Safely Home

Wednesday, May 4

After 28 hours of traveling I finally catch my first glimpses of Port au Prince. I press my face against the glass to get a better look. Almost home!



Eight minutes later the plane lands smoothly and I take a moment to thank God for bringing me home safely. It doesn’t take long to de-plane and minutes later we’re on a bus to the main terminal. When the bus stops and the doors open I catch sight of Jason. I run toward him and hug him. There’s nothing like 12 days away to realize how blessed I really am with such a wonderful man. He hugs me tightly and then teasingly pushes me away.

“We’re in the airport you know!”

I laugh and hug him again. It’s sure great to see him!

We head through customs together and then wait with Shelley for our suitcases. Once we have them all Jason drives to the domestic terminal. He needs to do more flights today so Dieucon will be dropping us off. At the terminal Jason hops out and Dieucon hops in.

Driving through the rugged streets I can’t stop smiling. It’s nice to be home. Blue skies, palm trees, friendly people, unpaved roads, Caribbean heat. I turn to Shelley and we agree that though China was great, we’re glad we live in Haiti.

After 20 minutes of navigating rough roads we stop by Shelley’s gate. Dieucon and I help unload her suitcases and then it’s my turn to get dropped off. As we turn onto Rue Barbancourt I’m met with the familiar sight of a half a dozen UN soldiers. Even though things have been quiet since the elections they’re still there. I wave at them and they wave back. I then lean over to honk the special pattern so that Anoud knows it’s me and can open the gate.

A minute later we pull in and Anoud rolls the gate shut behind us. As Dieucon turns off the car I hop out and run to the stairs. Running up I meet Jayden halfway. He looks at me and blinks as if he can’t believe his eyes. Considering that he thought that just like Jonah, I had been swallowed by a big fish, I guess to him it is a miracle! Getting over his surprise he launches himself at me and I catch him in my arms. “I love you Mom!” he hoarsely whispers as I squeeze him tight.