Here's my first story from my recent trip to Haiti.  Before you continue to read this, I want to warn you that this is a serious subject, not at all like my usual attempt to bring some humor to my life.

I arrived in Port-au-Prince on Friday morning, the 11th of November.  On Monday morning, David received a call from a family friend.  Apparently, his family had been trying to reach him without any luck for over a week.  His younger brother, Samuel, who is 21 years old, had been kidnapped.  The kidnappers were demanding a ransom for his release.  Immediately, David got a hold of his family to find out what was going happening.  Then, he was able to call the kidnappers to speak with them.  They knew many things about David, which was why they took Samuel, because they felt that David could afford to pay the money to get Samuel back.  They know where he lives, his two previous bands, his siblings names, in other words, they had done their research.

At first, they asked for $100,000 US dollars!!!  Can you believe that?  They always start high, then come down in price.  Then, they said no less than $10,000 US.  Still, not even remotely a possibility for David's family. After all the negotiating, they finally settled on $3,000 US, which was all the family could come up with on short notice.  Then, they said if we didn't have the money by Monday, the 21st, Samuel would be not be coming home.

On the 21st, we had finally gotten the money together and set a time to exchange the money for Samuel.  David went with his brother-in-law and his sister while I stayed at home.  I waited and waited.  He finally returned about 6 hours later without Samuel.  The kidnappers sent them on a wild goose chase; then they thought the police were involved (which they weren't, wouldn't do any good anyway) so they wouldn't give him back.  So, we had to try again Tuesday.  Same story, except this time, they took the money, but didn't return Samuel.  They said they would in the morning at 10am.  We were ready and waiting Wednesday morning, but of course, it wasn't going as scheduled.  We spent the day waiting and trying to call.  Finally, we got the news that he was on his way late in the afternoon.  Then, David finally found out he had been left alone, so David drove to pick him up and bring him back around 6pm that evening.

Seeing Samuel that evening was very overwhelming knowing what he had just went through.  He had been held by these jerks for 22 days before we finally got him back.  Thankfully, he was only beaten one time.  After that, they left him alone thanks to David's calm demeanor on the telephone.

Watching David face the possibility of never seeing his brother again was challenging.  I couldn't even imagine how he was feeling.  He is very close to his brother.  It was like a part of him was missing the entire time.  Then, add to that, feeling completely helpless because you have no money in your pocket.  It's hard enough for any family to come up with $3,000 US dollars in cash, let alone a family where no one has a steady paycheck.

Thankfully, we were able to get Samuel back, and I was able to spend my last few days with David, Samuel, and their family.  David's family was lucky.  Not all people are returned after being kidnapped.  So, I will count my blessings for Samuel's life.  And, I will pray that it never happens again.

Here's a picture of David and Samuel from the last day of my vacation:

all I got to say is you got taste. Him and his brother are both good looking.Good choice

Thanks - I think so too! He's my hot boyfriend!!! :)

What's going on here?:o

Hey Meegs! Not really a comment on this story, but wanted to let you know I was thinking about ya and wondering if you were still in NoDak. Hope you're doing well and gearing up for beet harvesting season. ;)