Haiti

I've been praying for a neighbor friend of my sisters for a few weeks now. She is a nurse and went over to Haiti with a medical team to assist in the relief. I wanted to post the letter she wrote everyone when she got home...

Dear family and friends,

Arrived safely in Nashville last night around 5 PM. I am so thankful for God's protection throughout the trip. Needless to say, the impact that this trip has had is significant. There are many visual memories that are etched in my mind forever. The emotional and spiritual impact I'm still trying to sort out. Right now, I have a lot of questions...mostly WHY? Knowing that those why questions will never have an acceptable answer prompts me to move on to WHAT.....what is it that God would have us to do in response. I'm praying that I will not compartmentalize this past week into an "experience", and go back to my comfortable life pledging only to pray for Haiti. They need, and I believe, our response needs to be so much more.....

Many of you followed the blog of one member of our team on Living The Dream-Global. This blog gave you one person's view of what the week was like. Just to clarify, this was one person's blog not an organization we were affiliated with. Our team was sent and supported by Hope Force International..a Christian organization that sends relief teams globally. It's home office is in Brentwood, TN, but it has partnered with churches in California and other places as well to train people in disaster response. I was very impressed with this organization and plan to continue a relationship with them in the future.

We set up a field hospital in Leogane and saw about 400 patients a day. We treated wounds, gave out lots of pain relief medicines, and spent much time talking with the people through the nine interpreters we utilized all week long. Although we addressed many physical needs, the people, given the opportunity, wanted to talk about their emotional response to the loss of loved ones and their fears. We prayed with all of our patients and reassured them of God's love for them and His love that prompted us to come and offer what help we could to them. Some of the people on our team spent extended time with those who seemed open to talking about God and witnessing several people accept Jesus as their personal Savior. Much of Haiti is Catholic, but at the same time has a significant voodoo influence. So, it seems, they try to appease both God and Satan. They are in bondage to fear and the earthquake served to increase their fear level a thousand fold.

We had a few dramatic interventions. We were able to coordinate with the US NAVY to helicopter one of our patients to the USS Comfort. She was eight months pregnant with twins, had a very high blood pressure and had been leaking amniotic fluid for several days...she needed an immediate C-Section which, of course, we were not equipped to do. In God's provision, there happen to be a navy team visiting our site at the time and arrangements were made to take her by truck to the helicopter landing site and airlift her to the naval hospital ship. We have not heard how things worked out, but hope to soon. If it were not for God's perfect timing, her outcome most likely would not have been good. We also had a woman walk into our open air clinic holding a blanket. When she opened it up, there was a newborn baby with umbilical cord and placenta still intact. Her sister had just delivered the baby on the side of the road near our camp. We attended to the baby and then the mother for several hours. What an amazing event in the middle of such destruction. Needless, to say, so much more to tell.

My impression of the Haitian people....resilient and strong. The poverty is unimaginable unless you have seen it and smelled it. The destruction from the earthquake is catastrophic and most likely will never be rebuilt. But the heart of the people seems to be strong. I worried what the Haitian people might think of Americans "invading" their country, but their response was very much the opposite of what I expected. We felt no fear or resentment while we were there, only love and appreciation from those we touched. My last impression of Haiti was when we departed on Friday night on our "tour bus" to go back to Santa Domingo. As we rolled through the dirt streets of Port-Au-Prince seeing all the destruction illuminated only by the light of a full moon, there were thousands of people sleeping on the side of the streets having to pull their legs up to avoid being hit by our bus. Infants, children and adults trying to survive. I hope that God will afford me the opportunity to return someday.

A million thanks for all who prayed for me and our team daily. I truly experienced a "peace that passes all understanding" throughout the trip. I know as a result of so many prayers, we were successful in sharing the love of God to His people through our words and actions, being the hands, feet, and words of Jesus to a people in desperate need.

A final thought......I don't believe we need to feel guilt about how we have been blessed as compared to the Haitian people (although the contrast "smacked" me in the face upon returning), but I do believe that when God presents an opportunity to be "in and among the least of these", that we take it, so that our hearts will be broken for the things that break the heart of God. My New Years request was that God would teach me humility. Little did I know what I would experience a month later. I would encourage everyone to be open to God's directive to do what we can to alleviate suffering in the world today, meeting the physical needs of people, but also sharing the "living water" that Jesus offers to all who believe.


If you would like to help with Haiti Relief contact the American Red Cross.