I know that this is slightly out of date, but I went to Haiti immediately following the earthquake with CSI Ministries. It took two full days to get there, and I tried to send several updates back to the States while I was there. Although the posts may be out of date, I am putting on the blog just to remember the feelings, the emotions, and the struggles. Now, only a few short months after the devastation, the media has already forgotten about the entire episode.
I will put all of the posts up on Clark's Thoughts.
Below is #1. Please enjoy, and please pray for the people and the country of Haiti.
Friday, January 15, 2010 7:45 PM
Finally arrived in PAP after a long journey. Spent last night in the Turks and
Caicos Islands in Provo. The Rotary picked us all up at the airport and divided
us up in their homes, then took us to a restaurant and bought everyone's dinner.
(There were about 25 of us on the MFI flight). Special thanks to the Rotary for
helping us out.
Landed this morning in Cap Haiten. That was frustrating because we weren't sure
how or when we would get to PAP. Several people made several calls to
connections and we were finally allowed to land the DC3 at the smaller airport.
They made a special exception for us since we were human aid, but otherwise the
DC3 is too large to land there, and PAP was for military flights only.
Toby Banks and Roberta Anderson picked us up and took us to the clinic. That is
where most people are staying right now. The orphanage is out of commission, and
so is the guesthouse. We are at the guesthouse now, but sitting outside and will
stay across the street at the Mesmin house. After 5 pm, you can drive anywhere.
People literally line the streets and sleep on the road. They have nowhere else
to go. You get in by 5, or you don't get in, and you can't leave once your
there.
We saw tons of buildings collapsed, and more are collapsing every day with
follow-up tremors on already weakened structures. We saw several bodies on the
roadside, and at one place they were burning them by tossing tires on top. And
keep in mind, we are not downtown where everything is much, much worse.
The saddest story I have heard to date is a mother that was collecting urine
from her male children in a bottle and then using it to bath them. They were
dirty and bloody, and there was nothing else to use to clean them up. They have
no water and no food, and not much hope.
A real tear jerker was hearing that the clinic wall fell down. The Haitians
nearby, who had lost there homes, several lost the lives of family members, but
several of them showed up to the clinic. Not to loot and plunder, but to help
rebuild the wall. They know what the clinic means to the community. Maybe there
is some hope after all.
I'm sure some of you are tired of hearing about Haiti. But the story comes to
mind right now of the boy on the beach with 100,000 starfish that were washed up
on the shore. The boy picked them up one at a time and tossed them into the
ocean. A guy walked up and told him that he could never make a difference -
there are just too many. The boy said, "I made a difference for that one, didn't
I?"
Please keep praying for Haiti and our missionaries serving faithfully here.
Jon
