Nurse Kelly went to the site of St. Vincent's, a hospital/orphanage for handicapped kids, largely destroyed in the quake. Someone on the street offered to show her where the feet of crushed children were visible. How can you react to an offer like that except to feel that you have stepped into Alice In Wonderland and fallen down the rabbit hole?
Then it happened to me at One Stop. Nancy and I were grieving at the ruins of my favorite grocery store when the building owner came up. I asked him how many people had died when the building collapsed. He, almost proudly, said "two", "do you want to see them?" [In case you find that hard to believe, yes, he meant that the dead bodies were still visible under the rubble and he thought we would want to look at them.] That was Tuesday. I left Haiti on Wednesday. One trip too many down the rabbit hole.
Relief workers come and go. Expatriates can get out for a break. A few Haitians can leave but most have no respite. Everything is dirty. Minutes after a bath you can once again feel grit on your face. Everyone is coughing from the dirt in the air. Please pray for God's peace, comfort and help for the Haitian people.
A mother brought a child to my door for help a couple of weeks ago. The little girl had a fever, cough and a fine rash all over her body: measles, I think. Her vaccination card said she had been vaccinated for measles. So much for vaccinations. Still, we have applied to Unicef to come vaccinate all of our children. I had ordered vaccines in December but they never came. Nancy sent word that Unicef came to the house with supplies since I left Haiti. Yay for Unicef!!!
Nancy arranged for our nanny Claudia to get a skin graft on her foot. It would never have healed without one: the wound was to large and deep. We took in a mom and baby the night before I left. Nancy's husband told me another mom and baby came in after I left. Then Nancy wrote that another baby and nanny came, too. We are very grateful for the tents, food and supplies donated by so many wonderful people and organizations---these donations help us to help others.
Word is out that Haiti president Rene Preval gave his life to Jesus this past Friday. Pray that it is true, that he will be filled with the Holy Spirit and listen to God's plan for Haiti, and that all government and political leaders and spiritual leader will follow suit. Does that sound impossible? Remember that we serve a God who can do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20
I can't remember or didn't get the names of all the groups who came to us immediately after the quake to bring food and supplies, prayer and love, and any kind of help we could possibly need. Some of those who stand out are
- Mission Support International http://www.msihaiti.com;/
- Karen Bultje - Haiti Coram Deo http://haiticoramdeo.blogspot.com/
- Much Ministries http://muchministries.org/haiti/
- Christian Light Foundation, Inc. http://www.christianlightfoundation.com/
- New Hope Haiti Mission http://nhhm.wordpress.com/
- Operation Blessing http://www.ob.org/disasterrelief/
- Pennies for Orphans http://www.penniesfororphans.org/index.html
Others came later but were just as indispensable
- King's Kids Worldwide http://kings-kids.ca/
- Love A Child http://www.loveachild.com/
- Keziah Furth http://myhaitiankids.blogspot.com/ and Cmdr Strong
- Agape Flights http://www.agapeflights.com/
- MFI http://www.missionaryflights.org/
- Omaha Rapid Response http://omaharapidresponse.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html
- Somebody Cares America http://www.somebodycares.org/pages.asp?pageid=94682
I hesitate to name these groups because I know there were others who also helped. I thank God for each and every one of them and beg forgiveness for not listing everyone.
I will return to Haiti Saturday morning Feb 20 greatly strengthened by this chance to mourn and rest, and ready to go back to work.
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