Well, it's been three months since the earthquake, and we are still working towards finding a new kind of normal for our lives here in Haiti. We have been living and sleeping back in our house for two months now, and we hardly ever get tremors that send us jumping out of bed anymore. Both the medical and the eye clinics are working out of a school building that wasn't damaged in the quake, and it is going fairly well. The school kids are back in their uniforms, making blessed noise during the day, going to classes in big army tents set up in the soccer field. Nora is growing, cruising around on the furniture, and totally oblivious to the fact that there was a life-changing event a few months past. Her newest adventure is food. She has discovered that she loves it, and we love watching her eat it.
Our Haitian friends are also getting their lives back on track as best they can. Through generous Stateside donations we've been able to help several of them rebuild their homes, plant their fields and set up sturdier temporary housing. Marie Lourdes and Emmanuel came to visit us over Easter weekend, and we have been trying to get Marie Lourdes some medical help for her illness. It was fun to have them here and remember the old days in Seguin. They tried to fill us in on all the local news.
Even though we have found new places to shop, new places to work, and new places to relax, there are still many things about the pre-earthquake days that I miss. Some days I miss them more than others. Here is a list of some of the things that I wish we still had here with us:
-Daphne. Her smile, her shy ways, her voice singing along to english praise and worship tapes, her hatred of tarantulas and roaches, her eagerness to learn crochet, her friendliness, her help around the house. We can't replace you, Daphne, and we miss you.
-CSI guesthouse on Delmas 62. Greg and Cathie are still in the guesthouse business and have relocated, but I'll always miss the house on Delmas 62. It was the first place I lived when I moved to Haiti, and it always felt like home to me.
-Caribbean Supermarket. You just can't find another grocery store in Port au Prince with grated cheese, bags of chocolate bars, lightly salted peanuts and lime tortilla chips. It still brings a shiver down my spine every time I remember that Ryan and Nora and I were blissfully shopping there three hours before it fell to the ground, trapping hundreds inside.
-The front porch at the old clinic. Preaching devotions just isn't the same now that all our patients are spread out in the front yard of the school, with a loud generator in the background and screaming school children rushing to class. I never thought I'd say this, but we need a megaphone!
-The Eye Clinic. I miss seeing my husband go to work every day at his own clinic. My heart hurts for him as he and his employees sweat like they're in a sauna in his classroom with plastic sheets on the windows. The sheets are to block the sun for better exams, but they block any breeze that comes through, too. It is hard to see them not be able to make glasses yet, also. I know it's frustrating for them and their patients.
There, I vented and it feels good. But I don't want to end on a sad note. There are so many things to be grateful for. First and foremost that we are all safe and healthy. I'm thankful that David and Evelyn came back to stay with us for a few months. I'm thankful for our house. I'm thankful that diesel and propane and food never became scarce, like we thought they might. I'm thankful that each Sunday more and more people keep answering God's call to salvation and giving their lives over to Him. And I'm thankful that God put us in Haiti for such a time as this.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Day of The Thing
Updates on life in haiti since the quake: We are still sleeping outside in a tent. It's nice and cozy (a little too cozy for great sleep, but at least it's dry and mosquito free). There are a group of engineers here doing assessments on the buildings, and they will suggest to us what we need to do to make our house safe to sleep in again. We spend time in our home in the evenings and even get to watch some tv, so that helps us feel more normal. And we are thankful that we do have a home to retreat to, as many missionaries here have lost their homes, along with many haitians in our area. I've been performing a very unofficial census among my patients, asking them if they've lost their homes and lost loved ones, and it seems that about 80 percent of them have lost their homes, and almost 90 percent have lost at least one loved one. My patients don't often refer to it as "January 12th" or as "the day of the earthquake"... most of the time they say "The day of the thing". I don't know if that's because they don't understand what happened that day, or because not naming it makes it less scary.
We are very thankful to Community Christian Church for the shipment of non-perishables and tents and tarps that they sent our way. We are still looking for more tents and tarps to distribute, although right now shipping things here has become very tricky. Once we figure out a good way to get goods in again, we'll let everyone know how to help. When the first shipment of tents and tarps came in, we went to some of our employees' yards and erected some tents. It was fun, and also very encouraging to see that many of them had already made some temporary shelter of some kind. Many were just out of sheets and sticks, but others had scavanged through the debris and built little shacks out of wooden doors and frames and tin. There are many tent cities going up all over this area, and many families are building what are referred to in haiti as "kay pay"... houses built out of sticks, fronds, corn husks, or sugar cane bundles. In seguin a lot of people live in kay pay made out of corn husks. Here in leogane, there isn't much corn but there is an abundance of sugar cane, so the kay pays are going up with sugar cane walls. A haitian friend who grew up in this area and is back for a visit told us that 30 years ago, most of the people out here lived in sugar cane kay pays. So I guess life is reverting back to the way it was a long time ago. I'm sure it's hard for these families, who have worked so hard to build nice cement houses, to go back to living in stick shacks. They don't seem to be too discouraged, though.
In general, the spirit of the haitian people around us is hopeful. They believe they'll rebuild their homes, somehow. Many are finding work by clearing roads of debris or tearing down buildings. The market places are still bustling with local produce. Our employees still give big smiles of greeting when they pass us by. The church pews are full every sunday and the congregation sings just as loud, if not louder, than they did before the "day of the thing".
We are very thankful to Community Christian Church for the shipment of non-perishables and tents and tarps that they sent our way. We are still looking for more tents and tarps to distribute, although right now shipping things here has become very tricky. Once we figure out a good way to get goods in again, we'll let everyone know how to help. When the first shipment of tents and tarps came in, we went to some of our employees' yards and erected some tents. It was fun, and also very encouraging to see that many of them had already made some temporary shelter of some kind. Many were just out of sheets and sticks, but others had scavanged through the debris and built little shacks out of wooden doors and frames and tin. There are many tent cities going up all over this area, and many families are building what are referred to in haiti as "kay pay"... houses built out of sticks, fronds, corn husks, or sugar cane bundles. In seguin a lot of people live in kay pay made out of corn husks. Here in leogane, there isn't much corn but there is an abundance of sugar cane, so the kay pays are going up with sugar cane walls. A haitian friend who grew up in this area and is back for a visit told us that 30 years ago, most of the people out here lived in sugar cane kay pays. So I guess life is reverting back to the way it was a long time ago. I'm sure it's hard for these families, who have worked so hard to build nice cement houses, to go back to living in stick shacks. They don't seem to be too discouraged, though.
In general, the spirit of the haitian people around us is hopeful. They believe they'll rebuild their homes, somehow. Many are finding work by clearing roads of debris or tearing down buildings. The market places are still bustling with local produce. Our employees still give big smiles of greeting when they pass us by. The church pews are full every sunday and the congregation sings just as loud, if not louder, than they did before the "day of the thing".
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Life in the midst of death
Through all the horror stories of the past couple of days, a few joyous moments shine through to help us keep pressing on. The night of the earthquake, a woman gave birth to a tiny baby boy right in front of the Christianville gate. His cries during that horrendous night helped us remember that life goes on. The next day, two other babies were born at Christianville. One was delivered by Amy and Evelyn, the other was delivered by Jenn. All three of those ladies had been longing to deliver a baby, and they finally got their wish! The babies are healthy and have no idea of the chaos surrounding them.
Another joyous thing we are seeing in the midst of this tragedy is an increased response to the gospel. At church on Sunday, there were at least 7 visitors who made decisions for Christ. At clinic on Monday, another woman was saved. Pastors in our community are going around to the various "tent cities" and preaching the gospel. They are reporting many people coming to know the Lord just this past week. Please pray that these new believers will take their faith seriously, be discipled, and become strong Christians. Pray that God can use this earthquake to shake Haiti away from voodoo and towards the living and all-powerful God of creation.
Monday, January 18, 2010
As far as we know
For those of you who are wondering about friends you have made here in Haiti, here is a list of people we know who survived, did not survive, and those whose status is still not known:
Survivors:
Seguin boys in the Jacmel boys home
Danny and Leann (and all the Jacmel missionaries)
Greg and Cathie (and all the CSI missionaries)
Sue Witt and her orphans
All the employees of the eye clinic and their immediate families
All the employees of the dental clinic
All of the clinic employees
All the orphans at Val's orphanage
Most Christianville employees including pastors (see exceptions below)
Survivors:
Seguin boys in the Jacmel boys home
Danny and Leann (and all the Jacmel missionaries)
Greg and Cathie (and all the CSI missionaries)
Sue Witt and her orphans
All the employees of the eye clinic and their immediate families
All the employees of the dental clinic
All of the clinic employees
All the orphans at Val's orphanage
Most Christianville employees including pastors (see exceptions below)
Pastor Roro, Pastor Gerard, Toto (?)
Margarethe
Margarethe
Sony
Bubba
Mikey
Margarethe's family
Christnet's family
Pastor Johnny
Roger, from Seguin (who personally came to visit me here in christianville this week and told me all in seguin were doing pretty well)
Passed away:
Daphne
I will try to update the list and we get more information. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Pastor Johnny
Roger, from Seguin (who personally came to visit me here in christianville this week and told me all in seguin were doing pretty well)
Passed away:
Daphne
I will try to update the list and we get more information. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Earthquake update
I've received a lot of messages on facebook and email about the situation here and how people can help, so here's an update for all of you. Thank you so much for your concern and prayers.
The earthquake hit about 20 minutes after we drove into our driveway (we had arrived in port that same day and went grocery shopping before heading home). I was walking in the road on my way to the clinic when the earthquake began. Ryan was outside in our driveway, and Eleanor was outside in the hands of Connie Nichols. We all struggled to keep our balance during the quake, which seemed to last forever. When the tremors subsided, I saw that the first floor of the apartments of Jim, Sandy and Jen (the apartment complex where I used to live) had collapsed. I ran to the clinic to see if they were there, then ran back when we realized they were inside. As I came back, I saw Jim and Sandy in the road, covered with dust. They had escaped through a new hole in the side of their house. Jen was safe also. Ryan came running up, and we walked back to find Nora together. At this point we had no idea of the magnitude of what was happening. We heard that there was a person at the guesthouse who was injured. I had some supplies in my bag from donations that Sherry Donovan had given me stateside, so I pulled those out and began working on the patient. I foolishly thought that she might be the only one injured. Soon after we began working on her, a steady stream of people began flowing into the yard. Some were injured and others were just homeless and scared. We separated the groups and began working on the injured. A group of people went back to the clinic and braved the gases and dust and cracks in the wall to get a truckload of supplies and bring them to our triage area near the guesthouse. Others set up lights, because darkness was fast falling. As we looked through the crowd and began treating wounds, the extent of the injuries astounded us. As soon as we thought we saw the worst case, another patient even more injured would come along. Many had severed and mangled limbs, many had serious head wounds, one woman was paralyzed from the waist down, the majority of the people who came had at least one broken limb. One woman was in labor and delivered in the driveway. Two other women came the next day and delivered their babies without complications. Several people were dead on arrival, and many more were so severely injured that we were confident they would die within a few days. Jim and I felt helpless at times in the face of such grave injuries and such limited supplies. We worked until about 5 am, and then tried to sleep for about half an hour. Then the injured came again, en masse.
We set up shop at the church, which was still standing, although it had some concerning cracks in its outer walls. Sandy and Nannie triaged the masses of people who came to the church for help, choosing about 40 of them. The rest were left to find help elsewhere, if possible. Jim and I, with the help of the team, sutured people and splinted fractures. Jim performed some amputations. Jen delivered a baby in a pew. A woman died of blood loss as she was lying in front of the altar. Almost everyone had a story of a loved one that was lost. Evelyn and Connie watched Nora for me so I could work. Ryan was busy attending to our house, which suffered flood damage. Throughout the day, small tremors kept our nerves on end, and as we were finishing up our last few patients, a large tremor rocked the building and sent us all running out the door. The building stood, but we finished up our last patients in the yard.
Today was a day of regrouping for the missionaries. We are basically out of medical supplies, so opening up a clinic today was useless. We focused on contacting loved ones, taking pictures, getting possessions out of destroyed houses. The eye clinic is not able to be opened because of stuctural unsoundness, so we don't know the extent of the damage there. The medical clinic is not too stable as it is. Our house is livable. None of us are sleeping inside at this point. There are too many tremors still. We have our mattresses in the open air, and Nora is comfortable in her pack n play with her mosquito net.
We learned of the death of our housekeeper, Daphne, this morning. She was only in her early 20s. We haven't heard from any of our other haitian friends in Port or Seguin. The Jacmel boys are safe.
God is good. We have heard of many people who want to come help, and at this point we are strongly urging no one to come. We don't have access to enough food or fuel to support more people here. If you would like to help, please send donations to Commuity Christian Church, 10001 W. Commercial Blvd, Tamarac, FL 33351 and designate it for "Earthquake".
Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for no rain at night, since everyone in this part of the country is sleeping outside. Pray for order to replace chaos, and calm to come to our hearts and the hearts of the haitians.
The earthquake hit about 20 minutes after we drove into our driveway (we had arrived in port that same day and went grocery shopping before heading home). I was walking in the road on my way to the clinic when the earthquake began. Ryan was outside in our driveway, and Eleanor was outside in the hands of Connie Nichols. We all struggled to keep our balance during the quake, which seemed to last forever. When the tremors subsided, I saw that the first floor of the apartments of Jim, Sandy and Jen (the apartment complex where I used to live) had collapsed. I ran to the clinic to see if they were there, then ran back when we realized they were inside. As I came back, I saw Jim and Sandy in the road, covered with dust. They had escaped through a new hole in the side of their house. Jen was safe also. Ryan came running up, and we walked back to find Nora together. At this point we had no idea of the magnitude of what was happening. We heard that there was a person at the guesthouse who was injured. I had some supplies in my bag from donations that Sherry Donovan had given me stateside, so I pulled those out and began working on the patient. I foolishly thought that she might be the only one injured. Soon after we began working on her, a steady stream of people began flowing into the yard. Some were injured and others were just homeless and scared. We separated the groups and began working on the injured. A group of people went back to the clinic and braved the gases and dust and cracks in the wall to get a truckload of supplies and bring them to our triage area near the guesthouse. Others set up lights, because darkness was fast falling. As we looked through the crowd and began treating wounds, the extent of the injuries astounded us. As soon as we thought we saw the worst case, another patient even more injured would come along. Many had severed and mangled limbs, many had serious head wounds, one woman was paralyzed from the waist down, the majority of the people who came had at least one broken limb. One woman was in labor and delivered in the driveway. Two other women came the next day and delivered their babies without complications. Several people were dead on arrival, and many more were so severely injured that we were confident they would die within a few days. Jim and I felt helpless at times in the face of such grave injuries and such limited supplies. We worked until about 5 am, and then tried to sleep for about half an hour. Then the injured came again, en masse.
We set up shop at the church, which was still standing, although it had some concerning cracks in its outer walls. Sandy and Nannie triaged the masses of people who came to the church for help, choosing about 40 of them. The rest were left to find help elsewhere, if possible. Jim and I, with the help of the team, sutured people and splinted fractures. Jim performed some amputations. Jen delivered a baby in a pew. A woman died of blood loss as she was lying in front of the altar. Almost everyone had a story of a loved one that was lost. Evelyn and Connie watched Nora for me so I could work. Ryan was busy attending to our house, which suffered flood damage. Throughout the day, small tremors kept our nerves on end, and as we were finishing up our last few patients, a large tremor rocked the building and sent us all running out the door. The building stood, but we finished up our last patients in the yard.
Today was a day of regrouping for the missionaries. We are basically out of medical supplies, so opening up a clinic today was useless. We focused on contacting loved ones, taking pictures, getting possessions out of destroyed houses. The eye clinic is not able to be opened because of stuctural unsoundness, so we don't know the extent of the damage there. The medical clinic is not too stable as it is. Our house is livable. None of us are sleeping inside at this point. There are too many tremors still. We have our mattresses in the open air, and Nora is comfortable in her pack n play with her mosquito net.
We learned of the death of our housekeeper, Daphne, this morning. She was only in her early 20s. We haven't heard from any of our other haitian friends in Port or Seguin. The Jacmel boys are safe.
God is good. We have heard of many people who want to come help, and at this point we are strongly urging no one to come. We don't have access to enough food or fuel to support more people here. If you would like to help, please send donations to Commuity Christian Church, 10001 W. Commercial Blvd, Tamarac, FL 33351 and designate it for "Earthquake".
Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for no rain at night, since everyone in this part of the country is sleeping outside. Pray for order to replace chaos, and calm to come to our hearts and the hearts of the haitians.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Marie Lourdes
Hello prayer warriors. I just wanted to ask you all to please pray for Marie Lourdes. Many of you know her... she was my neighbor right next to the clinic in Seguin. She and Emmanuel (the guy who used to be janitor at the clinic) have six children... two girls and four boys. Just recently Emmanuel called me and asked for help, because Marie Lourdes was so sick he was afraid she was dying. I forwarded some funds to him and told him to get to the hospital in Jacmel with her (it was about the time I was flying back to the states for Christmas, so I couldn't help out at our clinic). He brought her down to St. Michel hospital in Jacmel (horrible place, but the only hospital he could get to), and she is in critical condition there. I believe it is her ulcer and other digestive issues, but she is very near death. Danny is visiting her in the hospital and giving us updates on her condition. She left all six children in the mountains to fend for themselves (including her nine month old daughter). Please pray for her health and healing. Pray for the doctors to care and be wise in her treatment. Pray for her children, and for Emmanuel, who often is lost without her to help him make decisions. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
Monday, November 9, 2009
On the Lighter Side
I was standing in front of a crowd of our patients last Tuesday, about ready to share the gospel message with them during our daily devotional time. As I opened my Bible to begin reading, I was interrupted by a commotion in the clinic's front yard. A little put off, I turned to see what was going on. There was a man trying to coax his donkey out of our courtyard. He was hitting it and pulling it and the donkey was being, well, mule-headed. Finally, after the patients and I had stared at him for a minute or two, he managed to pull the beast out into the street. I turned back to the passage that I had planned on sharing with the crowd, which was Psalm 32:9. "Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you." I had prayed earlier that morning that God would send His Spirit ahead of me to prepare the hearts of the patients to receive His Word, but I had not expected Him to provide me with a sermon illustration, too!
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