blue65coupe
Well-Known Member
A little background before the emails. We know the couple that are sending us the updates. The guy is an eye doctor who was partnered (very successfully) with two other eye doctors I know very well. They did missionary work and last year this family sold everything they owned pretty much, packed up, and moved to Haiti to open clinics there. They have also adopted a few Haitian kids. Kinda crazy? A little more to it than human nature? Something greater than being good people? I'll let you decide. Anyway, here are the last two emails we've received since the quake. The reason for posting this is simple:
1. I'll keep this reason to myself.
2. No matter how much I, or anyone else, bash what's going on in this country, it's still the greatest country on the planet. While Haiti may be a less fortunate country, the goods we (USA) send may not make it to where they need to go, etc. these are human beings having to go through this. Sometimes (actually most of the time) I take for granted being able to sit in this office playing on the computer until the time comes I decide to go home. A home that is more than I need, more "possessions" than I'll ever use, and a family that I just assume will always be there when I feel like spending time with 'em.
Wed. email
Some people that work on our campus here in Montrouis live in Port Au Prince in the area that was the hardest hit. Without cell phone communication after the quake they were not able to get through to their families and only could listen to local radio talk about the thousands of homes that had collapsed. We could only spend the night in prayer and prepare to take them to search for their families first thing this morning.
As we made our way to Port Au Prince it was clear that we were in for a tough day. We were able to get through streets strewn with debris and power lines. Every hospital had closed gates and thousands of wounded and dying on the sidewalk outside. We stopped at one hospital in to search for our friend’s wife and while we were there we started treating people with non life threatening wounds. Digging chunks of cement out of gaping wounds, cleaning head wounds, etc. I had one girl that a mom begged me to go and check and when I got there she was completely covered with a sheet and when I pulled it back I was sure she was dead. Covered in flies with a gaping head wound, disfigured face. I was able to find a weak pulse and get her to respond. Her name is Beatrice and she is 19 years old. I got her some water and tried to see if there was anything I could do, but I had to just tell the family how to care for her as she waited to see if the hospital would open. I prayed for her and her family and left broken hearted.
We picked up a 12 year old boy name Nesley that some friends and his parents were carrying down the road on a door as a stretcher. They needed a ride to the hospital. While in the back of the truck we tried to help him but he had a major head injury and crushed shoulder. Philip was so broken as he wept over the little guy. He felt so burdened that we had to talk to him about his faith before he died. We got down on our knees as he looked at us through swollen eyes. He gave a testimony of loving Jesus and believing that God was waiting for him if he was to die. We prayed and wept with him. We dropped him off at the hospital and left not knowing his fate. Please keep Nesley and his family in your prayers.
Those are just a few of the people God sent our way today but we feel overwhelmed yet grateful that God is letting us be a small glimmer of light in such a dark time. I have never seen a war zone but I would have to suspect it looks similar. We could not count the dead bodies in the streets and on the sidewalks. Everyone is afraid to go back into the buildings so they all have sheet tents built in the streets. One of our good friends that barely escaped before his house fell spent the night standing in a parking lot with over 2000 other people praying God would let them see one more day.
Just keep us in your prayers. On top of everything else, we have some type of sickness that everyone is getting here. Logan, Joy, Shelly, Pastor Rick, Caleb, and Bob have all been very sick with fever and intestinal problems. Joy, Logan, and Shelly are still in the bed.
We know God is good all the time. We will try to keep you updated as internet is available.
In Christ,
Kerry and Joy
Thurs. email
1/14/10- I could not get this to send last night-
What a crazy couple of days. We received word that Samaritan’s Purse would be setting up a staging area at the mission compound where our other eye clinic is being established. So we spent the morning planning what we needed to do in the next week and then went to the compound about half way to Port Au Prince to see if Samaritan’s Purse had arrived. We still have little to no cell phone service which makes things so much more complicated. We found out that a group of the inmates that escaped when the prison wall collapsed was hijacking vehicles in that area and that Samaritan’s Purse was not there. Due to issues with communication, we do not know when they will get there. Our plan is to partner with them and be involved in their water treatment program and distributions and medical clinics.
Right now Port Au Prince has not been secured enough to let most humanitarian aid teams in. The UN is working but there are still so many dead bodies and everyone is still sleeping in the streets. The situation is extremely desperate and thousands of people that lost everything in their collapsed homes are trying to escape the city and go stay with loved ones and friends in the outlying provinces. We are working on getting a food distribution system in place to meet the needs of the refugees and the families that are receiving them. We want to be able to provide food as well as clothing and clean water. Most of the people we have become friends with have taken in family members and are trying to help them deal with the trauma and fear from their experience in the quake. We want to be able to meet their physical needs but also the emotional and spiritual trauma from such a devastating event. The people are so traumatized from the event itself that they have not even really begun the process of mourning for their lost loved ones. Pray God will give us the chance to minister mercy and grace to as many as possible.
We sent a search party consisting of a big truck with 3 motorcycles on back into the city again this afternoon to look for Dago- one of our close friends’- brother and for Julie Wirries. We praise the Lord that just after the team reached the city we received word that Julie’s son had already received communication that Julie was safe. PRAISE the Lord! We do not know anything more than that at the moment. I have not yet heard whether Dago’s brother has been found. Pray for them as they are still in PAP right now and with the carjacking situation that is a dangerous scenario. I had a prayer time with Dago and the team as we were sending them out and it really was a sweet time as God met with us and they saw how much we loved them and were concerned for their safety.
I will let everyone know how things develop. We will be working north of Port Au Prince until we see the opportunity to partner with some groups establishing sites of ministry once the city is secured in the next day or two. Once most of the bodies have been removed and the houses that are still livable are reoccupied, things will be much easier. Then the long and arduous process of rebuilding and dealing with the homeless and hungry and sick begins. The airborn diseases and contaminated water supplies are a definite concern.
There are constantly bodies being brought through our area in open trucks being taken to morgues and graves north of the city. Every passing body is a reminder of the extent of the event. We would love to set up a food and clothes distribution center here in Montrouis. As food and fuel becomes more scarce, the prices are going to continue to rise and make it even harder for the average Haitian to support their normal household, much less the extra people they are bringing in.
Please pray for the people of Haiti. They are so afraid right now and hurting. We hate it. To see people you love so desperate is heart wrenching. We still don’t have cell service to call our family and internet is limited but know we love you and miss you and praise God you are alive and safe there. Seeing so many people lose children and parents and siblings helps us have a new perspective of how blessed we really are. Mom and Dad and Megan and Luke we miss you. We love you. We wish you were here to help us. Know we will be careful and yet not shy away from the opportunity to go wherever God leads us.
In Christ,
Kerry and Joy and the Crew including the Tri-City Baptist Church team and Philip the Montrouis All- Star
UPDATE: Dago made it back to Montrouis late last night and his brother and family are safe. I woke up the same sickness that has been going around our team. Bob Benfield and Rick Landers have partnered with a nearby missionary and are in the city now. They are doing water, food, and clothes distributions for the people living in the streets. Be in prayer for them it is not a safe place right now. Pray I will recover quickly as we can’t coordinate things well with other groups with me in bed. But God is good and He does ALL things well!
1. I'll keep this reason to myself.
2. No matter how much I, or anyone else, bash what's going on in this country, it's still the greatest country on the planet. While Haiti may be a less fortunate country, the goods we (USA) send may not make it to where they need to go, etc. these are human beings having to go through this. Sometimes (actually most of the time) I take for granted being able to sit in this office playing on the computer until the time comes I decide to go home. A home that is more than I need, more "possessions" than I'll ever use, and a family that I just assume will always be there when I feel like spending time with 'em.
Wed. email
Some people that work on our campus here in Montrouis live in Port Au Prince in the area that was the hardest hit. Without cell phone communication after the quake they were not able to get through to their families and only could listen to local radio talk about the thousands of homes that had collapsed. We could only spend the night in prayer and prepare to take them to search for their families first thing this morning.
As we made our way to Port Au Prince it was clear that we were in for a tough day. We were able to get through streets strewn with debris and power lines. Every hospital had closed gates and thousands of wounded and dying on the sidewalk outside. We stopped at one hospital in to search for our friend’s wife and while we were there we started treating people with non life threatening wounds. Digging chunks of cement out of gaping wounds, cleaning head wounds, etc. I had one girl that a mom begged me to go and check and when I got there she was completely covered with a sheet and when I pulled it back I was sure she was dead. Covered in flies with a gaping head wound, disfigured face. I was able to find a weak pulse and get her to respond. Her name is Beatrice and she is 19 years old. I got her some water and tried to see if there was anything I could do, but I had to just tell the family how to care for her as she waited to see if the hospital would open. I prayed for her and her family and left broken hearted.
We picked up a 12 year old boy name Nesley that some friends and his parents were carrying down the road on a door as a stretcher. They needed a ride to the hospital. While in the back of the truck we tried to help him but he had a major head injury and crushed shoulder. Philip was so broken as he wept over the little guy. He felt so burdened that we had to talk to him about his faith before he died. We got down on our knees as he looked at us through swollen eyes. He gave a testimony of loving Jesus and believing that God was waiting for him if he was to die. We prayed and wept with him. We dropped him off at the hospital and left not knowing his fate. Please keep Nesley and his family in your prayers.
Those are just a few of the people God sent our way today but we feel overwhelmed yet grateful that God is letting us be a small glimmer of light in such a dark time. I have never seen a war zone but I would have to suspect it looks similar. We could not count the dead bodies in the streets and on the sidewalks. Everyone is afraid to go back into the buildings so they all have sheet tents built in the streets. One of our good friends that barely escaped before his house fell spent the night standing in a parking lot with over 2000 other people praying God would let them see one more day.
Just keep us in your prayers. On top of everything else, we have some type of sickness that everyone is getting here. Logan, Joy, Shelly, Pastor Rick, Caleb, and Bob have all been very sick with fever and intestinal problems. Joy, Logan, and Shelly are still in the bed.
We know God is good all the time. We will try to keep you updated as internet is available.
In Christ,
Kerry and Joy
Thurs. email
1/14/10- I could not get this to send last night-
What a crazy couple of days. We received word that Samaritan’s Purse would be setting up a staging area at the mission compound where our other eye clinic is being established. So we spent the morning planning what we needed to do in the next week and then went to the compound about half way to Port Au Prince to see if Samaritan’s Purse had arrived. We still have little to no cell phone service which makes things so much more complicated. We found out that a group of the inmates that escaped when the prison wall collapsed was hijacking vehicles in that area and that Samaritan’s Purse was not there. Due to issues with communication, we do not know when they will get there. Our plan is to partner with them and be involved in their water treatment program and distributions and medical clinics.
Right now Port Au Prince has not been secured enough to let most humanitarian aid teams in. The UN is working but there are still so many dead bodies and everyone is still sleeping in the streets. The situation is extremely desperate and thousands of people that lost everything in their collapsed homes are trying to escape the city and go stay with loved ones and friends in the outlying provinces. We are working on getting a food distribution system in place to meet the needs of the refugees and the families that are receiving them. We want to be able to provide food as well as clothing and clean water. Most of the people we have become friends with have taken in family members and are trying to help them deal with the trauma and fear from their experience in the quake. We want to be able to meet their physical needs but also the emotional and spiritual trauma from such a devastating event. The people are so traumatized from the event itself that they have not even really begun the process of mourning for their lost loved ones. Pray God will give us the chance to minister mercy and grace to as many as possible.
We sent a search party consisting of a big truck with 3 motorcycles on back into the city again this afternoon to look for Dago- one of our close friends’- brother and for Julie Wirries. We praise the Lord that just after the team reached the city we received word that Julie’s son had already received communication that Julie was safe. PRAISE the Lord! We do not know anything more than that at the moment. I have not yet heard whether Dago’s brother has been found. Pray for them as they are still in PAP right now and with the carjacking situation that is a dangerous scenario. I had a prayer time with Dago and the team as we were sending them out and it really was a sweet time as God met with us and they saw how much we loved them and were concerned for their safety.
I will let everyone know how things develop. We will be working north of Port Au Prince until we see the opportunity to partner with some groups establishing sites of ministry once the city is secured in the next day or two. Once most of the bodies have been removed and the houses that are still livable are reoccupied, things will be much easier. Then the long and arduous process of rebuilding and dealing with the homeless and hungry and sick begins. The airborn diseases and contaminated water supplies are a definite concern.
There are constantly bodies being brought through our area in open trucks being taken to morgues and graves north of the city. Every passing body is a reminder of the extent of the event. We would love to set up a food and clothes distribution center here in Montrouis. As food and fuel becomes more scarce, the prices are going to continue to rise and make it even harder for the average Haitian to support their normal household, much less the extra people they are bringing in.
Please pray for the people of Haiti. They are so afraid right now and hurting. We hate it. To see people you love so desperate is heart wrenching. We still don’t have cell service to call our family and internet is limited but know we love you and miss you and praise God you are alive and safe there. Seeing so many people lose children and parents and siblings helps us have a new perspective of how blessed we really are. Mom and Dad and Megan and Luke we miss you. We love you. We wish you were here to help us. Know we will be careful and yet not shy away from the opportunity to go wherever God leads us.
In Christ,
Kerry and Joy and the Crew including the Tri-City Baptist Church team and Philip the Montrouis All- Star
UPDATE: Dago made it back to Montrouis late last night and his brother and family are safe. I woke up the same sickness that has been going around our team. Bob Benfield and Rick Landers have partnered with a nearby missionary and are in the city now. They are doing water, food, and clothes distributions for the people living in the streets. Be in prayer for them it is not a safe place right now. Pray I will recover quickly as we can’t coordinate things well with other groups with me in bed. But God is good and He does ALL things well!
