22 May 2007

First Impressions

Amy phoned me last night around 10:30 ET from her hotel in Petionville, Haiti, right outside of Port-au-Prince, and gave me a little bit of information that I thought I would pass along:

She has arrived at her destination: safe and sweaty. She said that when they arrived it was about 90 degrees and utterly humid. Pastor Dio picked up Amy and the rest of her team at the chaotic airport and drove them to the hotel. Upon arrival, the concierge informed them that they did not have a reservation for them, but after a bit of a wait they were provided rooms; Amy has a second floor room with one of her teammates. They have standard electricity, which was a mild comfort because she brought a 10-inch fan with her to sleep and a battery charger for her camera.

They were able to leave the hotel to get pizza for dinner. She said that it was dirty and beautiful. So many people. Garbage everywhere. People selling mangoes and shoes and roasted corn. Children in school uniforms and pregnant women.

She is a little lonesome, but is excited to see what God has in store for them today. Pastor Dio will be picking them up this morning and taking them to the Mephibosheth Home to begin their work.

She also let me know that the hotel does have a computer, but it wasn't working on Monday, so she isn't sure when or if she'll be able to post. Although I'm not nearly as interesting to read as my eloquent wife, I'll do my best to post whenever I have some new information to relay.

Thank you for your prayers for both Amy and myself.

Ryan

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amy and Ryan...

Know that we are thinking of you and praying for you on this journey. What an awesome experience you will have and the memories that you will make and the things that God will teach you. Blessings to you are you serve and blessings to you Ryan as your wife is away.

Joel and Joleen Synstelien

Dawn said...

We are so glad that God gave you Ryan who is so good and giving voice to your heart. We love that guy! In rehearing all that you went through I am flooded with thankfulness for how God protected you, once again. Those first few days were very hard. I pictured you, in all your blond tininess, standing out like a little celebrity. I saw you bouncing around in the back of a pick-up truck on horrid, garbage lined roads with no traffic rules. I wondered how safe the locks on your hotel doors were. And I thought a LOT about the men on your team and hoped they were looking out for you. And then I prayed that God, who is bigger even than Jim Skelly, would watch over you Himself. Have I mentioned how thankful I am that you are home safe?