After arriving at the La Quinta hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at around 12 a.m. the night before, we all rose bright (in actuality, dark) and early at around 5 a.m., ate a quick breakfast, and by 5:30 we were once again on our way. We took a 20-minute shuttle ride to Missionary Flights International, where we were swiftly brought through, introduced to the mission, and boarded onto the plane. We were all set for the four hour trip over the ocean to Haiti, almost there after the long and unexpected day of waiting the day prior. However, the plane ride was not enjoyable for most. It was extremely rough and nausea inducing for many of the team members, and it was evident that everyone was grateful when we finally arrived in Cap-Haitian for customs. We were through and back onto the plane in under 10 minutes and then departed on our final 12-minute flight before we reached our destination: Pignon, Haiti.

We began our experience by meeting Craig and Christi and some of the other leaders we would be staying with while in Haiti, and after a short time of greetings and visiting, we took two trucks back to the compound. There, we were introduced to the rest of the leaders and Haitian helpers, and were served sandwiches and grapefruit juice for lunch. After being introduced to the rules of the house and the basics of our stay, we left the compound to go to the market, where we bought things like rice, beans, and spaghetti (or in Haitian: diri, pwa, and spaget) for ten families. Once we were finished at the marketplace, we were shown around the new market, planned to opened in March. While we were there, we met what you might call a flock of Haitian children, who were shy at first, but at the end of our exploratory journey through the new market were holding hands with the girls on our team, following us, and running through and around us wherever we went. Unfortunately, it soon came time for us to leave, and we left to deliver our food and supplies to the MH4H quarters.