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Updates from SWI's
Outreach in Haiti
UPDATE 8:
- 02/16/2010
This is going to be my second-to-last entry for the mission trip to Haiti.
I am now in the DR waiting on my flight. Because of commitments at home, I was unable to spend the entire time with the team.
After I have a chance to digest what I have experienced here in the next few days,
I will send out a summary. Please continue to keep the entire
SWI team in your prayers as they complete the Lord's work in Haiti.
Yesterday, B.F. and I were at Pastor D.'s house
installing another water system. He has a beautiful family and a heart full of love.
He lost dozens of members of his congregation in the
earthquake. In spite of this, his smile is easy and his graciousness
is like a warm blanket.
Every travel advisory I have seen has strongly cautioned against eating food from street vendors, so
B.F. and I were faced with quite a dilemma when
Pastor brought us our lunch (without our knowledge) from a local street vendor.
It was likely that he was going without so we could
eat, so B.F. and I ate a meal of mystery meat, corn, fried bananas and french fries.
Remarkably, neither one of us suffered from any GI distress.
While we were there, the rest of the team was at
Pastor J's doing a clinic for the local folks around his mission home.
Before B.F. and I left, they had started and were already seeing very sick people in desperate need of medical attention.
By the time we got back at 3:30 pm, they were just breaking for lunch and had seen 121 people at that point and were getting ready to go back at it.
Today they were going to do the same thing.
It was time for me to head to the airport to hopefully catch a military transport.
If a person has a US passport, they are able to get on one of the empty cargo planes as it heads back to the states.
It is prioritized based on medical need, elderly, and parents traveling with children.
There is no schedule and you just have to wait around to see if you can get on.
It became obvious that I was not going to be able to make this flight.
As it turns out, there was a group of missionaries from Mission Discovery that were traveling with a pastor that I struck up a conversation with.
They were with one P.C.E. who happened to be speaking at the rally that I was telling you about yesterday in front of the presidential palace.
I need to make a correction though, the crowd was not 100,000 he told me that it was estimated at close to 1,000,000.
It was a lot of people. He happens to be a confidante of the president of Haiti and has been working with him toward this revival.
I ended up staying at the same hotel as this group and went to dinner with them where
P.E. told me that he is already working with 250 local pastors to bring an international revival to P-au-P next January.
He understands the need to keep the spiritual momentum going in the country and is very optimistic that it is going to take root.
We talked about the idea that if you are following God´s desire for you, you will be stepping into the abundant life that He has promised for us.
When the president of Haiti got up to address the crowd, he said "Ï am not coming before you as your
President, I am coming before you as a Christian
brother."
Keep praying for Haiti. They are getting it.
UPDATE 7:
- 02/15/2010
We packed up and moved this
morning, but not before enjoying a worship service
for awhile. We
got there at
9:00 am
which was 3 hours after the service started. We were
all able to say an encouraging word to a crowd of
around 800, which was also being broadcast on the
radio. After
we left the service, it went on for another 3 hours.
Church is definitely different here. Pretty
amazing stuff. The
pastor has already seen signs of change in his
small community.
The girls and women at the orphanage cooked a
wonderful lunch and we packed up the truck and
headed out to our new destination. This
was a new experience for most of the team as they
had not ridden in the back of an open truck before.
As we rode, we went through the downtown area of
P-au-P, which was almost totally destroyed. If the
buildings weren’t collapsed, they will need to be
brought down because of how bad the damage is.
We are talking about a 10+ square block area of the
main commerce and business section of town which is
completely destroyed. The
sight was overwhelming in scope and human loss.
We have gone from a very rural setting to a totally
urban one. Instead of sleeping under the stars, we
will be sleeping in a house under construction --
very safe with no damage.
Tomorrow, the medical team will be running a clinic
inside a compound. It
is expected to be rather crowded. B.F.
and I will be setting up another water system for a
different pastor in a very poor area.
UPDATE 6:
- 02/14/2010
This is going to be short as it is close to midnight and we just finished what we could of the water system at the orphanage with the help of the other men on the team. Needless to say, it was another long day for the SWI team in Haiti.
The medical folks held a clinic for the townsfolks today and the Canadian military came by with food boxes for about four hundred families which we were able to distribute as well.
It is remarkable how many countries are helping in this effort. I have seen Peru, Canada, Cuba, Switzerland and Argentina, just to name just a few.
One thing new I learned today is that OSHA (US) is the governing body in disasters all over the world when the country will accept outside
help and they seem to operate quite efficiently.
We have been hearing from several different sources how the American media is spinning the Haitian call to fasting and prayer.
One report we heard was that it is three days of mourning for closure.
Another said it is an effort by the "religious types" to impose an opportunistic revival.
Let me set the record straight, in no uncertain terms. This is a call by Christian Haitian leaders to turn towards God and the country is listening. First of all, the country has already gone through
its three days of mourning a few weeks ago. Secondly, there is no way enough Creole speaking American evangelists could get down here and get this organized while this country is in this level of chaos.
Finally, I witnessed with my own eyes the TENS-OF-THOUSANDS of people in full contact,
hands raised, dancing in the streets, singing at the top of their lungs in worship.
The pastors here laugh at the notion that it is anything other than what I have told you.
UPDATE 5:
- 02/13/2010
Friday was another "wall-to-wall" day for the team. The medical part of the team held a clinic here at the orphanage which was a great success.
B.F. and I went with P.J. to get supplies for the purifiers.
The beginning of the trip was very surreal as the roads were empty with none of the vendors out and very few people were milling about.
Understand that at all hours of daylight, the city is like New York at rush hour.
Just add in a magnitude of scooters and fill every square inch of sidewalk space with vendors selling food made on the spot. Virtually everyone was in the prayer services and many of them spilled into the streets with worshipers.
We headed there because we got word that the three wayward medical bags had made it. Praise God!
In the middle of the day, one of our translators, who is a pastor, received a call from his wife saying that her sister had just died from an untreated injury from the earthquake. She was in P-au-P when the earthquake hit and suffered some internal injuries. She was not aware of how severely she was injured and wanted to be with family in the mountains.
Her bleeding became worse to the point of severe pain and they tried to get her from the village to the hospital on a motorcycle. She died en route.
Mathilde Belizaire was 44 and leaves a husband and 2 children.
Yet God still shows Himself amazing.
As we were eating dinner, P.J. received a phone call saying that there was a medical emergency in the village.
One of the local women was in labor. Our nurses' eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.
Four of them went to help this woman deliver a baby girl on the sidewalk in front of a group of 30+ cheering villagers.
The baby had a very difficult time coming to and had it not been for the medical bags having made it only hours earlier with the proper medical supplies, the baby probably would not have made it.
Unbelievable.
Her name is Zoe Christiana. meaning "new life in
Christ." We all wonder what God has planned for this child to orchestrate so many circumstances to ensure Zoe's survival.
UPDATE 4:
- 02/12/2010
Today is the one month anniversary of the earthquake
and the SWI team is joining the nation of Haiti today in the leaders’ call to fast and
pray. Recognize that it is the Haitian leaders that have recognized that God is a jealous God and they are seeing the earthquake as a "shaking of the foundation of Haiti.”
Many voodoo priests are turning to the True God and recognizing the evil that is associated with that cult. Many, many people are joining in with the 3 days of fasting and praying. Local churches are joining together in large groups which are spilling out into the streets. Many businesses are closed. The nation is waking up.
Our team is joining in by fasting (probably the next 3 days).
If you are so moved, please join with the country of Haiti in looking to God for their direction and spiritual guidance.
Thank you for joining us in this vital spiritual exercise.
The streets are empty (very unusual) and
people are repenting and bringing their lives before the Lord! AMEN!!!! The team is very excited to be there on the ground during this period of
fasting.
Couple of other notes from today:
This morning, the team did a spiritual clinic at the orphanage
This afternoon, they will do a medical clinic with the orphans.
Tomorrow, they plan do do a medical clinic for the
community.
The bags have been found and are on their way to the team
now. They should have them in just a few
hours. Praise the Lord!
UPDATE 3:
- 02/12/2010
The mood here in this area (about 10 miles outside of the city) is much different. Instead of waving, the children have their hands out for food or money; instead of the men offering a quick hand for help, they are grabbing for anything they can find.
We are in a church/orphanage compound that was heavily damaged but by the grace of God, no one was hurt or killed here. That is not the case all around here; everywhere you look, there are houses, buildings and business that are flattened or crumbling. In many instances, you know that no rubble has been removed so there will definitely be bodies under there.
The reports that we have gotten are estimating more than 300,000 dead, but the real figure will never be truly known.
The trip over was exciting as usual and both vehicles and the team arrived safely. You know you are not in Kansas any more when you are given directions based on where the cemetery and leper colonies are.
We are roughing it from here out, our tents are set up on the kids’ playground under the stars and we will be boiling water for Raman noodles for the next few days.
Please continue to pray for our safety as security here is something that is more of an issue.
Fortunately, the compound is completely walled to give us a large degree of safety at night.
UPDATE 2:
- 02/10/2010
In an effort to escape the symphony of snoring in our room, D. and I set our tent up on the roof and had a glorious night under the stars.
B.F. teased that maybe rainy season would start early. We all had a good laugh about that, until it started raining this morning about 5 AM! Did I mention that the tent had an open top? D. and I scrambled to get the roof on, vowing to kick B.F. in the shin when we saw him.
The medical group went to a large house that more than 200 people from Port-au-Prince were living at. B.F. and I were able to completely install a water system at a different refugee site from where the medical team was. We had a small scare when we realized that we were missing a vital piece for all three systems. Fortunately the pastor had a water system that was currently not being used. We took his part and got this system up and running and contacted the supplier for the water systems, who is looking for a way to get us the parts we need ASAP. The rest of the afternoon we spent training some locals on how to work the system which is vital to the long term success of the water filter.
Today was the first day of actually seeing patients in the medical outreach. One of the girls on the team began the day by sharing a scripture with the team..."Now begin the work and the Lord be with you". 1 Chron. 22:16. He surely was with us today. We went to the home of a man who had taken in many homeless refugees from the POP area.
Most had not received medical care or government assistance since the disaster. They had only enough food for the day and no positive outlook for further support. One of the refugees had lost 7 members of his family leaving him the sole survivor. Several young expectant mothers had lost their husbands and were left with 2 or 3 young children to raise alone. Despite their loss, they were trying to care for their little families as best they could. We were blessed to see 97 men, women and children at the clinic today. Everyone pulled together for a great team effort. The clinic ran smoothly and needs were met. SWI was also able to provide 400 pounds of rice, 200 pounds of beans, a case of bouillon, a case of sardines, a 5 gallon drum of cooking oil, 3 bags of charcoal, a hundred pounds of sugar, a hundred pounds of corn meal, cases of spaghetti, tomato past and spices. The most exciting thing today was the fact that 4 precious souls prayed the sinners prayer and became part of the family of God! Talk about holistic care -- we were able to minister to body, mind and spirit in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
UPDATE 1:
- 02/08/2010
The SWI team safely arrived in the
Dominican, despite travel difficulties due to a massive winter storm on the
east coast. R.D. hit the ground first and used the time before the remainder of the team arrived to secure
supplies.
The team traveled across the border and directly into Port-au-Prince.
Yesterday, they went to church and worshipped and did an assessment out at the soccer
field. D.F. reported that it was pretty well
organized as they have several doctors and nurses in
the camp daily. Medical issues are being taken care
of and the food supply is good and they are providing
three cooked meals a day to the people there.
The team will be going there to do a medical clinic,
minister and provide meds, which seem to be one of
the greatest needs right now.
B.F. is planning on setting up one of the water units there at the camp.
D.F. shared that they went to one of the two local
hospitals and he said that one of them can be
categorized as having a poorly functioning immediate care area with minimal medical care
-- chaos is running rampant with no real organization.
The team was called out to one of the hospitals again last night because of a very sick baby.
The team was able to set up an IV and while D.F. wasn’t sure of the medical diagnosis, he believed there was some kind of infection causing a very high fever and dehydration.
He shared that after a short bit, the child seemed to be turning around.
The plan is to remain in the area for several more
days, then go to two other camps, as well as perform
smaller medical outreaches at the camps.
There is an orphanage there with about 50 children, all of which have been taken
care of. D.F. shared that they had 40
Strategic Assistance Kits and he was going to break them down a bit more so that some could be shared with each orphan and the people who are caring for them.
The team anticipates traveling into other regions in
the area, where the needs seem to be greater and where the skills that SWI can bring to the
table will be more applicable. Lodging and security are key issues in
these areas, but people are not receiving any aid and are in
all in real need. There is also another orphanage
in one of those areas with no hospital.
Our team reports a presence of voodoo worshippers in
the areas in which they are working, but they seem
to be open to new spiritual channels than is
typically seen in other disaster areas.
Please keep our team in your prayers as they
continue to minister in this area.
We will be providing more updates as they are
received.
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