Opinion by: Olivia Eissler
We walked on the rocky and dusty road to a hut just off the corner of the street. It was no bigger than a car and it was made of some type of straw. You would have never guessed that 12 people lived in it. As we said hello and explained that we were asking a few questions about their needs, I noticed two dogs lying on the dirt floor of the hut. They were so skinny you could see their ribs. When we asked the family living there what their biggest need was they said for their kids to have a good education. You would have never guessed this was their biggest need. In America our biggest need may be to get the newest iPhone or to have the biggest TV out there. It just amazed me because as Americans, we would look at their lives and say they would need a new house or money. This was just one of my favorite memories from Haiti.

We had just landed in Port au Prince, Haiti were the air was humid and it felt like you needed to drink the ocean because you were so thirsty. My church team and I grabbed our bags and headed out of the airport to which we were greeted by the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission staff. Usually if you are going to be traveling by car you will pack all of your luggage in the trunk, get inside the vehicle, and buckle up. Not in Haiti. We packed all of our luggage on the back of a truck and stood in the bed of it as we drove over bumpy and torn up roads. They took us to another airport, which was probably the smallest in the entire world. It was no bigger than our cafeteria. We waited for about an hour and then the fun part came. Since my team had 20 members and the airport only had a ten-seater and five-seater plane, we had to split up. I flew in the five-seater. Wow. It was the most amazing thing ever. You could see all around you as we flew. You could even see the dirt strip our little plane had to land on. That was the scariest part of the whole trip.

After we got off the plane and packed all onto another truck, we headed towards the small town of Mole St. Nicholas. In Haiti, you say hello to everyone, so as we drove we waved and yelled Bonjour (which is hello in French). It was like being in a parade. Once we arrived we unpacked, had dinner, and then it was lights out.
The next week we went to the small towns of Karenage, Preskul and Daniel. There we performed a drama called Freedom. Freedom is the story of the gospel from when God created the earth, to when Jesus dies on the cross and then he comes back from the dead. It really impacted my life to see so many people engaged and influenced by the drama. One of my favorite moments from doing the drama was in Daniel. Which is a one-hour drive over the bumpiest roads ever. We had just finished the freedom drama and my youth pastor, Brad, asked if anyone would like to start a relationship with Christ. In the towns before when Brad asked this question a few people would raise their hands, but in Daniel almost everyone watching raised their hands. It gave everyone chills and it was amazing to see the impact that freedom had on the people of Daniel.
Also during the week my team and I also got to play with some adorable orphans. They loved to play soccer and to chase you around. One day we took them to the beach, and they all loved jumping and playing in the water. I wish I could have taken them all back to Kansas City with me.
My heart will forever be in Haiti. It is so broken because of the voodoo the people believe in that live there and for the people of Mole St. Nicholas. I can’t wait to go back again.