The team met up at Sea-Tac Airport late last night, hoping for a smooth check-in and flight to Florida…

Instead of a smooth check-in however, they ran into a major hassle! The lady at the counter informed them that there is a box embargo currently on all flights into Haiti and the 13 or more tubs they had packed were not allowed on the plane. Dixie had called the airline ahead of time to check on this specifically and had been told there was no current box embargo. But after talking to the gal for half an hour, it was clear she would not budge. She informed them that they could miss their flight and fly a day later, leave all their supplies behind, or buy luggage from the airline. Sadly, the team had to comply and spent about $350 on 9 pieces of luggage. They were unable to pack up every last thing and so a friend came to pick up what they had to leave behind.
Talk about a rough start to the trip!!!
I talked to Dixie tonight (she was able to call from Port au Prince!) and she said she talked to the airline once they arrived in Florida and they confirmed that there really is no box embargo. Hopefully she can get this figured out once she returns and maybe get that money back!
Anyway, other than that, things have gone just fine and they arrived in Port au Prince with no other issues. Our friends Byron and Shelley picked them up from the airport and took them home where they spend the night tonight. Shelley fixed a delicious dinner as always!
Dixie said the team is doing well though everyone is tired from the long, overnight flights.

Pray for a good night of sleep for them!
Pray also for individuals as they adjust to a very different world and culture, especially for the ones taking their first trip. It can be quite a shock.
Pray for the group as Byron drives them the 4 hours north to Dessalines tomorrow morning.
And pray for them as they try to get organized for VBS which starts on Thursday. Because they had to repack everything into different luggage, Dixie said everything was just thrown in all mixed and disorganized.

So that you can pray for the team members by name, the team is made up of:

Aaron Day
Cherie Buzzell
Kasey Morrelli
Danny Morrelli
Joyce Olsen
Myrriah Hayden
Issabelle Hayden
Maria Hawkins
Maddie Mullen
Dixie Montgomery
Joshua McClintock

Grace, on behalf of the Hope in Haiti Board