally after some delays our plane left for Port-au-Prince.  For me, arriving in Port-au-Prince is the craziest part, because you have to find all of your luggage, go through customs, and then run through gauntlet outside the airport exit to your taxi service.  This process actually went better than the last time, because the Haitian that we were meeting was inside the door waiting for us to take us to our Hotel.  Our Hotel was pretty nice as well, and so we had a nice meal and went to bed early.

The next morning we were set to be flown away to our city of Port-de-Paix.  Everything went as planned with our taxi and our flight, and so we ended up in Port-de-Paix just in time to have lunch with some of our fellow teachers.  I must say, though, that Lorraine was very worried about how Micah would do on the flight from Port-au-Prince to Port-de-Paix, because the plane was a lot smaller, hotter, stinkier, and slightly less pressurized.  The first time Lorraine flew on this small plane she had terrible ear problems, and so she was mostly worried that Micah would have the same; but the good news is that he didn’t.

So we are back in Haiti!  Being back, at first felt a little surreal; not much has changed, except for some of our staff.  It also felt very refreshing in some ways and very normal.  We have both been waiting to get back, even though it always seemed so far off in the distance.  It was just a little surreal that the time had come so fast.

Since we have been here we have been mostly focusing on getting our home (apartment) set-up, which has not been easy.  We have not been able to find stuff we left here or sent to the boat, and so there have been some minor frustrations, but ultimately we are excited about being here and starting to work again next week.  Next week I really hit the ground running with all of my Bible College classes and one of my high school classes.  Lorraine is picking up a grammar class that she taught last spring, but that will be all that she teaches until January.

Please continue to pray for us!  Pray for safety and especially health for all three of us.  Pray for Micah adjusting to a new home.  Pray that we are able to meet all of our financial support.  Pray that we can make an impact on our students.  Just pray for us!  Thanks and many blessings for all of you!

Kyle and Lorraine