Just a couple of weeks ago, retired officers Colonels Dennis and Noella Phillips (pictured above with Yves Montoban, a Salvation Army employee in Haiti) chose to take a week to serve Salvationists in Haiti, where they served as Territorial Commanders for some time. They were there spending time with Officers, soldiers, and children. And as is often the case with those who travel overseas, they were blessed probably more than they thought they would be.
Through a series of three letters, Col. Dennis Phillips tried to take an account of their activities. Over the next three days, I will post them here for you to read. Enjoy and be blessed!
“Thanks to all who prayed for our uncomplicated and safe arrival in Port-au-Prince. We knew we were at some risk due to the abundance of overweight luggage, but read on to see how God “made the crooked paths straight” for us.
ARRIVAL AT OHARE: Paul drove us to the airport (7 am) and unloaded the van. Immediately, there was a huge cart available, and soon a “red cap” appeared who took us into the terminal. I went directly to the Luggage Supervisor Director (as directed by American Airlines) and requested a waiver of overweight and extra luggage. We had prayed about this and had asked many to also pray, so I was pretty confident. Much to my surprise and disappointment, I received a resounding NO. “We are not doing that any more. We’ve done that a lot for Haiti, but we are not doing it any longer.” Whoa. I didn’t see that coming. I pursued the idea of a partial waiver, but received the same definitive reply. Disappointed and reluctantly preparing to pay $400 – $500 in extra luggage and overweight fees, we approached the counter. Upon seeing our uniforms, the counter agent gave us a huge smile, looked at our excessive luggage and winked. She produced our boarding passes and tagged all six huge and heavy suitcases, then apologized that she could do nothing about the two extra bags, “but,” she said, “I don’t have to charge you for the overweight baggage.” (Savings: $200 that we can give to The Salvation Army in Haiti.)
Once on the plane, we were joined in our three-seat arrangement by another Christian who was going to Haiti (his first such visit), and our conversation with him was inspiring.
In Miami, we were approached by a British couple who wanted to share their story of volunteering with the Army in England. Then, when we went to Gate E6 (a place we had been 10 times before in our previous trip to Haiti), the ticket counter agents greeted us warmly, looked at our tickets (row 29) and said, “We’re going to move you forward.” When we found Row 17 A-B, we discovered they had assigned us the two seats usually reserved for flight attendants when they have a long flight. Miami to Port-au-Prince is only 90 minutes, so they gave us the two seats which were in a totally private compartment…lots of leg room plus a curtain that separated us from the rest of the cabin. The flight attendants were very accommodating, and we arrived in Port-au-Prince well rested.
Upon arrival at the heavily damaged terminal (temporary accommodations had been built), we were met by a young man who worked there and who attended the Army in Port-au-Prince. He retrieved all our luggage, and by the time the last piece came across on the luggage conveyor, Major Lamartiniere arrived and guided us through customs. The customs official asked us what was in the suitcases, and we answered, “medical and educational supplies, toys and T-shirts.” He only asked, “How many suitcases have medical supplies.” I mistakenly told him, “Two,” (Noella reminded me we had medicine in four suitcases), but the Customs Officers waved us forward. We felt God’s presence every step of the way.
There is no way I will ever be able to describe the next leg of our journey. Major Lamartineire drove us through the city…past the President’s palace, the Cathedral, tent city after tent city and through the rubble of a city destroyed. To see thousands of people living in hot tents positioned side by side with little hope of rescue for months….years to come was difficult to behold.
But there was a sharp contrast which could be seen between the energetic life of a City destroyed and a people who refused to give up. Merchants were everywhere selling their wares, children in uniforms were walking to and from school and traffic was – typical of Port-au-Prince – chaotic. We will be taken on a complete tour on Friday and Saturday.
After an hour’s drive, we arrived at the Retreat Center, a little Garden of Eden amidst the dusty ruins of the City. It is operated by a Baptist group, and the food has been wonderful (fresh baked bread, for instance and the taste of fresh fruit that can only be experienced in the tropics), there is a large swimming pool and the rooms are OK (no AC of course, but at night, it cools down to a comfortable 85 degrees.)
The real payoff has been seeing the officers of Haiti again and sensing their indomitable spirit. To hear them sing, “No, we never, never, never will give in…for we mean to have the victory forever” will remain in my memory bank as long as I live. Despite living in tents and sleeping outdoors on the ground (including one 80 year old retired officer), they remain resilient, confident and determined to be defeated by this tragedy.
Stay tuned. More later.”