Tuesday and Wednesday
Our internet connection went out again at the guest house, so I am going to make just a brief update. (I am borrowing a computer now.)
Today we received a delivery of supplies from Unicef. We have accumulated quite a store of supplies that are being used to care for families in the area. There is a regular stream of people coming through who are in need of food and various things.
Tomorrow we are expecting a dozen Firefighters for Christ, and they should be here for about a week. We had a fun conversation tonight at the guest house about that... :-)
Yesterday I was pretty much laid out with a stomach ailment. Now I am feeling better, thank God. I want to concentrate on doing what I came here to do: provide pastoral care to the folks of MDL.
Pretty much everyone here is suffering from post-earthquake stress and/or grief from losing loved ones. I haven't talked to anyone yet who is unaffected.
In the surrounding community, many people are homeless. Lots of Haitians are still sleeping outside because they are afraid to sleep in their houses. Few buildings don't have at least a few cracks in them, and when Haitians see cracks in buildings, they don't trust the buildings to stay standing. And a lot of people have left Port-au-Prince for the countryside, feeling like there is nothing left here for them.
I haven't been to the Ravine yet, but I have seen it from a hillside. Much of it is gone. For those of you who have been here, you can imagine how strange that is.
We just said goodbye to Andre and Sylvie, a Canadian couple who had been staying in the guest house. When the earthquake hit, they had just finished shopping at the Caribbean Market and were walking home. The Market collapsed, and many people were killed, and several were trapped inside. When they got home, Andre and Sylvie found that their house had also collapsed. Their little toy poodle, Becky, was standing on top of the rubble. They scooped her up, but they also knew their housekeeper had been in the house. As they searched around, they heard a voice from within the concrete. For fifteen hours, they dug through the night with the housekeeper's son. At about 9:00 the next morning, they finally pulled the woman out. She had been wedged between two slabs of concrete that had fallen and then slid some 30 feet down the side of the hill. Somehow she was not crushed. Her head was cut, but she came out alive. Andre and Sylvie are sleeping at their new house tonight, which is just a block from the Guest House.
Well, gotta go. I have to give up this computer to someone else.
Today we received a delivery of supplies from Unicef. We have accumulated quite a store of supplies that are being used to care for families in the area. There is a regular stream of people coming through who are in need of food and various things.
Tomorrow we are expecting a dozen Firefighters for Christ, and they should be here for about a week. We had a fun conversation tonight at the guest house about that... :-)
Yesterday I was pretty much laid out with a stomach ailment. Now I am feeling better, thank God. I want to concentrate on doing what I came here to do: provide pastoral care to the folks of MDL.
Pretty much everyone here is suffering from post-earthquake stress and/or grief from losing loved ones. I haven't talked to anyone yet who is unaffected.
In the surrounding community, many people are homeless. Lots of Haitians are still sleeping outside because they are afraid to sleep in their houses. Few buildings don't have at least a few cracks in them, and when Haitians see cracks in buildings, they don't trust the buildings to stay standing. And a lot of people have left Port-au-Prince for the countryside, feeling like there is nothing left here for them.
I haven't been to the Ravine yet, but I have seen it from a hillside. Much of it is gone. For those of you who have been here, you can imagine how strange that is.
We just said goodbye to Andre and Sylvie, a Canadian couple who had been staying in the guest house. When the earthquake hit, they had just finished shopping at the Caribbean Market and were walking home. The Market collapsed, and many people were killed, and several were trapped inside. When they got home, Andre and Sylvie found that their house had also collapsed. Their little toy poodle, Becky, was standing on top of the rubble. They scooped her up, but they also knew their housekeeper had been in the house. As they searched around, they heard a voice from within the concrete. For fifteen hours, they dug through the night with the housekeeper's son. At about 9:00 the next morning, they finally pulled the woman out. She had been wedged between two slabs of concrete that had fallen and then slid some 30 feet down the side of the hill. Somehow she was not crushed. Her head was cut, but she came out alive. Andre and Sylvie are sleeping at their new house tonight, which is just a block from the Guest House.
Well, gotta go. I have to give up this computer to someone else.
Praying for you et al at MDL. Stu.
ReplyDeleteDear Dave - Your dad and I have been thinking and praying for you. So glad to hear what's happening. Sounds like God has been guiding you and giving you favor.... We'll continue to hold you up for physical, emotional, and spiritual strength.
ReplyDeleteDave!!!
ReplyDeleteKeep writing!!
This helps me so much!
Thanks!