We brought new life the clinic this morning with all the supplies we snagged late yesterday. They are thrilled they can now do surgical procedures with local anesthetics. People are mobbing me, showing me their wounds as I walk down the street. Kids, adults, no one was spared. Open wounds, crush injuries, and of course, mass infection from poor or no treatment for over a week. It’s a sad fact that more will die from lack of care. How do you treat open fractures when you can’t operate and there is nowhere to put them for recovery?
Good Morning- On the ground in Haiti-Day 2
20 JanBrian emailed me this earlier today, “We had an exciting aftershock at 6 AM this morning.Better than an alarm clock!” According to a nurse working in one of the hospitals in PAP( reported by CNN),” Patients at a hospital near Haiti’s airport in Port-au-Prince immediately started praying as the ground shook like a ship rocking back and forth. They asked for forgiveness and protection.” Pray for the Haitians who survived the earthquake as additional aftershocks incite emotional distress and terror.
On the ground in Haiti-Day 1
20 Jan
Brian arrived in PAP earlier today and one of our friends from Costa Rica captured this picture as he stood on the tarmac! We spoke briefly by satellite phone, and he assured me that he and the team will have safe lodging tonight. He found some doctors who were treating patients with crush injuries who had no supplies, and several hours later, perused a long list of medications, filled out some requisitions and returned to those doctors with antibiotics and other medications. Pray for other opportunities such as these as he, Mark, and the rest of the team assess the needs of the people of Haiti.
Relief in Action
19 JanTeams are on the ground and in the air headed to Haiti today and tomorrow. This will be a long-term effort coordinated with much thought and prayer. Consider how you may be involved. Give, Pray, GO? Yes, there are opportunities to do all these things, but with a willing heart and a U.S. Passport you may be part of God’s amazingly designed response to this situation. Leave a comment here and you will be immediately connected with those formulating the response.
More later, the inbox is filling and the phone is ringing!
Orphans from Haiti
19 Jan
Just drove in to Ft. Pierce tonight for an early flight out tomorrow. 26 kids just arrived tonight, released to their adoptive families, some of which have been waiting for years. There are some bright spots in the midst of incredible tragedy. This family was smiling from ear to ear to finally have their family whole.
We’re catching a flight out on one of the planes that Hendrick Motor Sports has lent, along with the flight crews, for this crisis.
Haiti update #3 – First assessment team on their way
18 JanOur first team is off to Cap Haitian to assess where we will set up a base and to prepare for our first medical team arriving on Wednesday. Three of us go directly to Port-au-Prince tomorrow morning.
Haiti update #2
18 JanWe are sending three people and basic supplies to Cap Haitian in the morning to assess the situation there and Pignon for a medical team arriving Wednesday. Mark and I fly to Port au Prince early Tuesday morning.
Pray for safety, good connections, and wisdom.
Haiti update #1
17 JanI just arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida last night and am staying with a wonderful man who will host our other four guys too as we stage for Haiti response. He is the US leader of Vision of Hope which is a partner ministry with us in Haiti. Henoc is the Haiti leader and below you will read a report from him.
Our current plan is to fly into Cap Haitian on Tuesday, taking whatever medical supplies we can carry. The rest of the team gets in here this evening and tomorrow will be spent praying, organizing and planning. Obviously we don’t know all that we’ll face when we get to Haiti, but we do knowthere will be unbelievable needs and opportunities to respond.
Please consider partnering with us and Henoc in sharing Christ’s love. Pray. Give. www.touchglobal.org/haiti. There you will find more information and an opportunity to give. Donations will be used for immediate relief and long term recovery ministry, as we know that needs here will go on for a long time.
The earthquake happened on Tuesday evening. All communication was cut off.
We did not know what was going on except for what we were reading on the
internet and on the radio.. Because of the heavy overcast, we could not
watch CNN. I wanted to go to Port au Prince, but with no telephone
communication, it could get complicated.
Thursday morning, around 11, the telephone started to work slowly. Just one
company. So, we could try to reach anyone subscribed with Voila. However,
people in Port au Prince cannot be reached because there is no power to
charge the phone. Some have lost their phones and it takes a lot of time to
get through.
We arrived around Port au Prince at 5:00. However it took over 2 and a
half hours to travel the one mile road to the airport. People are coming in
to look for their loved ones and others are leaving town. We saw many
people on top of roof digging up flattened buildings. Stock piles of dead
human beings were everywhere. At the cemetery, and on open fields, they dig
large holes and fill them up. We found at one cemetery where they put a
pile of dead people and burned them with gasoline. To ignite the fire, they
used old tires. The smoke was going up and I call it the Smoke of Hell.
There is no fuel. However, there are lines of people by the gas stations.
They are just hoping that there will be some somehow. There are no
government ministries. Most of them have been crushed. Some senators, some
deputies, a lot of high government officials have lost their lives. There
is no one in Haiti that has not lost a loved one. The schools and
universities have been crushed to the ground with students underneath. It
happened at the end of the day when most people were still at work. Many
banks have all their employees and clients under the rubbles.
There is no water, no electricity, no store opened, no food. Dead people
are piled by the hundreds and dump trucks come by to pick them up. All the
markets have been destroyed. The prisons have been crushed. The prisoners
are on the streets and some of them have been killed by the earthquake.
There is a lot of pillage, looting, raping. There was even an exchange of
fire yesterday between the police and thieves.
People fear their homes will fall again. Everyone sleeps on the streets
where there is the smell of dead flesh.
Banks are closed, churches have been destroyed. There is nothing left. The
people sleeping on the streets don’t know for how long. They don’t even
know if they will ever return to their homes and have normal lives. Port au
Prince is a metropolitan center with 4 million people coming from all
corners of Haiti. Every one starts going back home. No money, no vehicles,
no where to go.
I left on Thursday morning and came back in the middle of the night with 18
people in the double cab Toyota. It was mainly students from CSS who are in
Port au Prince for university education. Now their houses and apartment are
destroyed and they are homeless. On Friday morning, I went back. We spent
all day looking for Sainsoir’s two daughters. One of them was found and the
other one was no where to be found. We were looking for two other girls who
go to nursing school in Port au Prince. On our way back, Sainsoir’s
daughter called us and we’ll go back on Sunday to pick her up. On that day
we rescued 23 people and we were back by 11:45 PM. Unfortunately, we had 6
flat tires.
Today, Saturday, we bought 4 brand new tires. One family from the church
had a daughter who is a nurse and had gone to Port au Prince to look for a
job. Both she and her son were found dead. The same family could not locate
their son. He was found alive under the ruins of a government building.
His leg is almost destroyed. We will pick him on Sunday to take him to a
hospital. A man from the Grande Riviere church has been found with multiple
injuries. He will come back with us. I will finish this e-mail and head to
Pignon where I will spend the night and need to be in Port au Prince before
8 am.
My cousin’s daughter was killed in school as the building collapsed and
everyone inside was killed. A graduate of CSS, Sterly Manigat, was killed.
Many other friends and loved ones were destroyed.
I have seen death, but I don’t understand it. I have seen people’s lives
destroyed and I cannot understand it. However, I trust in the Lord and that
He has a purpose for everything. Above everything His name will be praised
and there will be a reason to see His glory in the midst of chaos.
Please pray for our safety as we travel at night time and everywhere.
Please pray for strength.
Henoc
Haiti…..
16 JanThe world is watching Haiti and countries are coming together to help the survivors whose lives were spared that fateful day. Humanitarian and faith-based organizations are planning short and long-term efforts as they are able to enter the country. Many of our friends here in Costa Rica are key players in this, and my husband has packed a bag and will meet others from EFCA/Reachglobal tomorrow. As a healthcare professional, wife and mother, the images of makeshift hospitals and orphanages pull at my heartstrings and I know that someone has to go….and yet, the stark reality of potential for additional earthquakes, poor sanitation, disease, etc., confronting the one I love and those whom I have relationships with defy words right now.
Please donate to Reachglobal/Touchglobal or the faith-based or humanitarian agencies you have confidence in and have donated to in the past. Immediate aid will arrive to the people of Haiti as you read this. Short-term and Long-term relief efforts for Haiti and disasters yet unknown will continue for forthcoming months and years; and you, your family, and church fellowship can become involved as future details are unveiled. For today and the foreseeable future, your fervent prayers for those mobilized in this effort, and those suffering in the country of Haiti will sustain and provide comfort.
GIVE
Donations are needed for immediate crisis relief needs and long-term recovery efforts. Please donate online or send checks to:
EFCA
Earthquake Relief 21709-3970
901 E 78th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55420
SERVE
Once a base of operations is established, volunteers will be needed (internships, short-term and long-term service teams). If you or your church are interested in serving in Haiti, contact the EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response office at crisisresponse@efca.org or call (985) 893-0218 ext 7.
PRAY
We praise God that church planter Pastor Absalon and his wife are alive. Pray for the leaders and members of the EFC church plant in Haiti as they serve in the midst of this crisis. Please pray for:
– the people of Haiti as they experience loss, pain and death.
– the Crisis Response team as they determine how God would have the EFCA respond.
Pray that God would move in this crisis and that people would come to know and trust Him.
Pray for Brian as he travels to Miami and beyond, and for peace as Cathi and the children remain in Costa Rica serving in various ministries and completing homeschool as part of their routine.
EFCA and ReachGlobal Haiti situation
15 JanSome have asked about our response to the Haiti crisis. Although the situation is fluid, we anticipate having some of our folks on the ground early next week. Bottom line, this will be a multi-year response, so we will be organizing to receive teams in Haiti and use this opportunity to show Christ’s love in action.
Here is the latest official information:
EFCA UPDATE SPECIAL BROADCAST
January 15, 2010
HELP HAITI
EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response is responding to the situation in Haiti and your help is needed!
Our response is being planned in connection with the EFCA Southeast District, an EFCA church planter in Haiti, and key ministry partners. The Crisis Response director is working to arrive in Haiti, and in the next few days assessment teams will be in the country. Crisis Response will work to provide immediate relief, as well as plan for long term recovery.
GIVE
Donations are needed for immediate crisis relief needs and long-term recovery efforts. Please donate online or send checks to:
EFCA
Earthquake Relief 21709-3970
901 E 78th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55420
SERVE
Once a base of operations is established, volunteers will be needed (internships, short-term and long-term service teams). If you or your church are interested in serving in Haiti, contact the EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response office at crisisresponse@efca.org or call (985) 893-0218 ext 7.
PRAY
We praise God that church planter Pastor Absalon and his wife are alive. Pray for the leaders and members of the EFC church plant in Haiti as they serve in the midst of this crisis. Please pray for:
– the people of Haiti as they experience loss, pain and death.
– the Crisis Response team as they determine how God would have the EFCA respond.
Pray that God would move in this crisis and that people would come to know and trust Him.
Current information about our response is posted at http://www.touchglobal.org/haiti. For up-to-date reports from the Crisis Response team, go to http://www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com/
Thank you for your prayers and gifts supporting this important ministry of compassion.
TeamDuggan 
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