I want to help John and Eric!

1/29/10

Today I went into the worst hit area of Port-Au-Prince.  I’m really finding it hard to write tonight; it’s hard to write through the tears.  It was just too much to take in -

We went by a college that was completely reduced to rubble.  Hundreds died in just that one site and they will be pulling bodies out for weeks.  Sometimes you deal with the stress by laughing and playing with the kids, other times you just start crying and can’t hold back the tears.  We also went to an orphanage, which was a bright spot in the day of seeing so much destruction.

Every evening we have been holding a service with the patients.  There are over 400 Haitians here in the compound.  I came to minister to the people and to see them sing and worship the Lord in the midst of such suffering, but they have ministered to me.  People who have had arms amputated can be seen lifting a stump and their good arm as they thank God for sparing their lives.

It’s about 1:00 am, so I had better get to bed.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

- John

I want to help John and Eric!

I know we’ve only been here for a few days, but I’ve already lost track of days and times.  Our day starts when we the sun rises and roosters crow.  We were told that since today was our first full day of work, and because there was enough people in the morning to help, that we could sleep in and check in for work around 11 am.  I would have been all for sleeping in that long, however, when it’s so hot you’re sweating in your tent around 8 am, sleeping in isn’t really a comfortable experience.

Today was a full day for John and me.  We started out working in the supplies/logistics area.  That means we helped organize and distribute the tons of medical supplies coming in.  Towards mid-day, John and I split up.  I was running full-tilt helping feed the Haitian translators, moving patients from the ICU unit (which is a modular trailer) to the patient care area (which is an open-air tent) to setting up a huge lodging tent which, in the end, had to be folded back up because it was shipped without all the poles.  That seems to be a fairly normal experience.  Things that you would expect to be here are missing, and then odd things, like lollipops, show up everywhere.  It is a chaotic experience at best, and yet I found it exhilarating to be running from place to place, bringing my Haitian work crew with me to help load bunk-beds at one place and moving medical supplies into a new storage room at another place.

At times I almost forget what’s going on around me.  I’m here helping move boxes, and because those boxes are in the place they are supposed to be, people’s lives are being saved.  There are tons of doctors and nurses around doing surgeries and check-ups all day, and they thank John and me continually for being here helping them have the things they need.

The atmosphere is incredible.  So many people here to help and people here because they know these people need more than just to see a doctor – they need the Master Physician.  They need to know that God loves them and nothing can separate them from that.

When I went into the patient care tent, it broke my heart to see so many people lying on mattresses on the dirt ground, many with rods and pins sticking out of their side or arms or legs.  There are a lot of wheel chairs with patients who just had a leg or foot amputated; I can’t imagine what it would be like facing the future after such a surgery.

And yet, in the tent where people were laying and often times moaning in pain, there began to be singing.  Rising gently and then becoming a full on clapping and joyful harmony of song, the patients were singing gospel songs in Creole, often followed by “amen” or “hallelujah”.  How does James put it, “Rejoice in your trials”?  I had shivers up and down my spine when I walked out of that tent because I knew that these people knew God in a way that went so much deeper than most people will ever know.  God is all they have, everything else is literally gone from their lives, and yet because they have Him they are rich, they can sing. 

These folks really have nothing.  One of the Haitian guys I was working with lost everything.  I asked him what he thought he would do next.  He looked into the distance and simply said, “I don’t know.” 

And yet it’s amazing to talk with them and ask them to teach me Creole and laugh together at the little things that happen throughout the day.  My Haitian friends love to try to teach me their language.  (I say try because I’m a pretty slow student and most of the time we end up using sign language – a lot of laughing at my expense, which I fully embrace.)

I’m excited as I look ahead and know I’ll be here another week and a half.  Yet, at the same time, I doubt things will get easier.  People and teams are constantly changing, moving in and moving out.  There is always a tension because the area hospital continues to fill with people who have no homes and no food.  Many offer to help work if we will give them a meal.  The organizations (Good Samaritan and a few others) are already straining to supply food to the volunteers and patients, running a food bill upwards of five or six thousand dollars a day.  After working a full day in the hot sun, a couple of guys from my crew came up asking me if they could please have some milk.  Again, I forgot my surroundings.  These guys have nowhere to go, and whatever I give them is the only thing they’ll be eating for the night and next morning.

I’m hoping John will share what his day was like today when he writes the next update.  He did more pastoral care, going around and talking to patients, listening to their story and praying for them.  I know it impacted him greatly and I look forward to doing some of the same ministry as things go on.
 
Thank you and bless you for your prayers and support for John and me.  As I reread my update, I realize it’s impossible to fully convey what things are like down here.  It is amazing, scary, exciting, and sad, all at the same time.  Please pray for strength as we work long hours in the sun, for opportunities to minister to patients and fellow workers, and for the work that is happening here to continue.
 
Bless you all, and may you know that whatever circumstances you find yourself in, with God there is always a reason to sing.

- Eric

I want to help John and Eric!

Due to changes in logistics, John and Eric will not be working with Convoy of Hope or MCC.  Instead, they will be working with Pastor Felix, John’s Haitian pastor-friend.  He will be their contact and interpreter.

Extra funds collected will still be divided between the two organizations, Convoy of Hope and MCC.

We got up at 6:00 am and rode the bus for about 7 hours to the Haitian border.  We made it to the compound that has a makeshift hospital and orphanage, and before we could set up our tents, we were asked to go with two trucks to the airport in Barona. 

We are on a compound with 40 doctors, doing 15-20 surgeries a day.  There are about 400 Haitians on site, many kids, babies and amputees.  We are doing support and organizing medical supplies and doing inventory as items come in.  The doctors were thrilled to get the medical supplies we brought.  They did not have a blood glucose monitor on the entire compound.  We have armed guards at the compound, so we are safe.

At the airport we loaded 48,000 pounds of medical supplies and food in two trucks.  When we got back to the compound we unloaded them.  We just finished getting medical supplies out of a container to be used to set up another hospital and just sat down for a breather.

It is now 11:30 pm (a 17-1/2 hour day).  We are going to get to bed soon so we can help tomorrow.  We were told that we might go and help set up an entire operating room in another area of Port au Prince.

- John

I want to help John and Eric!

Eric and I woke up at 6:00 am to catch a bus towards Haiti.  We bought tents as most of the aid workers are taxing the already stressed system.  We are sure glad that we prepared and have all we need in our packs (including protein meal bars in case we cannot eat a meal for a few days).

The bus ride from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is a six hour ride through the mountains.  We have extra bags of supplies, such as medical supplies and baby formula.  We will try to keep you updated and Eric and I would like to thank you again for your support and prayers.

- John

I want to help John and Eric!

John and I arrived late Monday night in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, tired but glad to have made it.  There are a lot of people flying into the DR who are then going to do relief work in Haiti. Almost a third of the people on my flight into the DR were going on to serve in the relief efforts.

There are still a lot of unknowns for everybody.  I talked with a couple doctors who were sitting next to me, part of a group of 20 doctors and nurses from Chicago.  They were looking forward to helping, but as of yet, still did not know where they would be working or staying.

At the baggage claim I bumped into a group serving with Youth With a Mission (YWAM).  They are planning on doing programs for the children in the resettlement camps around Port au Prince.  I learned John also had similar encounters with people going to serve in Haiti on his flight.  We both have several more contacts and phone numbers that will perhaps lead us into some of the specifics of where and what we’ll be doing.

We are praying for God to continue to lead and direct us.  Today we’d like to work out the details of crossing the border into Haiti and then whether or not we’ll stay there in Haiti or commute back and forth. Thank you to all of you who are praying for our trip. We are truly dependant on God for His guidance and strength.

-Eric

I want to help John and Eric!

Eric and I met at the Portland airport at 4:00 am.  This morning.  Eric was loaded down with his pack and checked baggage and carrying a soccer ball in his hands.  (I kind of wondered what an x-Ray of a soccer ball would look like.)  I’m sure that Eric’s choice of bringing the soccer ball will bring some joy for kids who have lost so much.

We met Pastor Felix, the Haitian pastor from Portland, who will be going with us into Haiti.  With all the news of looting and unrest, we felt much better knowing that a Haitian will be with us.  Pastor Felix got his ticket this morning and he will be flying to meet us in the Dominican Republic in a few days.  We are anxious to get to Haiti, but feel that waiting for him in the DR will be worth it.

Eric and I had a time of prayer together in the PDX airport before we left.  I am now sitting in Dallas Ft worth airport waiting for my flight to San Juan.  Eric and I will not meet up again until we get into Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“Lord God, please bless the people that sacrificed so much to send us to minister the love of Jesus in Haiti.  We pray for divine appointments and open doors.  Give us wisdom, direction and guidance.  Lord, we go as your hands extended…Amen.”

I want to help John and Eric!