SATURDAY, MARCH 13th
The team arrived safely in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic after a foggy morning delayed our departure from New York's JFK Airport for about an hour and a half. At the suggestion of Woodsie and Gary, the two contacts that met us (most warmly, by the way) upon our arrival, we are staying in Santo Domingo tonight at a small but quaint hotel called The Green House. The hotel is everything you probably imagine a sleepy hotel deep in the maze of streets that make up the downtown (or outskirts, for all we know) of Santo Domingo to be: Simple, quiet, the movie “Grumpy Old Men” dubbed into Spanish on the old TV in the lobby, overhead fans purring everywhere. We rented two rooms (one for Noemia and one for the three boys, Pastor Al, Sagith, and Doug) and ate a refreshingly well-appointed fried chicken, rice and beans, and fried plantains dinner before heading to our rooms to get as much rest as possible in preparation for a 5 a.m. departure tomorrow. We hope to make it to Port-au-Prince by noon or earlier and quickly head out to at least one camp to participate in, or possibly lead, a worship service. Spirits are high, we are thankful for a safe trip so far, and we are all most anxious to hit the ground running tomorrow. God bless to all.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
E-mail Updates from Team Four
SATURDAY MARCH 6TH AND SUNDAY MARCH 7TH
We went to Carrefour on Saturday March 6th. Upon reflection, we were surprised at the differences between the camps in terms of atmosphere and needs. We saw a skin condition that was prevalent at one camp while it had been nonexistent at the other. At Carrefour we encountered more acute medical issues. We took a group to the hospital…a man with a broken hand, a woman with a separated shoulder, and an 11-day-old infant who was lethargic and had chest congestion among them. Though the child's issues obviously have come about since the quake (since she was born since the quake) the other injuries had happened during or shortly after the earthquake, but had remained untreated until now. We also took stitches out of a young girl's head that looked like they had been there for weeks, but to no ill effect. Her wound had healed well.
Tina's diagnoses have been right on target all week. X-rays confirmed her shoulder and hand diagnoses. The hospital has remained very accommodating. They answer our questions, see the patients we bring to them promptly and give us whatever we need. They've really continued to work with us in a spirit of partnership.
This morning, Sunday, we attended services two camps. Pastor Paul spoke at both meetings, and gave such a rousing sermon that he brought 20 young men to Christ on the spot at the second of the two, at Carrefour! This afternoon we delivered about 250 boxes containing a week's worth of food to 250 families at the camps. And their hunger for Bibles outstripped our supply. Kimi is quite a celebrity and has gotten involved in everything helping wherever he is needed. He also spoke a bit at the services and I think he may have the gift of preaching. He spoke with a lot of self possession for a man of only twenty-one.
It's been a very full day, yesterday seems long ago and we're looking forward to tomorrow. We have many pictures and some video to share upon our return.
Godspeed,
Andrew, Paul, Kimi & Tina (Team 4)
We went to Carrefour on Saturday March 6th. Upon reflection, we were surprised at the differences between the camps in terms of atmosphere and needs. We saw a skin condition that was prevalent at one camp while it had been nonexistent at the other. At Carrefour we encountered more acute medical issues. We took a group to the hospital…a man with a broken hand, a woman with a separated shoulder, and an 11-day-old infant who was lethargic and had chest congestion among them. Though the child's issues obviously have come about since the quake (since she was born since the quake) the other injuries had happened during or shortly after the earthquake, but had remained untreated until now. We also took stitches out of a young girl's head that looked like they had been there for weeks, but to no ill effect. Her wound had healed well.
Tina's diagnoses have been right on target all week. X-rays confirmed her shoulder and hand diagnoses. The hospital has remained very accommodating. They answer our questions, see the patients we bring to them promptly and give us whatever we need. They've really continued to work with us in a spirit of partnership.
This morning, Sunday, we attended services two camps. Pastor Paul spoke at both meetings, and gave such a rousing sermon that he brought 20 young men to Christ on the spot at the second of the two, at Carrefour! This afternoon we delivered about 250 boxes containing a week's worth of food to 250 families at the camps. And their hunger for Bibles outstripped our supply. Kimi is quite a celebrity and has gotten involved in everything helping wherever he is needed. He also spoke a bit at the services and I think he may have the gift of preaching. He spoke with a lot of self possession for a man of only twenty-one.
It's been a very full day, yesterday seems long ago and we're looking forward to tomorrow. We have many pictures and some video to share upon our return.
Godspeed,
Andrew, Paul, Kimi & Tina (Team 4)
Friday, March 5, 2010
E-mail Updates from Team Four
FRIDAY, MARCH 5TH
We went to Delmas 62 camp today. I assisted Tina as she tended to medical needs, and then people went over to Pastor Paul and Kimi where the real work went on. I say that because most of the people we were seeing at this stage had no acute injuries for us to treat. There were many complaints of headaches, stomach pain, muscle aches, eye irritation, much due to dehydration, poor nutrition and all the dust. We're addressing these issues of course with the food, water and appropriate medications. But there were also complaints of intermittent heart palpitations and trouble sleeping that seem most likely to be being caused by the anxiety, stress and depression caused by their ongoing desperate plight. These people benefited most from the prayer and love Pastor Leacock and Kimi were providing. In the face of this hardship, we were struck by the civility, politeness and cleanliness in the camp, despite their desperate situation. Cooking pots were clean inside and out, and this is without running water. The camp does not smell. I doubt I would do so well in this situation. Tomorrow we are off to Carrefour.
Godspeed,
Andrew and Team 4 (Pastor Paul, Tina & Kimi)
THURSDAY MARCH 4TH
Today was a travel and logistics day. Took a bit longer crossing the border without truck laden with supplies than it had previously, as in over four hours instead of 5 minutes. Between market day and Haiti starting to clamp down on unauthorized cross-border commerce, it was quite a scene. Hundreds of vehicles and what could have been thousands of people milling around, moving goods by hand, wheel barrow and minibike, buying, selling and socializing - kinda cool actually. We just hadn't expected it. In the fullness of time :-) we did get through though and we unpacked the supplies into our warehouse, and made it back to the Bellevue house by, must have been about five thirty or six. Mama of course laid out a nice meal for us and we all joined hands in prayer to give thanks for the blessings and successes of the day and for the poignant gift of a hot meal after a long day working to bring the same most basic and critical blessing to hundreds of other families. This is holy work and it feels good to be a part of it. We are glad to be here and looking forward to our day tomorrow continuing the work of the previous three teams tending to the spiritual and physical needs of as many families as we are able.
Godspeed,
Andrew and Team 4 (Pastor Paul, Tina & Kimi)
WEDNESDAY MARCH 3RD
Our first day went smoothly albeit a bit slowly at times. They had to clear a few kids with kites away from the end of the runway in Santo Domingo, for example, before we could land. Generally though everyone is friendly and accommodating once they see we're on a mission trip to Haiti. Tina, Kimi and I finally got to meet Pastor Lecaock at the airport and we all hit it off right off the bat. Picked up and loaded the truck to bursting with food and water. When I say full, I mean so full we had to put a dozen cases of water in the van because we couldn't fit one more item into the back of the truck. We finished late and decided to stay in Santo Domingo instead of further down the road, and at that it was 11pm by the time we sat down for a bite to eat. In bed by about midnight, up at 4:30, Pastor Leacock led us in prayer and we were back on our way by about 5:30. We're excited to see how God's plan unfolds today!
Godspeed,
Andrew and Team 4 (Pastor Paul, Tina & Kimi)
We went to Delmas 62 camp today. I assisted Tina as she tended to medical needs, and then people went over to Pastor Paul and Kimi where the real work went on. I say that because most of the people we were seeing at this stage had no acute injuries for us to treat. There were many complaints of headaches, stomach pain, muscle aches, eye irritation, much due to dehydration, poor nutrition and all the dust. We're addressing these issues of course with the food, water and appropriate medications. But there were also complaints of intermittent heart palpitations and trouble sleeping that seem most likely to be being caused by the anxiety, stress and depression caused by their ongoing desperate plight. These people benefited most from the prayer and love Pastor Leacock and Kimi were providing. In the face of this hardship, we were struck by the civility, politeness and cleanliness in the camp, despite their desperate situation. Cooking pots were clean inside and out, and this is without running water. The camp does not smell. I doubt I would do so well in this situation. Tomorrow we are off to Carrefour.
Godspeed,
Andrew and Team 4 (Pastor Paul, Tina & Kimi)
THURSDAY MARCH 4TH
Today was a travel and logistics day. Took a bit longer crossing the border without truck laden with supplies than it had previously, as in over four hours instead of 5 minutes. Between market day and Haiti starting to clamp down on unauthorized cross-border commerce, it was quite a scene. Hundreds of vehicles and what could have been thousands of people milling around, moving goods by hand, wheel barrow and minibike, buying, selling and socializing - kinda cool actually. We just hadn't expected it. In the fullness of time :-) we did get through though and we unpacked the supplies into our warehouse, and made it back to the Bellevue house by, must have been about five thirty or six. Mama of course laid out a nice meal for us and we all joined hands in prayer to give thanks for the blessings and successes of the day and for the poignant gift of a hot meal after a long day working to bring the same most basic and critical blessing to hundreds of other families. This is holy work and it feels good to be a part of it. We are glad to be here and looking forward to our day tomorrow continuing the work of the previous three teams tending to the spiritual and physical needs of as many families as we are able.
Godspeed,
Andrew and Team 4 (Pastor Paul, Tina & Kimi)
WEDNESDAY MARCH 3RD
Our first day went smoothly albeit a bit slowly at times. They had to clear a few kids with kites away from the end of the runway in Santo Domingo, for example, before we could land. Generally though everyone is friendly and accommodating once they see we're on a mission trip to Haiti. Tina, Kimi and I finally got to meet Pastor Lecaock at the airport and we all hit it off right off the bat. Picked up and loaded the truck to bursting with food and water. When I say full, I mean so full we had to put a dozen cases of water in the van because we couldn't fit one more item into the back of the truck. We finished late and decided to stay in Santo Domingo instead of further down the road, and at that it was 11pm by the time we sat down for a bite to eat. In bed by about midnight, up at 4:30, Pastor Leacock led us in prayer and we were back on our way by about 5:30. We're excited to see how God's plan unfolds today!
Godspeed,
Andrew and Team 4 (Pastor Paul, Tina & Kimi)
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