You will hear us use the phrase “packing a container” in context of sending a missionary family to the field. So what exactly happens when we pack a container? The family going has to pack their household belongings very securely, with most items in plastic bins that have been zip-tied shut and the furniture bubble wrapped and well protected. Everything has to be numbered and inventoried because a complete manifest must be submitted to customs as it leaves the US and enters Haiti. They have to send everything that they’ll need to set up house and for each person in the family for several years. Besides clothes, furniture, appliances, tools, paint, garden implements, there will be such things as laundry soap, toilet paper, non-perishable food items, etc.
They transport (UHaul!) everything to the RMI office in Ft. Myers, Florida where a 40 ft. sea container has been ordered and “dropped”, waiting to be loaded. Needed equipment such as a pallet jack, forklift, packing blankets, rope, straps, pallets, etc. have been gathered. Volunteers, RMI staff and the missionary family all work together to unload the UHaul and transfer everything to the container.
The family’s items are loaded and packed tightly, often up to the ceiling, which takes up about half of the container. Loaded next are supplies for RMI’s missionaries and many ministries. For example, in the Starkey’s container, we were able to send 46 pillows and 8 sets of sheets, a freezer to keep food and make ice for teams, kitchen supplies, bulk toilet paper and paper towels, 3 types of fans, 2 large capacity coffee pots, and other supplies for the Zanglais Ministry Center.
The men also loaded 36 tires, lumber for various projects, 3 motorcycles and 2 four-wheelers (one for the Starkeys) to provide additional transportation so vehicles don’t have to be used, 8 heavy-duty cots and 4 camp chairs for use in receiving teams, roof sealant for the Nunemaker’s concrete home, a microwave, and a 3 ton and 4 ton floor jack for the garage. Several C3 Partner churches sent items to their Haitian partner churches, too. As you can tell, it’s an unusual mix of things and each container is different, depending on the needs of the Haiti field at the time.
Loading the container usually takes 2-3 days. Working in the container under the hot Florida sun is like laboring in a sauna, so we provide a lot of ice water and cooling breaks in the office air conditioning. Packing it well is like putting together a giant, life-sized 1000 piece puzzle. In addition, one has to keep in mind that the really heavy things have to be put on the bottom and lighter and fragile things on the top. Each motorcycle has to be strapped down and you have to think of how to protect things if the load shifts (Remember, it will be trucked to Miami, lifted onto a container ship, travel overseas to the port of Port-au-Prince, off-loaded onto a cab then travel on pothole-filled roads and even some unpaved road sections to RMI’s facilities at Cayes!).
It is a labor of love for the ministry and hopefully, in about 8 weeks, it’ll arrive in Cayes and the Starkeys and everyone else will have their items.
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