Haiti 2010

E-mail Updates from Team Five

2010-03-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

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.

E-mail Updates from Team Four

2010-03-09T21:36:00.001-08:00

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)

E-mail Updates from Team Four

2010-03-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

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)

Last Day for Team 3

2010-02-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

2/21/10
Its Sunday morning...busy day ahead. We got up and out early and were at Carrefour at 7am to pick up Sybile and bring her to the hospital for her surgery. When we arrived we were amazed to see that the people of Carrefour had set up a tent for us to hold Sunday Service!!! It was so beautiful and just melted my heart! We told them yesterday we would hold service there, but we expected open air, so when we saw the tent we were just so amazed!! Unfortunately, Annie and I had to go and bring Sybile and her father to the hospital so we would not be able to make it back in time for the service.

Pastor Mimsie preached the first service at a church around the corner from the Carrfour Camp to about 200 people. Pastor Michel preached the second service at the Carrefour camp. They had a time of worship led by Juan and also had a time of testimonies from people at the camp. They said it was so inspiring how the people are still loving God through all of the tragedy and still maintain such a hope for a better future.

Both Sybile and her dad were so grateful to us for transporting them to the hospital and kept thanking us, but they were also nervous and had lots of questions. When we got to the hospital we discovered a specialist had arrived last night and was able to consult on the case and even do the surgery. He said that the lump was a fibroid and he could just do a lumpectomy and save her breast! Everyone was so happy...what an answer to prayer! Her surgery took 2 hours and she was able to go home that day. The other part I am not sure I shared before was that on Friday when they first saw her at the hospital the surgeon wanted to do the surgery that day and remove her whole breast, but the administrator insisted on a sonogram first. Since they didn´t have a sonogram machine that day we had to wait for Sunday. Now we know that was just God´s way of intervening and bringing us a specialist!!!

Since we were at the hospital we decided to check on Maxo, the man with the swollen face. One of the nurses told us that his surgery was delayed because 20 orphans came in yesterday because their orphange was shut down due to abuse and neglect. But this also just God intervening again because on Saturday a plastic surgeon had arrived and was able to consult on Maxo´s case and he is getting the best care possible for his face. He will have surgery today and go home tomorrow. Wow, God is just overwhleming us.

Annie and I couldn´t resist taking a peek at the orphans. They were all staying on the roof with the doctors. Annie and I went up to peek...they were soooo beautiful. They were mostly toddlers with a few little ones in playpens. They were so happy and playful despite their circumstances. Some did look very malnourished, but they will get a full medical work-up and then be replaced in another orphanage. Oh, and another God thing....we took down a suitcase of stuffed animals for the children we encountered, but were unable to give them out at the camps because there were too many kids and because we were just so busy with other ministry it just didn´t happen. So as we left for the hospital that morning I thought why not bring them to the hospital for sick kids. We were able to bring the stuffed animals to the orphans and there was one for every child!! Thank you Jesus!

AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED BEFORE NOON!!! WOW!

All of the teams met back at home base, ate a woderful lunch made by Mama, took pictures, said our goodbyes and we were on the road to Santo Domingo. Because it was Sunday there was less traffic and we had a pretty smooth ride back. There were at least 5 checkpoints where Domincans were checking passports which slowed us down a bit. We finally checked into the hotel about 9pm and will have a night to rest before heading home tomorrow. Some of the team were not feeling well including our main guide Carla who had a bad stomach and fever for 2 days. Please keep her health in prayer.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We will be stateside soon!
Love from Tara, Annie, Mimsie and Michel

Emails from Haiti Team 3

2010-02-19T23:27:00.000-08:00

2/20/10
No rain Friday night so we slept well and were up early. There is a cat here who thinks he's a rooster so there is a whole chorus going on each morning. In fact, there are goats and pigs and dogs everywhere...all scrounging for food. After devotions led by Annie we headed out for Carrefour and brought some extra food for Patrick Jean and family. Then we went to a neighboring camp called the Camp of the love of Jesus. It was a fairly small camp that had asked us to come and give them medical care. The camp was half way up a mountain so when we pulled in we were greeted by an amazing view of Port au Prince and the harbour. You know I had to pull out my camera! I just don't think the lens can do it justice. In fact, I haven't had as much of a chance for photos as I would like because we have been so busy, but I am not sure I could even capture all the devastation. Just when you think you've seen it all, there's more. Just when you think it couldn't get worse, it does. The saddest ones for me are all the schools destroyed. So sad to see the desks and chairs hanging off the buildings and the levels crushed...and now the children have nothing to do and it hinders their future. To get back to the camp, Annie and I saw patients and Pastor Mimsie and Michel ministered to people. We saw a case of the mumps and diabetes and a lot of dehydration. The pastors asked the people if they were mad at God for the earthquake and the people looked at them like they were crazy. They said no, not at all, they love Jesus. Wow, how amazing! Then we went back to Carrefour to pick a woman we saw yesterday who had a possible femur fracture. She was injured in the earthquake and hadn't had any medical treatment in the 5 weeks since! She was reluctant to go to the hospital because she thought they would amputate her leg. She brought her son and sister for comfort. The blessing is they also get fed at the hospital. Again, wonderful doctors! They took her in and X-ray her leg. It was a femur fracture and the bones were side by side instead of in a straight line. When Celemese (patient) saw her X-ray she freaked out and thought they would definitely take her leg off. The doctor asked her to wiggle her toes, and she could, so he told her she could keep her leg! She was so happy! The put her in a cast and scheduled her surgery on Wednesday when the ortho docs come to put a rod in her leg and straighten it out. So wonderful! Another life changed. When we were finished at the hospital with Celemese our team realized we hadn't eaten all day! So we stopped for food and went back home. We spent a few hours re-packing and doing inventory for the next group. We also ate Mama's signature soup for dinner and a cake we bought to celebrate our last night at Mama's house. Carla asked Annie to examine some of the people staying at her house, which she was happy to do. Two young women lost their mother to breast cancer last year and were afraid they would get sick. Annie examined them and she was able to show them how to do self-breast exams. What an amazing privilege! Annie has been such a God send to this team, to this family and all the camps. We finished packing and off to bed...big day on Sunday!

2/19/10
Today was a looooong day! We got up and out on time and headed back to Carrefour. We were there from 8am to 12 noon providing medical care and ministry. As we began we prayed with those on line. One woman came forward and began leading worship...it was so beautiful. The funny thing is they pronounce Jesus as JayZ...sounds really funny, especially if you don't know what they are saying. Before we started seeing patients. Pastor Michel called people off the line who were feeling depressed and wanted prayer. Half the people came off the line! Many people were just battling the emotional effects of the earthquake. We were able to see over 60 patients, most of the same complaints, some impetigo and 4 people serious enough to transport to the hospital. We brought Max who has elephantitis (really large swelling) on his face, he is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Little Patrick is 4 years old, but looks like 8 months. He was so malnourished and basically failure to thrive. They gave him pedialyte, vitamins and food. He began to perk up on the ride back home. He loved the dried cranberries I gave him...man after my own heart. Everyone who saw him fell in love with him, even the nurses and doctors at the hospital. BTW...the nurses and doctors at the hospital were awesome!! So helpful and caring. Many of them were from the Southern Baptist Convention International Relief Team. Big Paul, who ran the inventory, was a huge help loading us up with all the supplies we needed, he was from Arizona. The third patient was Pascal, who got a small piece of wood lodged in her ear. It was so far in that they couldn't remove it (too close to the eardrum), so they gave her drops and antibiotics. Patient 4 is our miracle of the day. She was not actually seen or assessed by Annie, she is the sister of patient 3 (Pascal) and we thought she was just riding along to be with her sister. She did say her chest hurt on the way over, but again we did not think it was serious. All four patients were registered and examined relatively quickly (thanks Paul). When they examined Sybile (patient 4), they had her take her shirt off. Annie said she could see the lump in her breast from across the room! Sybile is scheduled for a life saving surgery on Sunday AM. She will have a radical masectomy, which is tragic for a 26 year old woman, but due to lack of radiation or chemo, this is the best chance she has for survival. God only knows what her fate would have been if God did not bring us together. As Annie and I stayed at the hospital, the rest of the team brought more food to Delmas 62. We met back at home base, ate, de-briefed about our day and are now ready for bed. Still can't see the stars...too cloudy. Oh yeah, both Carrefour and Delmas made out OK in the rain. Today was hot and sunny so it dried everything up.
Goodnight from Haiti!
Tara, Annie, Mimsie and Michel

Emails from Haiti Team 3

2010-02-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

2/18/10
There was crazy rain and wind last night and the mosquitoes ate me alive! Because of the mess the rain made we were delayed in getting out. We had devotions and prayer and then headed for Carrefour. We had to drive through the capital and got a first hand look at the devastation. Unbelievable. There are more fallen buildings than ones standing. And people have taken up residence in tents anywhere and everywhere...local parks, empty plots, even in the middle of the street divides. So many camps of displaced people, so much need. We got to Carrefour (basketball court camp). Annie and I set up the medical triage and the pastors began to sing and pray and preach with the people. Again we saw many people with headaches and stomachaches since the earthquake, several children with diarrhea and dehydration. One child was almost motionless he was so weak. We went to the hospital later and were able to get some re-hydration formula for him and bring it back. The line for medical attention was endless, mostly people wanting some attention and care. The weather became threatening so we had to leave. On the ride back Pastor Mimsie shared that he was able to gather a group of men and pray for them and share the gospel. Several men accepted Christ including one man who spoke perfect English. Turns out he was an English teacher before the earthquake and has now lost his home and his job. He and his family are now living in a tent. Pastor Mimsie had a good time ministering to him. We left Carrefour and went to the hospital. Big Paul was gracious enough to give us everything on our list so we can now go back to the camps and provide the children with much needed medicine. We had a chance to stop in town for some lunch, Annie and I had some local fare, crepes. Then back home to pick up food and Bibles for Carrefour. We were also able to use the baby bottles that were donated to help dispense the re-hydration fluid to the infants. We got to Carrefour and met with the committee and again there were more families than expected. The camps are growing quickly. We provided 52 buckets of food, water and Bibles to the families of Carrefour. It was a long day and we arrived home just as it got dark. We were able to eat another delicious meal of fish and rice before the lights went out. Now we are all sitting in the dark under tarps (its raining again) talking about the day. Thank you for your prayers. Team 3

2/17/10
The night air was perfect for sleeping last night. We were well rested even though we slept outside on concrete with pads and sleeping bags. We started the morning with devotions from Isaiah led by Pastor Mimsie and then prayer. Before we left Pastor Mimsie was able to share the gospel and pray with Didier, Carla's husband. We left our home base and headed to Jephte's church. Many were there digging thru the rubble and attempting to clear the site. They invited us to their Sunday service they hold just outside the church site. From there we headed to the first camp, Delmas 62. We went to the Madame, who had a foot injury, and Annie changed her dressing. Thankfully her injury was healing well. Then Annie and I set up shop and starting seeing patients, almost all children. James was our amazing translator. Annie took a lot of vital signs, listened to people's lungs and assessed their needs. There were mostly minor fevers and coughs, except on girl with a heart mumur, but the most common diagnosis was sadness. Children who did't run or smile or play anymore. If only there was a pill for that. But there is hope and we prayed with each one that God would bring them that hope. As Annie treated people and I kept the medical log, Pastor Mimsie and Pastor Michel shared the gospel with the camp. Several people accepted Christ and almost all of them asked for Bibles. So thanks to a generous gift from Pastor Mimsie's church we were able to go to Petionville and purchase 200 French Bibles to distribute with the food. Over a wonderful lunch of rice and beans we wrote "From One Life Missions With Love February 2010" in each Bible. After lunch we returned to Delmas 62 with the buckets of rice and beans and water the Bellevue family had packed. James went ahead and got a police escort because the crowd was getting large. Although there was some confusion because new families had not registered with Madame and others had come off the street looking for food, God provided us with safety and a system and we were able to complete the mission successfully. As we drove home you couldn't help but notice the life on the streets. Vendors were out with their colorful ware, buses were full and many had returned to work. Unfortunately, schools are still out and will be for some time. We got home and de-briefed the day and made plans for tomorrow. This is my first time in Haiti. Back home I have several Haitian friends who I consider angels walking on earth (mostly because they put up with me as a friend), and now I am surrounded by a household of angels. They are so kind and so sweet and treat us like royalty. Did I mention that MaMa is a chef...mmmm! Another great dinner! This "ground team" is truly a godsend and a blessing. Thanks for your prayers! Team Three...Mimsie, Michel, Annie and Tara

Team 3 has arrived in Haiti

2010-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

2/16/10
At the end of day two we are at Carla's well fed and in line for showers. It has been disappointing in that all of the shopping and travel were delayed and so we have yet to get to the camps. Carla and her team were delayed getting to SD and so we had to purchase food after the airport. We were at the store for over three hours because of trouble with the transaction and packing the truck. Then they couldn't find half of the buckets we paid for...so Annie prayed and the buckets were found! We stayed in SD for the night, 5 hours sleep, and back on the road. Somehow we got separated from the truck of supplies and other van and so we were temporarily lost. Carla and Woody decided to go to the local bus depot and hire a guide. After some discussion and several men jumping in and out of our van (flashbacks to Kenya) one man settled in and we were on our way. As God would have it, Cornego, our new friend, also had some mechanical skills which came in handy as our van had a little trouble along the way. We got to the Haitian border and waited about an hour for the other van and truck to arrive. We were only stopped at the border for a few minutes and we were back on the road. We arrived at Carla's home around 4pm. Jephte's brother and father came over to greet us and talk with us about the mission. It was great to see Daniel again after first meeting him at Infinity just a few weeks ago. As we were praying together I was in awe of how God could bring all of these people together. Our common bond was Jesus and it was beautiful. We are packed and prepared for tomorrow, thankful to be of use and humbled by our God. Good night to all.

More pics from Team Two

2010-02-15T13:53:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from the week that Team 2 was in Haiti

2010-02-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

Team 3 is on their way!

2010-02-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

We thank God for the team He has risen up to minister in Haiti this week. Please pray for Tara, Annie, Mimsie and Michael as they make their way into Santo Domingo this afternoon and onward into Haiti tomorrow. Pray for their safety as they make the 5 hour or so trek to the Mission Center. Pray for needed wisdom and strength throughout the week. They will be visiting the same camps that the previous two teams ministered in; to establish relationship and continuity. They will begin worship services in these camps, and will provide medical aid as well as 3,000 lbs of rice, 1,500 lbs of beans, and 1,000 liters of water, along with other miscellaneous items.

We are excited for what God is doing in Haiti! This past weekend outside the Presidential Palace and throughout the city of Port-au-Prince there was fasting and praying taking place. Hard core calling out to God! Jesus is alive in Haiti! Please continue to pray for this country and people. Prayer changes things and Haiti needs change!

Stay tuned...

Team Two is home safe and sound 01.30.10

2010-01-31T06:27:00.000-08:00

Team Two is home safe and sound!! Yeah!! Its great to have them home and we can't wait to hear all about their experiences in Haiti.

Haiti Photos from 01.24.10 to 01.26.10

2010-01-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.29.10

2010-01-29T10:25:00.001-08:00

EMAIL FROM DR. STEPHEN BURGHER 01.29.10

Well, long and crazy day.

I went to work at HCH hospital today. Randy and Heather went to some camps and churches today. I'll have to let them tell their day separately as we have only briefly talked and I remain at the hospital working night shift.

Lots of patients today. Still seeing injuries untreated from the earthquake (e.g. femur fracture, distal humerus fracture, complex pelvis fracture) all getting by for 15-16 days but needing surgery. Also, lots of medical illnesses like pneumonia, TB, vomiting/ diarrhea illness, uncontrolled hypertension, atrial fibrillation, etc. But the best was a motor vehicle collision, pick-up truck rollover with 3 young men ejected from the back. The injured guy had a blood pressure of 85/palp, heart rate of 110, head injury with combativeness, tender left chest with decreased breath sounds, tender right abdomen, bloody urine when catheter placed. After establishing an IV and improving his blood pressure and heart rate, we then walked him by military stretched to X-ray (exact other side of hospital). All I could get was a chest and pelvis X-ray. His left chest was full of blood (hemorhorax). We took him to ICU and placed a tube in his chest with a significant amount of blood return. Subsequent CXR showed the stomach and nasogastric tube to be in the left chest with high left diaphragm, which means he ruptured his diaphragm and implies significant blunt force trauma and high likelihood of other internal injuries. But he remained stabilized until we were able to ship him by helicopter to the US Comfort about 8 hours later, where he'll undergo exploratory surgery, as well as better testing (CT) for his head injury. The other 2 were more stable but nonetheless banged up enough to watch them over night. In the meantime, now on the night shift, I've been dealing with a woman in labor, a woman with severe abdominal pain, an 89 year old with pneumonia and severe sepsis (systemic infection).

We had a patient die tonight in the ICU. She was actually admitted to the ICU 3 days ago by me for severe pneumonia. We prayed with the son, who has been at her side the whole time. Shortly thereafter the 9 month pregnant woman came in in labor. Death and life. There is so much of both here. That is the image I have of Haiti.

That's all for now. Need go on medication rounds.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.28.10

2010-01-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

EMAIL FROM DR. STEPHEN BURGHER 01.28.10

Hey Family!

Well, yesterday was a long day. We started with delivering various medical supplies to different hospitals. By the end of the day we visited or assisted 4 different hospitals. Each one is augmented by a variety of relief teams and each run a bit differently, and no one communicating with the other, much like home :-). We then went to a camp and provided wound and medical care. Camps are little tent or tarp communities of people who lost their homes. We then went to the hospital Randy worked at to deliver some supplies. They needed us to take some patients in our van to another hospital for X-rays (they doing mostly ortho surgery with no X-rays!), so we became a transport ambulance service. Then back to a camp. The day ended with our finding a very ill diabetic woman who had significant abdominal pain and vomiting - found her just as we were leaving - "oh by the way doctor, can you check on my sick mother who has diabetes?" Praise God we did! We took her to HCH hospital where I have been working, got an IV and fluids going; her glucose was over 450. We will check on her this morning.

Heather is doing awesome! Such a sweet spirit and she is so good with the kids and families. She adapts well! Her strength is in the camps. She also has been a wonderful living witness to our translator Yang.

I hope y'all are doing well. I love y'all. Say hello to everyone - family and friends. I am so encouraged, and frankly, I'm humbled, by all of the prayers from so many people and their emails of encouragement.

God's in charge.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.27.10

2010-01-27T19:48:00.001-08:00

MORNING EMAIL FROM DR RANDY OWEN 01.27.10
Things are going well. Have the lay of the land now. Its difficult to do surgery, but tons of other important work to do. Yesterday, I was physical therapist for thirty patients and got to pray with each one, that was a huge blessing. Today we will go back to refugee camps to minister. Thanks for your prayers.

EMAIL FROM DR STEPHEN BURGHER 01.27.10
We had a good day today. Bob, Dimas, Al, Scott, and Richard went back - an adventure with flat tire, missed flight, and hopefully catch 7AM flight this morning. Randy, Heather and I remain and split up for the day.

Randy went to a plastic surgery clinic-turned field trauma clinic / OR. As it turned out, they had enough surgeons but needed help with the post-op patients. He went to every post-op patient and did physical therapy, getting them up walking and moving, which they hadn't done since their surgery, and prayed with every patient! One woman leg amputee he got crutches fitted and got up (to her surprise) and walked her out the tent and back. When they returned all the other patients clapped and gave her an ovation! Wow! As Randy put it, he was a physical therapist for a day, not what he expected, but definitely what God planned and used for His purposes more than if he were operating.

At the hospital I worked in the "ER" we saw a combination of injuries with wounds now infected, fractures and crush injuries with swelling but no fractures, but we also saw a lot of illness - strokes, pneumonia, hypertensive crises due to blood pressure meds lost in collapsed houses, etc. Also had a chance to go to an orphanage for a couple of hours with another doc, 2 nurses, the hospital administrator and a pastor. Wow! These kids were full of smiles, laughter and joy. They all wanted to be held, hugged, swung... After we looked them all over, I suggested to the team we pray for them, but when I turned around all the kids had formed up like a choir and they sang for us songs of praise to the Lord, then after several praise songs they all bowed their heads and prayed for us! What! And I thought we'd pray for them, but we were the ones blessed!

Anyway, great day, more to share but will try to fall back asleep for now.

Team One returns home safely 01.27.10

2010-01-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

TEAM ONE IS HOME SAFE AND SOUND!!! AMEN!!! NEWS 12 AND THEIR FAMILIES MET THEM AT THE AIRPORT TO WELCOME THEM HOME.

News 12 coverage of TeamTwo returning 01.27.10

2010-01-27T17:56:00.001-08:00

CLICK ON THE WORD SHARE BELOW TO SEE THE NEWS COVERAGE OF TEAM ONE RETURNING FROM HAITI TODAY AT LAGUARDIA AIRPORT 01.27.10

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Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.26.10

2010-01-26T10:13:00.001-08:00

MORNING EMAIL FROM DIMAS

Al, Dimas, Heather and Randy, went into a refugee camp and cleaned wounds of the wounded and transported a family to the hospital. A lawyer for the Justice Department lost everything in 20 seconds. She was a powerful lawyer in Haiti who is now living with the poor in a camp with her two sons who are polite and groomed for success. Her teenage boys who were weak carried their mother everywhere. The demonstration of their love would crush your heart.

At the hospital we celebrated as a young girl was pulled out the cement 14 days later!! No CNN coverage because the locals did it on their own. Our team fed her first and loved up on her as the model of success and we took out Heather's camera so that her Haitian rescue crew would feel the praise of their success.

We financially blessed the families that hosted us in a community center and now we are heading home to NYC after a jaunt through DR.

God please bless Randy, Steve and Heather and the local team of drivers and interpreters Carla, Yang and Woodzey.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.25.10

2010-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

MONDAY MORNING EMAIL FROM DR. STEPHEN BURGHER
There is a hospital near where we are staying that we stopped at to get some supplies yesterday morning. After visiting a camp yesterday (Sunday) and providing some field care, we stopped by another hospital near the President’s Palace. It was larger than the first. Both needed ER docs, but the first needed a surgeon also, so Randy and I decided to volunteer there. We feel our skills will better serve in a hospital as the field treatment need has slowed.

So we went back to the first hospital, Hospitale Community of Haiti (CHC), an existing hospital augmented by tents, docs, nurses, techs, etc...I don't think any of the local staff have been working since the quake. When we walked in I saw Kurt Rathjen! We checked in as staff. They had a need for someone to work triage/ER tonight (Sunday). I hadn't slept since we left for the airport Saturday, going on 40 hours, so Randy volunteered to cover the first part of the shift. He stayed and I went to our hooch, took a cold shower (felt good as pretty sweaty with temp close to 90 during day), took about an hour and half nap, ate dinner, then I relieved Randy at 21:00.

So I'm working the night shift! Things slow down quite a bit when it gets dark. Only a few patients. Otherwise check on patients in hospital. Another ER doc showed up and wants to work night shift thru Wed. I got to lay back down for a couple of hours and she covered, now I'm up and covering.

There is a pretty strong odor, especially in one area of hospital nearest dumpster. Behind it are bodies decaying that they haven't been able to dispose of. There was a rat running around some patients sleeping on the floor that I shewed away, and as I write another ran right in front of my boot that I nearly nailed!

Hope to sleep some this morning, then will come back out, probably switch to working days when it is busiest.

MONDAY NIGHT EMAIL FROM DR. RANDY OWEN
Dear all. Thank you for your prayers. Today we visited a refugee or homeless camp. These are all over the city. We were able to treat some wounds and minister well there. We dropped some of our supplies off with a hospital that needed them. Then I found another hospital where I was able to help out in the OR. Will to back there in the morning.

MONDAY NIGHT EMAIL FROM BOB THOMPSON
Well, it's 11pm and I really need that cold shower and a few hours of sleep. Long but great day.

The new team started really acclimated today with both Randy and Steve plugging into hospitals to serve. Of good news is there has been a real influx of medical talent and supplies in the last couple of days however the hospitals are all short of nurses and there are still some hospitals woefully understaffed. Further Randy Heather and an interpreter found a Haitian hospital which was short of a variety of supplies, almost all of which the Infinity team had brought! So they took several duffels of supplies to them before Randy went to perform surgical work at a hospital that used to be a private plastics clinic but is now an open surgical center.

The original team that came down went for a ride in areas we had not visited to get a last days view of the city and the scope of the disaster. Crews with heavy equipment are now really engaging in digging but It's just such a mess. Massive portions of downtown Port au Prince will simply have to be bulldozed and started over.

We passed one tent camp which was so vast our driver was estimating 20,000+ people were now living there. With nowhere to go, these camps could be there for years unless something is done about clearing sections of the city and rebuilding housing in some kind of coordinated fashion.

We also took a sort of haunting visit to an upscale neighborhood up in the hills, large nice houses, high walls gates etc. Think the Rye or Harrison equivalent of a nice neighborhood. The whole place was just demolished. There wasn't a single inhabitable house in the whole area. For some reason speaking to the people who had lived there, hearing their stories about both family members who survived and those who didn't, and really walking through a neighborhood for the first time really brought this all home to me. It was sort of banging in my ears. The first block of days was so intense and focused on roaming the camps and triaging wounded people I guess the scope of this hadn't sunk in.

Anyway, Scott, Richie and I made another visit to the orphanage called House of the Children of God before meeting up with the others for a preplanned close to our day. The family next door to where we are staying have been so beyond fantastic ranging from cooking meals for us, driving us all over creation, interpreting etc. Today the mama (who is a chef by the way) made 200 meals for us which we took way out into the Carrefour district which is past the port. Traffic down there was horrendous but we had promised the administrator of a place called Ecole Salvation that we would feed his people tonight. We finally got there and provided about 100 pounds of water and a meal to each of the 160 or so people there.

It was now dark but we had about 40 meals left and Dimas had mentioned to another camp in the same area we would try to bring them food. This was a little surreal but God provided again, just as He has done the whole time we have been down here. The camp was down at the end of a long alley with no room to turn around so we parked on the street at the mouth of the alley. The folks from the alley camp came forward and promptly responded to our request to form a line. It was now really dark and we had all heard the stories of people "mobbing" food drops particularly late in day or at night. So now there's a line of the folks from the camp and we begin handing out the food, sort of assembly line style carrying the pre-portioned meals from the van hand to hand to the front of the line. Of course when people on the street passing by saw food they began getting in line. It was clear there were way more than 40 people and we only had 40 meals. However, when we handed out the last meal, everyone from the camp and the people who had jumped in line from the street all walked away with one.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.24.10 PM Report

2010-01-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

01.24.10 PM REPORT
Hey sorry to have missed a day but you will understand in a minute.

So we got up yesterday around 515 to get Dimas and I together with Carla's (our interpreter) husband to drive to Sanford Domingo to pick up more supplies, most notably water as we had largely consumed our provision and had given out the 600 pounds of water we brought in the first time, and to pick up One Life/Infinity Church Team Two scheduled to arrive in two batches between 3:30pm and 4:20pm. Scott and Al stayed in Port au Prince to keep working the camps.

Well the drive took 6 hours instead of 4-5 and then the Infinity team members, Randy, Heather and Richie (videographer) had a significant flight delay. So we were somewhat disappointed as the game plan had been to fetch supplies, fetch the team and a slew of medical supplies and haul straight back to Port au Prince arriving around 11 pm. We bought around 800 pounds more water and some food supplies for ourselves, Team Two and the family of our interpreter plus a couple hundred pounds of rice, beans etc for serving hot cooked meals to a few camps.

We headed to the airport to meet our new friend Steve Burgher, an Emergency Room doctor in Texas and friend of the Chapmans, who has come to Haiti for a week of medical mission work with One Life. I will confess I was getting agitated and impatient as the New York team members flight kept getting pushed back and to top it off one of the pick-up trucks and it's driver fell through at the last minute.

So now Dimas and I are in Santo Domingo with three people now scheduled to arrive at 1030pm and short a vehicle! Yes agitation was setting in, but as usual God was at work.

First a man named Juan who works at Dollar car rental at the SD airport called me on my cell to say he had a van for me. Actually he had found one at a competitor and arranged it for me. I kid you not it was the only van for rent in the city as all the charity news and aid orgs have rented everything. The lady at the Rental counter was Haitian. Juan had told her what we were up to. She said "Sir, people have been calling me all day asking for vans and for some reason I kept telling them I didn't have one. God saved it for you!". Problem one solved.

Then it got fun. While waiting for the New York flight I had my first coffee in the last week. Then as I am standing around the airport a woman from the Israeli search and rescue team walks up to ask if I know of any hotels in SD. Their flight had been delayed so they missed their military transport into Haiti and had to wait until AM but had no hotel. So we called American Express Intl travel and found them 6 rooms for the night.

Then two people in orange jumpers from the Mexico search and rescue team walked up. They were stranded in SD. Their flights had been a mess so these two missed the rest of their team who had already gone into Haiti and they had no way to get there. We told them if and I do mean IF we have room after the team and all the boxes and bags they could hop a ride and get in the next day. Then the airlines informed Steve his 5 boxes of medical supplies didn't make the second flight out if Miami so they wouldn't be in until next day. All of a sudden we had room for the two Mexico SAR members.

Finally the New York flight arrived around 1030, only 6 hours late, and we loaded the vehicles, including the Mexico two. THEN, a guy walks up to Dimas and in short story version says “My name is John. I live in California, but I lived in Haiti for 12 years and 5 of us are driving to Haiti but I don't know the way from here. Can you help us?

So finally at 12:15 in the AM we left Santo Domingo with Randy, Heather, Richie, Steve, Dimas and myself, plus a new van, two Mexico SAR members and a carload of Americans tagging on our convoy.

Well, we drove to Barahona arriving at and finding the hotel, Thank God. We got there at 3am and slept gratefully until 6am when the wagon train moved on to Haiti and to another day of serving the camps.

It was fun to have real Doctors! We spent a couple hours at one camp where we set up shop on a basketball court up on a crazy hillside. There were the usual cuts and scrapes however many of the kids are starting to show some signs of dehydration, night fevers, etc. We were able to provide water and mixed rehydration solution.

Then Dimas and Scott delivered 125 meals fully prepped rice beans and chicken to one camp and another 100 meals to the first camp we attended the first day. Meanwhile I took Randy and Steve to one of the hospitals where we have spent a lot of time this week. Randy immediately stepped into a shift on the ER while Steve took a quick nap, had some dinner and a shower. I dropped Steve off around 8:30PM at the hospital where he had volunteered to do the overnight shift in the ER.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.24.10

2010-01-24T19:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (1/23/10) was a long day starting at 5:30 to get back to Santa Domingo to meet Team Two. They stopped for supplies and then met Dr. Steve Burgher and then waited in the airport for 6 hours until the delayed flight from JFK landed with Dr. Randy Owen, Mt Sinai Surgeon; Heather Butcher, Team Leader at Infinity NY Church and Richard Mamary, Docudrama Producer/Cameraman.

Bob said that while waiting for the plane seemed long, God was able to use them to help an Israeli Search and Rescue Team with 14 people whose flight had been delayed and they missed the military plane going into Port au Prince. They were able to give them help in finding lodging for the night.

They then ran into a Mexican Search and Rescue Team who was trying to meet up with 25 other members of their team that also missed the military plane. These couple of people went with our team to enter into Port au Prince by road. Bob said that each member of this Mexican team paid for their own supplies and airfare to have the privilege to serve in Haiti. If we all could feel that way! Incredible!

They got to Baharama, in the Dominican Republic at 2:30am and were back on the road at 6:00am (1/24/10). They are now back at the Church Mission Center and setting out in 2 teams for the day’s work.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.22.10

2010-01-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

So the day started with an elderly man walking down the street who saw me carrying my kit bag for the day. He asked if I was a medecin (French for doctor). I explained no but asked what he needed. Turned out he had a variety of cuts and gashes including an infected one on his head which we cleaned and were able to give him antibiotics for. First of God just favoring us today.

Anyway we were now behind schedule to get back to the Belgian’s hospital to run some patients from yesterday back to their camp in the Carrefour section. Further Scott's family was not doing well so we all stopped and Scott just prayed so powerfully for God to direct and ordain our efforts and for angelic protection and healing for his family.

Once at the Belgian hospital we split into two teams. Scott, Dimas and a new driver took the jeep to run to a hospital for supplies the Belgians needed (diapers, Enfamil etc) and then to try and find the Child Hope Orphanage. Al and I took the van and our interpreter and driver to run back to Carrefour which we anticipated would be a simple run, drop the patients back, provide some meds to a few people we had seen previously and then head on. Scott and D took care of the hospital run and they actually found the Child Hope Orphanage. This is the one which has been on the news because 20 armed men attacked it several days ago. Scott actually knows really close friends of the family who started and still run the place. Anyway the people are just full on Christians who moved to Haiti and started an orphanage and school because their daughter who was eight at the time had a dream where God called HER to do so

Al and I got to the camp and instead of 15 mins in and out we spent 4 hours treating person after person after person, some with scrapes and so forth but a couple dozen with significant infections. Mixed in where several people we agreed had to be taken back to the Belgians, a lady with a fractured foot, an elderly lady with several broken ribs, a man vomiting blood, and so forth. After literally four hours of this, a van from International Medical Corps rolled in with an actual doctor and nurse (as opposed to us). He took the fractures and others but the man with issue of vomiting blood had to go with us to Belgians. This was a crazy draining experience just due to 4 hour nonstop sweaty hot assembly line of it.

At the Belgian camp, the man was diagnosed as a severe bleeding ulcer so they went to work on him. We spent an hour plus at the Belgian camp as they were cool enough to replenish our supplies so we wouldn't have to go all the way home.

Al and I decided to go back to the camp where we found Louis Charles, the man with the open skill fracture, to see if more people were there or bandages needed changing, etc. Also when we had been there we didn't have any antibiotics.

When we got there the camp was gone, dispersed. Unsure what to do we turned up the road to try and find where to go. God directed us to stop at a camp just up the road in Delmas where no one had been. The camp was run by a big strong woman who literally was IT. They had 125 families surviving in a space way too small to comprehend that number.

So Al and I jumped into more mobile triage with usual infections cuts etc but we started running into people with serious issues. As we saw them we had Carla the interpreter tell them to get a parent and wait because they had to go to the hospital. This became a little crazy as we found so many that had go. Including Al and I, our driver and interpreter plus injured and parents we had 18 people in a 9 person van. Here are just a couple:
- A 5 year old boy that Al treated who had a foot threatening rent across his foot and ankle, (the Belgians put him under and were able to save his foot)
- A little girl with a 9 day persistent fever (turns out malaria, again the Belgians...)
- A 14 year old who I believe has a neuro-trauma from a boulder landing on her. She couldn't see in one eye and couldn't reliably follow my finger with the "good eye". (She had more serious issues so we took her to a hospital near the Belgians run by the Cubans and Spanish don't know her outcome but she was in grave shape)
- An absolutely beautiful 4 year old boy who couldn't move his left arm because his shoulder hurt. When he moved it his shoulder reminded me of how mine used to look when I would dislocate it. I asked how he hurt it and his father explained the little boy had been buried in the rubble after the quake and he (dad) and some others had dug the boy out! He was so beautiful I just couldn't picture him buried under his house. ( The Belgians put him under and fixed up a severely dislocated shoulder. What a gift of life that boy Louis Kenzie is.).

Well we got back to the center way after dark to another gift of a shower and a meal of black rice, beans and plantains. Tomorrow Dimas and I leave at six to drive to Santo Domingo to pick up team two comprised of two doctors, a missionary from Infinity and a photographer who is going to shoot footage for us. Off to bed on the rooftop under a just startling big sky.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.21.10

2010-01-23T13:47:00.001-08:00

We actually found it (referring to the House of Children of God orphanage)! I understand how no one had been there. We picked a guy up in the street who took us. The people were not desperate but were frustrated and out of water. Another aid group had checked them out this morning as result of CNN and FOX and was going to helicopter in some supplies for them.

As they were out of water we left them several jugs plus Enfamil which they had one of. We patched up one lady who had a badly infected wound on leg and supplied her with antibiotics which the very cool docs at hospital had given us for mobile triage.

A lady named Tonya Constantino from Utah who is their medical liaison spoke with us about their challenges. They have 133 kids there of which 100 have adoptive waiting parents in US Venezuela and Canada. However are struggling with red tape and can't get the kids out yet. We were able to help with water and Enfamil and a larger team is bringing tem full kit tonight.

Right now we are on our way from another camp in an area called Carrefour back to the Belgians with three sick kids and one of their parents. One of the kids has been sick for ten days fever etc. Two other babies urinating blood.

God bless these Belgians.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.20.10

2010-01-23T13:34:00.000-08:00

Crazy day but full of blessings beginning with 6.1 Richter tremor at 6am which was a "different" but very effective alarm clock. Scott and Dimas found another hospital on this side of Haiti near where the center is. This was great but also heart wrenching. Teams from all over the world are working there in very tough conditions, Korea, Germany, USA, and others all pitching in with small supplies, very un-hospital like conditions. Post op recovery means a blanket on the dusty floor, there were many many people with amputations etc and post op infection
is a grave issue.

However with this hospital hook up we went back to the school from yesterday AM with our van and a pickup truck and collected the eleven year old girl we saw with a broken femur, two very ill elderly people and another woman The short video I sent earlier was of the truck ride to the hospital carrying these folks.

After noon we reloaded supplies and went back to Delmas, the camp where I emailed last night where the four houses collapsed. We went back for a lady named Madame Monique who had the deep infected gash in her thigh. We treated her again and convinced her to come to the hospital with us which was interesting because she lived on the wrong side of a mountain of rubble. With a very serious infected rent in her mid thigh she got up and walked with support to and over the rubble. I think when Scott told her she was too beautiful to lose her leg she got motivated. We took her and another elderly man named Monsieur Joseph who had two broken ribs and was having a hard time breathing to a field hospital run by a team from Belgium who took them in and took care of them. With his breathing issue and her infected leg, the Belgian team certainly will have saved them.

We then went to another "forgotten” camp in Delmas where we treated a bunch more folks with usual wounds, contusions and so forth. However there were some real issues including a little boy with a nasty cut across his head and eye, a woman with broken ankle and leg, and a beautiful little girl who had suffered a burn wound before the quake but the dressings hadn't been changed in three weeks. We took them plus the little one's mamas back to the Belgians who were again just amazing. They just grabbed those babies and hugged them and took them into the hospital.

Have no idea what media is saying but these people are really amazing. They have shown us so much courage, have been so grateful and open to us, even trying to be patient with my broken French. Even when we have seen tempers flare or frustration bubble up, people calm down fairly quickly. They are living in small communal kind of "family" arrangements and people seem to be sharing resources and helping each other. When we pray for them in the name of Jesus they are so
grateful and many are crying out to Jesus when we pray. We’re going to sleep now on the roof under incredible starry sky feeling so humbled by God and His mercy.

Email from Haiti Relief Team 01.19.10

2010-01-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

The first camp we served this morning had about 500 people staying there, good walls, gate and people who worked there when it was a school serve to man the gate and keep security. Served probably 20 people there with wound care and pain relief. This was a controlled camp so we brought a large cargo duffel of water and food which the committee running the place will dole out as needed. Beautiful little girl with clearly fractured leg we will pick up tomorrow and take to clinic. With every person we treat we pray for them and share the gospel. After reprovisioning we went back out and asked our interpreter and driver to take us to a camp of more "forgotten" people where they don't have as good an organization as the first camp. There are many, many of these camps where no one has been in at all and the people are trying to make do sleeping in parks and so on. They brought us to a neighborhood in Port au Prince called Delmas which was just crazy, people everywhere on the street, little markets set up to try and offer food etc. We went to side street called Delmas 34 where 4-5 houses collapsed together and treated maybe a dozen people with cuts and lacerations. Scott also treated a woman with a deep gash in her leg. We are hoping to go collect her tomorrow to take her to a clinic. Last camp we went to was Delmas 32 which is basically a new street market which was hard to drive through. Then we turned into an alley also crammed. When we got to back of alley there was a square filled with maybe 125 people who had received no aid yet at all. This was an intense stop. We spent about two hours there treated wounded. It was stressful at first because the people really pressed in on us, basically just because we were the first ones to them. However the people were so thankful we asked four or five times and people backed up. We treated somewhere between 40 and 50 people with minor cuts and scrapes up to severe cuts of deep lacerations. Scott treated a man named Louis Charles who had an open skull fracture, basically a five inch long gash in his head. We basically have triage and med supplies so Scott did an amazing job cleaning him up, effectively put his head back together and then bandaged him. However our interpreter told the man he must find a hospital or else the infection would kill him. God provided as He has at every step. We were starting to run out of gloves and gauze to the point we were going to have to say no more people. But just as gloves ran out we finished the last person! We left feeling drained, hot and dirty but also so blessed. We drove about a km when God provided again when we passed a Red Cross triage station. Scott leapt at the notion of getting Louis Charles there. We inquired and a team of Red Cross from Colombia said we could bring him. We prayed on way back to Delmas that we could find him. We did, and brought him to the field hospital where a team of doctors from Spain took him in. Before we left the doctor told us he didn't need neurosurgery so they would thoroughly clean his skull fracture, suture him and give him antibiotics. We were just overwhelmed by how God moved us around the city, brought us to Louis Charles, brought us and then him to a field center where volunteers from around the world could treat him and almost certainly save his life. We each, I think, view him as the picture of the One Life, we all came hoping to watch God save. There are so many more. We are hoping tomorrow to pick up some of the people we saw with fractures and take them to the Red Cross field hospital who said they would look at anyone we can get there to them. All in all people have been fairly calm. They have been very receptive to us so far and have been very appreciative. My somewhat remembered French has actually served me really well conversing with people about their wounds and praising God. It's astounding how quickly after this terrible disaster the Haitian people are rallying themselves to deal with basic needs of surviving. We are halfway through the med supplies but are praying for some mercy from doctors, hospitals and such back in the US to provide more for shipping down here when the next team comes down. We also need donations to cover costs for air and other provisioning for the next teams. God has also provided us with contacts as interpreters and drivers which is critical. We basically figured out the logistics pipe to work supplies in through Santo Domingo.