Dear Friends,
We have continued to make weekly trips to Haiti to provide medical care and bring relief supplies to be given out.
We returned from our 4th trip early wednesday morning and have experienced a very tense time trying to help these now desperate and easily excitable people.
A group from the Seattle area raised $20,000 and 1,200 donated tents and have begun to deliver these tents to us here for distribution in Haiti. Our group of nine left Sunday night to deliver 500 tents to Haiti. We now have a secure area in Carrefour where we can camp, cook our meals, and safely store aid equipment including tents and medicines as they are being distributed. We are working in two very large neighborhoods, Bethlehem and Aztec in the foothills of the city of Carrefour, a residential area of Port-au-Prince. These two neighborhoods have over 100,000 families living in them.
Monday afternoon, upon arriving, our team delivered and modeled assembly of tents promised to the church members and locals with whom we worked during our previous visit. This was a huge success and great blessing to brothers and sisters in need. Tuesday, February 8th, we had a very successful distribution of 250 tents in Bethlehem. We involved the local community leaders, who had made arrangements to have a safe area to distribute tents and medicine with local police present for added security. There were three Haitian police officers who came to help secure the area during this tent distribution. This process went very well and we gave-out the 250 tents to people with tickets in hand provided by the local mayor. We also provided medical care as this distribution was taking place.
When we finished giving out the 250 tents designated for Bethlehem we moved on to the next village. Aztec is a mile further up the steep, narrow, one-lane dirt road lined with rubble from the quake damage. People were all over the road and the going was very slow...we were followed by some of the folks that didn't get a tent at the first location. We arrived at the top of the hill to an open area that we were told would provide a secure area where we could distribute the tents safely as we had in Bethlehem. There was no such location available, and there were thousands of very desperate people who announced we were the very first relief group to arrive in their area. We quickly found the people getting impatient and dangerously restless as crowds closed in around our vehicle. It suddenly became clear to us all that distribution of the tents under these circumstances was not a good idea. We could not distribute tents from an open truck, in an open area, with not enough tents for even one in 20 families there. It was clear that we needed to leave as soon as possible for safety reasons. The question was how could we turn around and leave with people all around us closing in from every side. Tension was rising and panic began to arise... I quickly handed out ropes and ordered a perimeter to be set-up with them. The crowds responded well and the villagers respected the rope-line, surely thinking that a distribution was about to begin. This allowed us to back around with the truck and we quickly began to descend the hill with most of the people running after the truck. As we drove away, many of them were jumping on the back and reaching in, grasping for the tents still in the back of the truck. With forethought we had built a tall wooden box on the back of the truck that helped a lot but there was still some open part where the folks were able to get by our people in the back and struggle for the tents. The goal was to safely and peacefully give these tents out to those families most in need like we accomplished in the first location. We drove for 5 miles with these folks following us and finally stopped near the police station where we were able to shake most of them.
Once we returned to the safe area where our camp and our storage were located the team set up to offer a Medical Clinic for a few hours. Trying to see as many patients as possible we cut our exit plan short, then tried to race back to the border with the Dominican Rep. which has a 6:00PM closing time. After getting lost on the way due to all of the traffic, we got to the border at 7:04 and found border gates locked on the Dominican side. With flights early the next day, our visitors got worried as to how this would play out. Sitting all night in limbo between countries started to look like a reality... we all began to pray. I was joined by several other missionaries and Red Cross volunteers who were also in line to cross the border, as I got busy trying to talk the military guards into finding someone that could open the gate for us back into the Dominican before the 6:00 AM opening time. After an hour of praying hard and talking to everyone that would listen, an official finally arrived from the Immigration office. With a little more convincing the officials opened-up the border so we could get back home, and get our visitors to the airport in time to make their flights home the next morning.
What relief and comfort we all felt with the Lord's obvious presence. Our whole team felt His hand in every situation. It has become very clear that we must find a safer way of distributing relief supplies in Haiti. Some of the last team has already helped us place a deposit down on a vehicle that can meet this need. A large, strong, enclosed protected 4x4 able to carry supplies and equipment in and out of tight, steep, and rough terrain. The vehicle we found is a used 2005 Land Rover Defender 110 with only 25,000 miles on it. It is a 6 cylinder Diesel with a standard transmission and good 4x4 with huge tires that sits way off of the ground.. perfect for traversing difficult terrain. The vehicle is $29,900 and we have already paid the first $7000 down on it. We need a total of 22,900 to complete this purchase and put this vehicle to use in ministry. We are asking all of our partners, supporters, and supporting churches to help us find a way to pay this vehicle off in this coming week. We want to return to Haiti as soon as next week with a registered vehicle that will give us the ability to continue to provide relief in these Haitian neighborhoods. Where no one else is helping we can be the hands and feet of Christ.
With another 700 tents coming, lots of baby formula, diapers, tarps, food, and medicine to be distributed to these hurting and desperate people. We want to be able to do this in a safe and helpful way soon.
After our Dominican preacher training this weekend, we are planning another trip to Haiti as soon as we have supplies and a safe distribution vehicle to accomplish the task. Please be praying that this all happens soon. The immediate needs there are a great concern. Once the rainy season begins in Haiti, the shelters from the water and elements will be needed to give them a fighting chance to overcome diseases and malnutrition that is quickly becoming a major concern. It is likely that more lives will be lost in the coming months due to disease, and starvation than those which were lost in the Earthquake itself. This can be helped with timely and aggressive assistance. The supplies from the international assistance program still sit on the tarmac at the airport... The aid agencies are afraid of the people, and are not giving the food, water, and other needed supplies out still a month after the Earthquake! They need help and they need it soon!
Please consider what you can do to help us get this vehicle paid for so the relief efforts can continue soon!
Keep all these things in your prayers...we realize that the snow storms are wreaking havoc all over the Eastern US and we are keeping all of you in our prayers about this difficult situation.
God Bless!
In Christ, and for His sake!
Gary
