Let's start at the beginning. . .

July 20, 1976
MY FIRST PLANE RIDE took place when I was 28 years old. We were flown to Haiti by Missionary Flights International. It was a VERY small plane. David sat in the co-pilot’s seat, I had a seat and was holding 2 month old Amy and Karen, 4 years old, had her own seat. We had 4 – 55 gallon drums of belongings with us in the plane and that was it. I had never flown before so really didn’t know what to expect. But when David saw the little plane his heart sank and he wondered what he was getting his family into. I was very nervous and being a small plane it was pretty noisy. The pilot told us when we could take our seatbelts off and Karen, curious 4 year old that she was, was up looking out the window and exclaiming at everything she saw. Being a small plane it flew lower and over the islands in the Bahamas chain. I was scared and didn’t want to look but finally thought if a 4 year old isn’t afraid I’ll look too. The sea and the islands were just unbelievably beautiful.

The day we arrived in Haiti was like a dream to me. I had this idea that when we got off the plane I would see tarantulas everywhere. Part of that might be because David’s brothers loved to tell me stories about tarantulas – like Mom Schmid finding one between David and Mel one morning when she went to wake them up. Yikes, my imagination took that and ran with it. Thankfully I didn’t see any at the airport!

Mom and Dad Schmid and Debi were there to welcome us. I have a picture somewhere Dad took of our little family in front of the MFI plane. We went right to the Bible School (now STEP) campus here at Bolosse. Karen ran off with the other missionary kids to play and I had Amy and was meeting lots of the missionaries with Mom Schmid while David and Dad got our drums cleared through customs.

My first days in Haiti -- The missionaries had a reception for us that evening and I just tried to take in everything I was seeing and experiencing. It sure was another world. After that we joined Mom and Dad Schmid and Debi at the beach house where they were on vacation. There I was introduced to the beautiful Caribbean Sea but also to many new and sundry critters. Remember I've the one who was scared and screamed at what I realize now were little spiders when I grew up. Now I was in a country where there weren't any little spiders any more and bees came in every shape and size besides the 24 hour bugs that look nasty and apparently their sting makes you wish you could die in 24 hours - not mention some of the other things I've been introduced to here. Somehow I survived and I'm still here. I know Debi, its a miracle! One thing I remember about that time was Mom Schmid showing me how to sift the flour several times looking for bugs before using it for baking - ugh!! WHAT HAD I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?!?!?!?!?

We stayed with Mom and Dad in St Marc for several weeks while we got ready to move to Verrettes for our first year. Mom had kidney stones and eventually flew to the states for surgery after we had moved to Verrettes. That is when I made the mosquito nets and the tarantula episode with Mom happened and also our first Christmas celebration previously described.

During that first 6 months I was often sick in the middle of the night and began to lose weight. It was strange because I wasn’t sick in the daytime just usually after midnight. I didn't have the normal "Haitian Happiness" which many new people got but I just threw up and had terrible stomach pains. Eventually I was diagnosed with amoeba and giardia – 2 microscopic parasites that really gave me problems for most of our first term. Let me just say it is not a recommended way to lose weight. I fought with giardia the rest of that term. Not a fun thing but at least the girls never got sick like that which certainly helped this young mother's sanity.