It seems every Haiti trip has at least one transportation challenge. On our first trip, one of our team had some issues getting her ticket issued when we were leaving Haiti and returning home. I saw the concern on her face as she had to go back to the counter several times times, that "please don't strand me in Haiti" look. Then relief when they finally straightened everything out. We also ran into a fun transportation challenge when the road to Jeremie was blocked on day due to 'construction'. We waited 30 minutes or more while they 'fixed' the road, then ended up having to split the group and make 2 trips everywhere in a van because the bus couldn't make it thru the construction spot in the road.
On our October trip, we started with a thud as the flight from Nashville to Miami was cancelled. We ended up renting vans and driving to Atlanta to catch an early flight from Atlanta to miami the next day, only putting us a few hours behind original schedule. When we got to the guest house, the bus wasn't running and we had to be shuttled around in an suv. Dou Dou was driving the van back from Port Au Prince at the same time, and he was stopped bry a flooded river. He had to stay in the van for a day an a half until the water went down.
So with that kind of experience in 2 trips, I expected some kind of a logistical challenge on this third trip. Even anticipating some kind of curveball, I was a little surprised that I was the one facing the hurdle, and right out of the chute. As I handed over my passport tom the lady at the ticket counter, he lady behind the counter scanned it and starred at her screen a minute, a confused look coming over her face.
"Morris? I don't see you on here, could it be under another name?".
"No, it should be under Morris."
"Are you sure you're flying with American?"
"Yes, I'm sure. There is a group of 12 of us going to Haiti on a mission trip".
"I'm sorry, I don't have a Morris listed."
The voices in my head reassured me, pushing back the urge to panic. 'Ok, take a deep breath, you're GOING on this trip Mike. You've prepared, paid, and packed. This will work out.' I got Tami Heim our coordinator, and asked her for to help with a confirmation number. She got out the group information and the lady at the counter pulled up our group on her screen.
"Hmmm. Yes, I see your group, Longhollow right? Nope, no Morris here."
Another deep breath, 'don't panic, stay calm'.
"Ok", I said, "Can you tell us who you do have listed there and we'll compare it with our list?"
She started reading "I have two Heims, two Kings, a Mayo, a Michael, a ..."
"Wait", I interrupted. "A Michael?". Looking at Tami, she nodded.
"There is no Michael in our group.". Tami said, "I'm sure that's it".
The lady looked back at her screen. "It says 'Hugh Michael'".
Phew! "That's it, that's got to be it." I said, showing her my passport again,with my full name- Michael Hugh Morris. Someone had obviously read it wrong and gave my name as Michael Hugh or rather, Hugh Michael. It took another 15 minutes or so to correct the my name on the trip down and back. As the lady was correcting everything, my friend and fellow Haiti junkie, Brian Jackson, who was admittedly jealous that I was going and he wasn't, started teasing me.
"You're not going! You have to stay home with me." I smiled and resisted then urge to say something un-Christian. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief when she handed me my corrected ticket information and boarding passes. Not even one hour into the trip and we've already had our first bend in the road. Wow. If the trip is going to start this way, what else are we in for? A voice in my head responded, "I don't know, but you better buckle up...Hugh."
