Haiti ERT Team 3 (Updates 7-8)
From Dan Rodriguez:
This morning started 0630 with a prayer and devotion, led by John, on the Gospel of John 4:4-38. It is the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. I won’t do the injustice of paraphrasing this great story, so please read it following this update. However, a couple of versus that stood out were:
- v.24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
- v.26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” (Referring to the Messiah, called Christ)
- v. 35-38 “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
We had a meeting over breakfast. Plenty of time here to do things while ordering food, (it takes about an hour to get served). Hawaii Time would be a record pace around here. But during this meeting we met with Dr. Mirdrede, a Haitian, who is somehow coordinating personnel and resources at clinics/hospitals in the area. Light Ministries (who we worked with last time) has been closed for the past two weeks due to a lack of personnel, and is scheduled to reopen today with a P.A. and a helper. We decide to assist them in this effort.
Following breakfast, John and Yveto ran errands to tie up loose ends for the crusade, while the four of us took a taptap to work at the clinic. We got a late start, but still saw about 125 patients. Again, each patient is offered prayer, and I’ve yet to have one refuse, or act even somewhat offended. Sadly, this is such a contrast to what we would experience in America. It seems our nation, with such a history of God’s blessing, is turning its back on God. Many of our patients already profess a faith in Jesus and gladly accept an offer of prayer. Now that people know the clinic is open again, tomorrow should be much busier.
During lunch, we went to Terry’s house and I attempted to contact Jessica, a sweet little girl that I met on my first trip, who lives at the orphanage next door to Terry’s. She was at school at the time, but later came down to the clinic to see me. Her face lit up, and what an embrace. I thought this symbolic of God and his desire for Haiti to come to him with a welcoming embrace. That brief visit made the trip for me. Her dad died in the quake, and although she still has a mom, they live at the orphanage because they have nowhere else to go. I wish I could take her home.
This evening we took a quick dip in the pool (did I mention our living conditions) before a dinner of MRE’s. Our housing situation is a far cry from the hard tile floors of our previous trip. We actually have beds with attached bathrooms (similar to a Motel 6 on an open interstate), and the hotel grounds are actually very nice. It’s a tropical-type setting, with a pool, outside bar, and restaurant. It definitely has the feel of a resort, but seems completely out of place for the area. You drive here on a pothole riddled dirt road strewn with garbage, lined with rubble from collapsed structures, and turn into this driveway of a hotel situated on a hill that has an ocean view. COMPLETELY out of place…are we really in Haiti? I’m certainly not complaining, but on the contrary, very thankful for this place.
Prayer needs:
- There is a real fuel shortage here. Lines at the few gas stations bring back memories of the ‘70’s gas crunch in the states. LONG lines! We need fuel for generators and lights at the crusade, as well as for our local transportation.
- Still need potable water for the crusade site.
- Weather. Rain has been the norm for the evenings. Pray for clear skies next week. The crusade is an outside event.
- Medical clinic. Pray that physical and spiritual needs will continue to be met.
- John. For rest and strength. He’s been non-stop for too long now. Third time to Haiti since the quake, Hume Lake Conference, hospital visits, weddings, memorials, etc.
- Yveto. He’s very busy getting things ready for the crusade. He’s quite a passionate speaker. I look forward to hearing him speak even though I won’t understand what’s being said. A real revival in Haiti just may be eminent.
From John White:
The team is in need of specific prayer for fuel. They don't know of any fuel in Port au Prince. They need fuel in order to prepare for the Crusade - bulldozers can't operate without fuel. They also need fuel to run all the equipment for the Crusade. The other prayer request is that the Lord will not allow it to rain until Monday, April 26th, when the Crusade is over. John said, "If it rains, it will be too muddy." Yveto and John were together making arrangements for the Crusade and the four other team members worked at a medical clinic today.
Next week these beautiful dresses will be given as gifts to Haitian girls of all ages. They were made by Lauren Caldwell and her friends. Danny, Lauren's husband, will take them with him on Saturday, April 17th, when FFC's Crusade Team #2 departs from LAX. Lauren and her friends hope to continue their ministry even when the teams return home. Please ask the Lord to provide a good contact so more and more dresses can bless girls in Haiti.
From Dan Rodriguez:
This morning started at 0700 with a devotion led by Tom on Psalms 113, and prayer. We were joined by Pastor Moises, a Haitian native, pasturing a church in the states, but called back to Haiti since the earthquake. He brought several volunteers from his home church to assist as needed.
Following breakfast, John, Leland, and Yveto took off with Ronnie and Sony in search of supplies. Almost nothing here happens on the phone or over the internet; it usually requires a face to face meeting. One stop they made was at Omy’s clinic directly across the street from the government palace. They only had two R.N.’s working and were completely overwhelmed. Most of the medical teams that came for the earthquake have pulled out and are not sending additional replacements, so the few medical personnel still working are kept busy. John and company ran around all day, almost coming home empty, except for Samaritan’s Purse, which ended up filling their stake-bed pickup with 150 cases of water. They got back to the hotel at 1800, sunburned, tired and exhausted. All day any road is a long day; in Haiti seems like a week.
Bob, Tom, and I walked back to the clinic with Dr. Mirdrede. She showed up at our hotel this morning in scrubs ready for another day of work. She has a one-month old baby at ‘home’ with her mom while she volunteers at local clinics. Prior to the earthquake, she was an instructor at Quesquella University (which was destroyed) and worked at a hospital near Caphaitian. Her home here was destroyed, so she stays in town with her mom, while her husband is a pastor ‘I forget where’. She wants us to assist her at an orphanage this weekend that she’s somehow affiliated with. I guess donating a week and a half of my time isn’t asking much.
At the clinic we saw another 125 people today. We were not overwhelmed, but there was no free time either. It was a steady flow until closing time at 1600. We closed an hour early because the church (where we run the clinic out of) is having a service tonight. Our first trip here, we saw a lot of ‘old’ earthquake trauma, infection, and sicknesses. Now, it is almost entirely sick people. They get triaged, treated, and offered prayer. We saw about ten people who asked “Jezi” into their life. Many that I talked with already indicated a faith in Jesus. According to Dr. Mirdrede, since the earthquake, many have left Voodoo for Christianity.
Our priority next week will be the crusade. This will be an afternoon/early evening event. During the day, we’ve committed two people per day M-F at the clinic in Carrefour, but would really like to assist Omy in downtown PAP. We need transportation to make this happen, and fuel is really scarce. We have enough water for our needs, and decided against providing it for the crusade. It is a three hour event in the evening and probably not needed. The front-loader was repaired the other day and all the grading is complete.
Pray for:
- Fuel for transportation and to run the generators and lights.
- Rest, focus, and preparation time for John and Yveto
- Ability to help Omy at clinic in PAP
- Weather – no rain in the evening next week
- Safe travel for Team 4
- Unity of local churches
- God’s anointing at the crusade
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