“…what is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:27
Hi! The earthquake that hit Haiti surprised a lot of people around the world but it didn’t surprise everyone here in Haiti. A month before the earthquake Marie (who is the cook here at Coram Deo) came up to me with a handout that a Haitian pastor had written. He wrote that in 2008 a bucket was poured on Haiti (referring to the tropical storms/hurricanes that caused massive flooding and damage here in Haiti). He mentioned that a “barrel” would soon be poured on Haiti and that it would be in the form of an earthquake that would be fatal for Port-au-Prince. He pleaded with people to turn to God. Reading this touched Marie’s heart and she asked me if I would photocopy 50 copies for her to hand out to people she knew. I did this and she handed out all the papers. Marie got this handout from someone and she in turn shared it with others. I don’t know how many people read the handouts but when the earthquake hit Marie was relieved that she had warned some people that she knew. Looking back I should have posted a copy of the handout on our gates for people to read as they walked by our gate.
My father and sister Tanya are visiting Haiti along with Marlene, Teresa and Teresa. They have been busy helping out here at Coram Deo. The dormitory is finished with the painting of the rooms. The ceramic tiles will be installed hopefully on Monday and then the electrician will come in next. After we get some more beds everyone can move into the dorms.
They have also been busy organizing all the boxes from the P.E.I donation in the living room/pharmacy. We distributed some clothing and bedding to a couple of the refuge camps near us.
The hydrocephalus surgeries started today and we will also be able to give some care packages to the mothers whose babies are receiving surgeries. Today 7 surgeries were performed over at Bernard Mevs Hospital. We supply the breakfast and supper meals at the hospital and the visitors have also been helping out with the food distribution there as well. It is great to have helping hands and to spend time with family as well! Pray for all the hydrocephalus babies that will be receiving surgeries and for the medical team from the University of Miami that is performing the surgeries. Project Medishare together with Healing Hands and Bernard Mevs Hospital are co-coordinating the surgeries. It is great to see people working well together. The University of Miami/Project Medishare Tent Hospital will be transferring from the airport grounds to Bernard Mevs Hospital on June 6th. Pray for the transition and that many people can continue to be helped at the new location.
Tanya, Marlene, Teresa and Teresa all helped out at some of the clinics after the earthquake. It was good that they could meet some of the people that they got to know at the prior clinics again. Junior has been sick recently and we have given him medicine and he was seen by a couple of doctors at recent clinics but he isn’t improving much. We are going to send him to International Child Care to get him evaluated for TB. Pray that the doctors can find out what is wrong with him.
Today was Mother’s Day here in Haiti and it was a difficult day for those who lost mothers and parents in the earthquake. Junior’s sister Dolly had a difficult day today. Keep all the earthquake orphans in prayer.
There was a double murder that took place on Airport Rd. this week. We got there after the shooting was done. They both died of their wounds instantly and there was nothing that could be done to help them. A well-known Haitian pastor, David Charles who had a church in the Delmas 24 area was gunned down along with a security guard of a parking lot by some motorcycle thieves. The pastor had left the bank after making a large withdrawal to purchase a vehicle. He had hidden the money in his socks. The thieves ambushed him by the Nissan/Land Rover dealerships on Airport Rd. We don’t know if they wanted to kidnap him or just rob him but it appears that he tried to defend himself. The chain from the barrier of the parking lot was in his hand. The thieves got away. Pray the thieves are caught and that justice will be done. It looks like whoever did this act either knew that the pastor was on his way to purchase the vehicle or worked with someone inside the bank who let people know that a large withdrawal had been made.
Post-earthquake changes in Haiti have been very, very slow and people are frustrated. We don’t see any progress on repairs at the airport. The temporary location site is not ideal for arriving passengers. A short walk on Airport Rd. is necessary to go to waiting vehicles. We have seen people being harassed for money by groups of young men pressuring people further down the road. The other week a motorcycle hit a man waiting by the arrival area. We transported him to the University of Miami/Project Medishare Hospital with a lower leg injury. He was not seriously injured and is now doing alright. Pray that repairs at the airport are made and that people don’t have to wait by the side of Airport Rd. too much longer.
Anti-government protests continue here in Port-au-Prince. These protest groups are determined to continue on with them. Another protest is planned for June 1st according to “word on the street”. Things are very political right now. Pray for peace and that elections can be organized for November 2010. People are seeing all the rubble lying around and they are frustrated. People in the camps sit there not knowing how long they will be living in these conditions. A lot of streets have rubble on them and some streets are blocked because of the rubble or tents.
A lot of bodies remain under rubble. The Haitian people as a culture want to bury their dead but the severity of the devastation causes people to just ignore them. Bodies are now bones and we have seen bones appear in areas where they weren’t before due to dogs moving them. When people find them now they just toss them in the garbage like any other bones. People who we have tried to remove from the rubble but couldn’t because of the large slabs of concrete blocking removal are now bones that have been carried off by dogs and disappeared. Pray that one day all the broken buildings are removed.
That is all the news for today. Have a good week!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
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