Hit the ground running....

It was a fairly uneventful flight, minus the kid behind me getting sick, and for anyone who has flown before....monkey see monkey do. At the end of the flight after completely making a debacle out of my Dominican Republic customs declaration,(and totally not answering questions pertaining to my luggage) I ended up being engaged in conversation by a couple of guys who were on a church mission. They asked for my contact info and plans, and I proceeded to explain my own mission with my group that was awaiting in Haiti. I realized at that moment that Im here to help groups just like them, and with a few details still not cleared up by my team, I decided to stay the night with this group. We were all going in the same direction and area, and I felt they could be of some use to me as well. I later found out this group, Proyecto America contained over 200 for this mission to Haiti.











We head to San Cristobal for the night, and the night morning we head to a town called Jimani, DR. Its the last town before the border and it has become a staging area for many teams. Its also home of a high powered microwave link Ill be sure to take advantage of later for linking purposes later. We ended up staying in church(where else would a church group stay?) that appeared somewhat secure with a compound wall around the property.

I pretty much kept to my self, but news travelled quickly about my compact with the group. They described me as a miracle...to this day Im not sure I see that. I did find my self feeling like I was on survivor....which each person in this enormous group,having their own skill. Mine seemed to be communications, connections with government officials, "McGyvering" things that dont exist that we need or fixing them.....oh and that I have almost 200lbs of medical supplies. This group had 5 doctors, and about 10 nurses, an EMT all from Uruguay, Peru, Florida, Columbia, and a few other countries. I had things they clearly did not have and they have been on missions before...just not one immediately after a disaster.
On that first night together, there was alot of commotion outside, and I learned that people from the poverty stricken neighbor were coming to the church gates, some looking for handouts, others for spiritual support, and one in particular, was looking for transport to the DR airport. The child was only 8, and a US legal resident. The church group wanted to pay the $100 to send this child by bus to the airport, so he could be sent back home.
To ensure this wasnt a scam, I made a few phone calls to some immigration people I have worked with before, and verified the US resident ID, and passport. We also arranged for transport that we were confident would ensure the child's delivery to the airport and help check him in. We learned later he made it to his home town in Orlando, FL.

Oh yeah.....nows a good time for a little flashback story. Back in highschool when I had a choice of languages I decided to take french. Yeah, well with my father learning spanish, he advised....no protested...no...still hounds me about not choosing spanish. Everyone around me speaks either spanish.....or spanish with the exception of some Haitians who have been to DR. The french will help me later, but Im in a for a severe crash course in Spanish.