Wild Ride

We took a charter bus from the Dominican Republic into Cap-Haitien (the 2nd largest city in Haiti, Port-au-Prince being the largest) and we were told two trucks would be picking us up from the bus station. The trucks were to take us to UCNH, the university in Northern Haiti that was to be our home base. After waiting a few hours we finally had one truck! However, the sun was going down and we had an hour drive ahead of us up unpaved, and windy roads, without any lighting. So we had no choice but to load our luggage, medical supplies and team of 30 people into the bed of the truck. The shear physics of it make no sense, I have no idea how we all fit, let alone how the truck made it up the mountain--but we did! This ride was just a foreshadowing of how we would get from point A to point B throughout our time in Haiti. Everyday we would pile into the back of the truck and bounce around with the open air. Initially it was fun, but as the rides became longer and longer, the novelty began to wear off. By the end of the drive most would have a tan, not from the sun, but the layers of dust all over their bodies.

Nonetheless, driving in the truck gave us an unadulterated picture of Haiti. We saw the beautiful land, and the photo above is our view coming down the mountain from Limbe into Cap-Haitien. Again, the land is gorgeous and pristine. You just see green atop of green, so lush and tropical. The rural areas of Limbe or even Milo are a sharp contrast to the large city of Cap-Haitien. The city is full of people, trash is everywhere, cars and trucks trying to race by, blaring the horn, the air is dirty--it's simply mayhem. The people walk about as calm as can be, carrying on their daily living, not allowing the chaos to penetrate them.

We no doubt stood out while riding in the truck. The Haitians would immediately stop and stare as the seemingly only white people in Haiti drove by. Many people would shout "blanc" meaning white, and begin to wave. The children were the sweetest, their eyes would grow bigger and bigger when seeing a white person for the first time. They would begin to wave their hands in the air, but some would quickly flip their hands around and gesture give me, give me.

There are some stories you don't share until you get home, that way you don't freak out your family! One of these stories would include the time we were coming up the big mountain after the sun had gone down. As we drove up, we saw a huge school bus on it's side in the middle of the road. A site not too uncommon as driving recklessly is how you get around. There was a small space between the bus and the edge of the mountain, and we attempted to drive through. The driver realized we were too close to the edge of the mountain and instead of proceeding forward and tipping over, the truck began to roll back. We had no control, but God's presence was definitely there and we were no doubt protected by Him. Our driver was able to finally stop the truck and we then proceeded to walk up the mountain.

The craziest of all rides would have to be at the end of week one when coming back from Bas Limbe. This was the clinic that ran really late. So late that the sun went down and we were working in the dark. There wasn't any electricity in the pharmacy, but luckily we grabbed our head lights and we were able to search for medications and do calculations. To say the least our driver was bitter and in a hurry to get back since he had been waiting hours for our team to finish. So he wasted no time and what should have been an hour ride, took us less than a half hour. We proceeded to go up and down hills and around corners on unpaved roads with the gas pedal to the floor. Anytime there was a turn, no matter how sharp it was, he would accelerate. I loved it! We would jump over pot holes and ditches and the bed of the truck would bounce and we would fly. You don't sit for a ride like this, so we were standing and I swear I got at least 3 feet of air on many occasions. At one point he did slam on the breaks because there was a crew of motorcycles parked on the corner that he was about to pile through. I seriously couldn't stop laughing, after such an intense day this was the best stress reliever. I'm telling you I would have payed money for this, it was better than any roller coaster I have ever been on. It was up there with skydiving and white water rafting, I thought for sure I was going to go overboard. Unfortunately, when our leader got news of our ride it became that drivers last day.

I do have to give thanks to our main driver Judd, who was extremely cautious and took good care of us when driving us from city to city. He was a blessing and we are so thankful for him.