I don't even know where to start. I have been in Haiti for a week now and trying to come up with the descriptive words is hard for me. Haiti, as most of you know, was not a stable country before but now it is just devestated.

I flew in last Tuesday with a Medical team from Michigan on a private plane that had leather seats, polished wood and a flight attendant who

(people waiting at clinic)

acted more like a waiter. There were 12 of us on the plane and it was packed full of medical supplies in the aisles. We were served Panera for lunch and I thought I was living high flying in a private plane. I never would have thought as a missionary I would have the chance to do that. I was about to leave luxury and go to a place on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

When we landed at the airport in Port au Prince it didn't look like the airport I knew in Haiti at all anymore. The actualy building was closed and there were US military people everywhere. They had set up a military base at the airport. There were army vehicles, large tents, and huge palates of stuff wrapped in heavy plastic that I found out was relief food being shipped in. There were rows and rows of food. The airport employees took our passports and didn't even look at them before stamping and then handing them back. No one's passport photo was checked. There was a long line of people waiting on the side of the airport and a military guy said they were Americans waiting to board a military plane and go home. I asked how much that cost and he said you sign a paper that you will pay whatever they bill you when you get home. They would take any America to a military base in the US and then you are responsible for getting home from there. I thought,"yeah that's about how our government works."

The traffic is so bad right now in Port too. I sat in amazement at all the fallen buildings. I would have guess they would have tumbled sideways from the earth shaking, but they fell straight down. The buildinggs that used to have 3-5 stories are flattened to the height if 1-2 stories. Some buildings fell on to the sidewalk and crushed the people walking. The roof caved in on Pastor Gerard's (Roro's brother) house. He was not home but on his way to church-thank the Lord. Some of you will remember "One Stop". That entire strip mall collapsed. Carribean market is unrecognizable. They said there were 100 people in there and none survived. I could go on and on about the devestation.

Thousands of familes lost their homes. Some headed out to the countryside to staywith family but the others are sleeping on the streets in Port or in refugee camps. I am sleeping outside in Port too. I have no seen a building still standing that does not have LARGE cracks in it. We are afraid if a large aftershock comes other buildings will fall. People are not scared to go in the buildings standing but they won't sleep in them. The Haitians are talking about how now everyone in Haiti is the same. Rich and poor sleeping outside.

We had our clinic open all week and the team from Michigan worked there. There was an Ortho surgeon, 2 ER docs, one Gen doc and 2 nurses and a pharmacist. They treated who they could and sent other to the hospital. I went to the children's hospital down by the American Embassy with Paul Ronk and his daughter (they used to be missionaries in Haiti), We took a woman with a broken leg who was showing signs of compartment syndrome in her foot. She said a Doctor had casted her on the street after the earthquake-without any xray or anything like that. Her foot was swollen 3 times the size of her other one. Someone then brought her baby over to her and he looked terrible. He was 16 months old and to me looked like a 6 month old. We took him with us. We arrived at the hospital and Paul and Sarah went with the mother and I took the baby to the Pediatric wing to be see. He was barley opening his eyes and had zero muscle mass. When I undressed him to be weighed I almost cried. He weighed an even 10 lbs. He is 16 months old! He had teeth and appeared to have no birth defects. Mom said he never breast fed and all she had been feeding him his whole life was soup and bean sauce. I dressed him again and was holding him thinking he was dehysdrated until he peed all over me. I mean all over me. I asked someone for a diaper. I was sitting in the waiting area with all the Haitian women and their children and I was their entertainment I think. There were so many American doctors and nurses working at the Hospital they were literally tripping over each other. They decided they need to recast mom's leg after looking at an xray b/c it was displaced still. They also put an IV in the baby after many, many attempts and kept him as an inpatient to help with his nutrition. The American doctors could not believe he was 16 months old. But the Haitian doctors had no problem believing it saying they see it all the time. Even though this baby is not a victim of the earthquake, he was helped by people coming to help. God always has a plan!

People here are still feeling trembles. I have seen things swaying after a tremble but never felt it myself I felt my first one last night. I was laying down reading and defintely felt it shake. Very strange.

Earthquake

I am currently not in Haiti. I am at home in Ohio and due to return on the 23rd of this month. Thank you all for the phone calls and emails but I am fine.

We still have not heard from any people in our organization in Haiti. Please continue to pray for them and the people we will serve.

God was in control yesterday, He's in control today and He'll still be in control tomorrow. We can count on that.

This week sure was hot in Haiti! I know being Haiti you would think it's hot all the time and it is, but this week was miserable! Finally rained last night and cooled things off. I think we all we happy for that. As I was laying in bed at night with my balcony door open and the fan directly on me and still hot, I couldn't help but think of all the people out there trying to sleep in this weather in a hut with no circulation and no electricity for fans. I was settling in last night to sit down and check email and then go to bed when there was a knock at the gate. Our cook had come back around 8pm and asked if I could make a house call. I got dressed and gathered some supplies and set out into the night trusting she would take me to the right place. When it is dark here-it is dark! She at one point asked me if i was scared and in my shaky voice I said, "No, because God can see everything even when I can't." She smiled. We arrived at the little shack to find an old woman sitting nearly naked on her front stoop with about 40 people surrounding her. After convincing her family to send all the people away, I talked with her and checked her Blood Pressure. It was 180/100. Her family told me it couldn't possibly be that high b/c they had a Haitian nurse come by earlier and take her BP and she said it was low. They insisted I take it in the other arm. I tried to convince them I knew how to take a BP and I was absolutely sure it was really high. Boy was that fun in my broken Creole! She was sweating (well we all were) and her Heart rate was 170. She said she hadn't slept and hadn't eaten or drank anything that day except for the water with her blood pressure meds. I asked to see her medicines and found she was taking 3 different kinds of BP meds. She says the same doctor prescribed them all at the same time. I told her family she needed to relax and one of her granddaughters bathed her and I put some Biofreeze gel on her neck and shoulders and had her sipping some cold water we sent someone to buy. All they had was room temp and I knew how hot the room was! She really enjoyed the cold water. I gave her a Dramamine to help her sleep too. After praying with her and making sure she was tucked in (they insisited on a blanket-I almost passed out at the sight of it) I came back home.

I checked on her today and she looked great. Was dressed and sitting up by herself. Told me she ate breakfast and was drinking more. I talked to her about staying hydrated and going back to the doctor regarding blood pressure medicines. Her BP was 150/82 today. High but better. She said she slept great! And I thought well you should have- I gave you a full dose when I usually only take 1/2 dose of Dramanine myself! She thanked me over and over and let me know that she knew how to get ahold of me now if she needed me again! When I was leaving She said she would see me later "si Bondye vle." (if God wants)

Thank you Lord for the Healthcare system in the US. Even though it is far from perfect. And thank you for the opportunity to help a neighbor...

Proverbs 14:21
"It is a sin to hate your neighbor, but being kind to the needy brings happiness."

School days in Peredo

New back pack and flip-flops! I can't believe my eyes!

Look at our new bookbags!

I love my new backpack!

He doesn't know who Spiderman is, but loves the backpack!

Yesterday we passed out 89 backpacks sent from people in Licking Valley Church and Utica Church to the school kids in Peredo. What a fun day at school it was. We should have waited until the end of the day because the kids were so wound up afterwards! The teachers and principal enjoyed helping hand them out and they all received a satchel bag too. Thank you all so much for showing God's love through back packs! 89 kids in Haiti say Mesi (thank you)! To learn more about supporting the school kids in the village of Peredo through the mission Haitian Christian Outreach, go to www.haitianchristian.org.

Being back in Haiti this past week has been like coming back to my second home. I am feeling more and more comfortable here each visit. I am still missing my dog and missed the 1st Ohio State Football game of the season-but my heart is happy to be back in Haiti. Last week I flew in with a short term team from Indiana. We held a mobile medical clinic in the village of Peredo for 2 days with 2 Haitian doctors and then went up to the remote village of Seguin in the mountain area past Peredo. We did some more cleaning of the clinic there and then handed out clothes, shoes and some quilts to the people there. The weather has been nearly or at 100 degrees everyday but Seguin is at such a high altitude that it is cool during the day and actually cold at night. Seems like the wrong thing to say when talking about Haiti but it is actually cold there. I took up some clothes that Churches in Licking County sent like jeans and long sleeve shirts and some long skirts for the women and the team from Indiana brought shoes. One little girl who walked to the clinic by herself named Jenny (pictured above) received a pair of shoes and a warm quilt to sleep in. She was so cute! I couldn't help but scoop her up in my arms and then couldn't hardly put her down. When I asked her where her mom was the only reply I got was, "Li pa la." (She's not here.) We saw her in the distance walking back home with her new pink Croc shoes and new pink quilt bobbing around her neck. Thank you for the support of this mission. There is no way we could fill all the needs of the people of Haiti but I know we made a difference in Jenny's life.