Back to Barahona

Well, I finally have a second to sit down update everyone. Sunday we came back to Barahona (after breaking down during a 2 1/2 hour drive in the dark, in the middle of nowhere) from Jimani on the border. Yesterday we then got up, took our big yellow bus and headed to the airport here. There we met two US military Blackhawks full of 11 children and their families who had been rescued from Jimani. COTN has committed to caring for them for at least a year, giving them holistic care and helping begin to mend physical and emotional wounds.

The devastation I've seen is incredible. The carnage and destruction will haunt me for the rest of my life. I couldn't help crying as I witnessed piles of rubble, a mountainside full of homes that are now at the bottom of the valley, and bodies in the street. But I cried tears of joy when I saw these kids get off the choppers and knew that these 11, and many more will be nursed back to health long term instead of just being fixed up and sent to a refugee camp like so, so many others.

Here are a few pictures of the kids arriving yesterday and getting settled into the clinic. I decided I'd rather post the happy pictures rather then focus on what CNN has already tirelessly covered:

Hope

I turned on the news today to see a man being pulled from the rubble - alive and smiling ... Hope runs eternal. It is amazing to think that there could still be people alive just waiting for someone to hear their voice.

I opened my email today to find a note from an intern we took to the DR with us two summers ago. She is a nurse (she graduated last year), she is leaving on Wednesday ... to bring Hope.

Watching the news last night I saw two families receive children that they had been waiting to adopt for over a year ... from the wreckage comes Hope.

My doctors office collected many medical supplies to go with a team this week. While they were doing so people in the waiting room began writing checks and one woman left and bought supplies to donate ... we are looking for ways to bring and give Hope.

My sister-in-law, Shelly, wanted to "do something" (as so many of us do) and now has collected enough money and supplies through one email to create over 200 care packs for the children ... we can send hope even through the small things (like a clean towel).

What can we hope for next? What will happen next? I hope that we will not forget - as I see the news and talk to Brandon there is a LONG road ahead for these people. I hope that the efforts do not stop. I hope that even though the news coverage is beginning to slow down we will not stop hoping for he next steps. I hope that we will find our strength in God and work together as a team to bring His Hope to a hurting nation.

While I am not sure what the next steps will be to help rebuild this country I am hopeful that we will be apart of those steps and more than that I am hopeful that Haiti will be covered in prayer so that God can bring Hope to these people.

Things to pray for -

-Continue to pray for energy for the teams and for the COTN staff

-For healing. Not only physical healing but for emotional healing. They have felt many after-shocks and the people are so afraid that they have run from the clinic and are very reluctant to return to the inside.

-Hope - pray that Hope would continue and that God would be at the center of that hope.

Praises -

-People are still being found!

-Medical supplies are becoming available and are making it through to the clinics/hospitals

-People are willing to step out and say "here I am Lord - send me"

Energy

I spoke with Brandon tonight (just after midnight his time). He asked that we all be praying for energy for the team(s). It is amazing how much work they are squeezing into one day and yet there is still so much to do; and will be for months to come. Scott (my brother) also wanted us to let you know that if you are following the COTN up-dates there was a small misprint. The aftershocks that happened really didn't affect the hospital/clinic that we are currently working in (and on a side note Brandon was not at the clinic and so didn't feel the aftershock).

Some great things are happening -

1. All of the doctors do have a place to stay AND all of their food has been taken care of while they are there! (God answered that one in huge ways).

2. We are finding ways to help with relief with the medical supplies that we had at the COTN clinic.

Continue to pray for -

1. Energy. Doctors are working around the clock and along with that work they are needing to alter their normal practice to what supplies are available. Along with that the COTN support staff (Brandon, Erik, Scott etc.) need energy as they receive teams and work on all the logistics ... trying to make "organized chaos"

2. Supplies. There is still a need for all types of supplies.

Again thank you for all your support. This is the update I got in a short phone conversation tonight and wanted to let you all know before I got a little sleep. Everyone is fine and working hard.

Aftershock

I just spoke with Debbie Clark (COTN's co-founder) and she informed me that they could feel the aftershock in Jimani. There was no damage that happened to the hospital that they are working in but everyone knew something happened.

Today they are receiving a team of doctors and will be taking them to the hospital/clinic in Jimani. There are still some huge needs that Debbie shared with me, and that Scott was able to share with Kelly (you can also check their blog the link is on the side).

-medical supplies, they are short basic things and are not able to get to everyone because of lack of supplies

-places to stay, we have people landing today who can help but we don't have a place to "set-up camp" - it would be great to find a church or large building where everyone could stay together

-and funny enough if you have a helicopter around that you are not using it might be helpful for getting supplies to the hospital (at least it would be much faster).

Please continue to pray for everyone involved. Thank you again for your support.

Word from Brandon (and the team)

I just spoke with Brandon and here is the update that he gave:

They traveled to the boarder (to the town of Jimani) today and were able to find a clinic to work with. It is an American clinic, and we already have a doctor working there. The clinic has may open surgical rooms and is in need of help. COTN has now activated a team of doctors that will be arriving on Wednesday to go and help. Brandon said that while they were there they saw truck loads of people arriving from Haiti seeking help, and many people waiting and needing help.

The team will be traveling back to the clinic with some of the supplies from the COTN clinic as supplies are running low. Then they will travel back to the capital to pick up the team of doctors that will be coming to assist.

Here are the things that they asked we pray for:

-interpreters - who speak Creole

-medicines (morphine, saline, etc.)

-more connections in Haiti - so that they can provide as much help as they can (currently they are helping on the DR side of the boarder)

thank you for your continued support and prayers