How does Connie get from Florida to Haiti and back?

West Palm Beach Florida based Missionary Flights International (MFI -- see their link to the right) has been serving missions in Haiti and the Caribbean for more years than I have been in Haiti! This DC3 is one of several in their fleet. MFI flies from West Palm to Cap Haitien Haiti on the north coast usually twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. They also fly to Port-au-Prince once a week or so and they have periodic flights to the Dominican Republic. They even fly into Pignon once in a while! They also do relief work and fly work teams to areas in need like the Bahamas and, most recently, the Gulf Coast.

For the missions in the North of Haiti and many in other parts as well, MFI can be a life line. In addition to flying missinaries back and forth to the States, they fly teams of visitors for the missions they serve. They also fly in mail and cargo from the US. So, if you've always wondered why I work in Haiti, but my mailing address is West Palm Beach, Florida, MFI is why. You mail my things to MFI and they bring them to me the next Tuesday! It's a nice system. MFI will even do purchasing for me and for HAFF. If I fill out a purchase order this Tuesday and enclose a check, I will most likely have the items shipped in the next Tuesday.

We have chosen to only get mail and cargo once a week, even though MFI comes to Haiti twice. That is because it is a 44 mile, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hour drive to Cap Haitien on the north coast to meet the plane. And that is a drive over muddy roads (see the earlier post about mud!) and through rivers. We love it when MFI flies into Pignon!!! since Pignon's airport is a grass strip, MFI can not fly up too often. They have to do more maintenance and purchase extra insurance when they come to Pignon.

If you do check out the MFI website, be sure to look at the pictures of what MFI does. There is a photo of a person wearing a silly hat and a big grin as she holds up a mail bag prominantly marked HAFF. That is me!!!