R & R

I came home to Ohio this past Monday night for rest. Things are going well in Haiti and looking forward to returning later this Month.

I experienced 2 earthquakes while in Haiti. Last Monday night (Feb 22) I woke at 130am to my bed shaking and the building shaking. I ran outside as did others in the building. This is the 2nd time I had felt the earth shake and it was much worse then the 1st time. It was a 4.7 earthquake. I was in Jacmel but I am told more buildings in Port au Prince fell during this earthquake.

The last earthquake I felt was while waiting in the airport this Monday morning. The plane was scheduled to take off in about 10 minutes so I got up to go to the bathroom and came out and sat on my suitcase up against a wall when the building started shaking and ground rumbling. It almost sounds like thunder from the ground. Which is odd hearing it come from below. After about 6-8 seconds of hard shaking, people started screaming and running out of the airport. Well, when I say people I mean all the Haitians-even the ones working at the airport. After it was over I looked around and all of us white people were still sitting where we were looking around. You could definitely tell the people who had lived through the 1st earthquake and how scared they still were. I toook it as a sign from God to hurry up and get on the plane! I called my Haitian friend, Andriline and asked if she felt it and she said yes and that Gd was telling me to stay in Haiti :)

Below is the support letter sent out today to my supporting churches and individuals.

March 4, 2009

Dear Christian Partners,

The past 5 weeks have been a whirlwind for the people of Haiti. I went back to Haiti 2 weeks after the earthquake and returned this past Monday evening. When I arrived in Haiti I was greeted with even more chaos than the 3^rd world country normally has to offer. The airport was closed and my passport was not even opened or stamped upon arrival. This was the beginning of the many changes I faced.

The majority of my time was spent working in our medical clinic in Port au Prince. Normally, I work out in a remote village of Haiti but medical skills were more needed in the hard-hit capital. We have a 3 story clinic in Port au Prince and the 3^rd story fell during the earthquake. We did not use that building but instead turned half of the school into a clinic. I worked with doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Texas. The days were long and hot, and at the end of some days, the line of patients was longer than it was than when we had arrived in the morning.

We transported some patients to hospitals but treated most of them in our clinic. We had a wound care section where people with large wounds would come for daily dressing changes and a shot of strong antibiotic. This was where I noticed the large elderly population who had been living with their adult children before the earthquake. Now that their adult children had died, they had no one to support them. Orphaned children of Haiti got a lot of press and attention, but these elderly also were in the same boat. We did extra things for them including giving them food, money and a nutrition shake everyday as they waited for their dressing changes. More info on my blog site.

I also helped Haitian Christian Outreach with food and tent distribution, coordinating and working with short term teams in country and assessing the future needs of the Haitian people. All the hours of language school definitely paid off during this trip. I even translated in some of the major hospitals when we transported patients because there were no translators available.

A huge thank you is due to all who have supported and are currently supporting me on the mission field. Extra gifts came into my mission account from supporters and it was so appreciated. God knew about this earthquake 2 years ago when I first went to Haiti and I have learned He guides my path. I am still learning to let Him do that and to trust Him 100%. Your role in supporting me through Haitian Christian Outreach is helping people in another country you may never meet or be able to communicate with in this life. I have the opportunity to do this in Christ’s name with your support. Mesi anpil! (Thanks a lot!) It is my prayer we will all meet in heaven one day and worship our Maker and Redeemer together as one.

I am trying to keep this brief but please take the time to read some of the personal stories of Haitian people affected on my blog, www.ginnyinhaiti.blogspot.com.

God was in control before, during and still is after the earthquake.