updates and earthquakes

OK I agree with my friend Rachel. I hate earthquakes. 

We have had more aftershocks the past 2 days that have woken us up when sleeping. These are the worst because you go from rest to panic in sheer seconds. These past few lasted a few seconds too long and resulted in everyone bolting for the door, hearts beating fast, and minds re-living the past. 

Just when you think you are in the clear, they hit you again. Tough to deal with.

Outside of this, many interesting things are happening. I got to go aboard the USS Comfort boat. The big US military hospital ship. We were invited on board to visit with one of our little patients "Job" who will be discharged home to us soon and to see the ship. 

"Job" was a little boy that was literally dumped on our doorstep by a motorbike that took off in the days after the earthquake. He is developmentally challenged, and has a rare condition that makes him severely "allergic" to the sun. Burned, malnourished and with an infected eye beyond repair, Job has come a long way. He is almost ready to come home and he is flourishing. 

It was great to see the Comfort boat as we had worked to get many severe cases onto the ship during the post quake time. It was good to get away for the day and meet many docs and nurses from all over. 

At the mission, we continue to run surgical teams and medical teams and Laurens is gearing up for construction that will be in full swing soon. We are still very busy and are looking forward to a break. So many things are overwhelming as we are not just on a medical or construction team visiting but have to keep up the pace that they do anyway. We are working to get people in place to help with this and God is providing. 

In the midst of all this, we are still working on the adoptions of our twins and are praying hard that things will still be fast-tracked for us due to the earthquake. Please pray for this especially today (Thurs) as we go for an important meeting. 

Tomorrow Bridgely will get a surgical procedure done on his hand that he burned as a baby. He has needed a release of the skin between his thumb and first finger for a while now and this week we happen to have plastic surgeons that specialize in burn care. God is good and brought them to our doorstep. Please pray for his quick recovery.

Ok that brings you a little up to speed on earthquake recovery and our lives. Despite the difficulties, God is doing great things at Mission of Hope and we are glad He chose us to be a part of it. 

Please as life goes on for you, don't forget about Haiti. Don't forget about the thousands of people living under sheets on the road or in fields. Don't forget about the amputees lying in the many makeshift hospital wards. Don't forget about the mothers and fathers and children and sisters and brothers that have died. Don't forget that this country and these people are so close to you and need your help.

God Bless

Peace be Still

So a month has passed from the earthquake. A month! We really can not believe it as time has flown so fast....just a blur.

We continue to work like crazy but things are slightly more manageable....slightly. Which gives you just enough space to breathe just a little lighter, to sleep just a little more, to sit down to dinner just a little easier.

We had another aftershock this morning. We thought we were maybe at a point of being comfortable enough to relax but we were wrong. It only lasted a couple seconds, and it was small enough that those who did not go through the 7.0 did not think it was a big deal, but it was enough to make us realize that we are still on high alert to escape the building. We went from asleep to awake and out of our beds in seconds flat only to realize it had stopped and escape was not necessary. It is hard to shake the feeling, the memories and panic you experienced.

I think that the adrenaline is starting to decrease however in everyday work. The let down has started. We are starting to feel exhausted after so little sleep in a month. We are able to cry a bit. This is good I think. We have been able to rest a little more the last few days but we wake up after a little nap feeling just as exhausted as before we slept.

The world has started to move on and forget about Haiti but it is far from over. We still have amputees lying in our make shift ward and everywhere we go, there are homeless people living under bed sheets. So many people are left without a home and they lie under their sheets, shivering praying for no rain.

Fri, today and tomorrow were National days of prayer. From 6am to 12pm and from 5-7pm each day we have been having church services. The church is packed!! They worshipped and prayed like crazy thanking God that they were alive. People were hanging out in the grass outside on blankets (like Woodstock!) and my ward patients were carried in on their mats to lie in the church to be prayed over. This reminded me of bible stories for sure. Over a thousand voices singing their hearts out and praying together is an amazing thing. It is fantastic to see how respectful people are of the injured now, whereas before the quake there was a lot of social stigma around disability.

There is a lot going on in the realm of planning and many many positive changes going on at the Mission of Hope. I was reminded yesterday of my lack of faith when something seemed insurmountable and God proved me wrong yet again. He is moulding and changing us daily.

I sit and listen to "Peace Be Still" by Rush of Fools and the tears come. You need to listen to it. It is a song that I listen to because it mirrors words spoken by God in the bible. It powerfully tells us "Please be still...... and know that I am God". In the midst of something this huge, it is all you have to hold on to. He knows what He is doing. He knows how he is going to work this to the best for His kingdom. Everyday when someone slips away in our ward, I hear His voice say, "Be still and know that I am God".


Our little conquerers....

The marathon begins

We are still exhausted but moving forward.We have not had a day off since the quake and we are often working into the night. We are moving to recovery now however and need to prepare for the marathon.

Since the last update, we have now had the OR going (that was constructed in our lab for now) and have been having post op in our school. Many organizations have set up hospital wards in their buildings. We have had great orthopedic surgeons here and we have been having post op in our school. Each amputee and wounded has a story. Their stories are incredible.....

Here you can see a team of surgeons and doctors praying for the country after dealing with the many trauma patients.

I have been coordinating hospitals to funnel patients to MOH for surgeries and doing assessments in tent cities. We have had many medical transfers from Port au Prince field hospitals via US Navy helicopters. Pretty cool!

My clinic staff is all back to work now and praise God they are all alive. Many have lost their houses and family members. They are terrified that we are going to have another big quake with the aftershocks. (we only had 1 very short 4.7 this week) We have seen a 3 fold increase in patients and visiting teams are working hard to help our staff with the volume. It is a huge job to coordinate the medical teams that are coming down but essential.

Laurens is busy with the volume of changes going on at the mission as we have distributed over 2.1 million meals since the quake and many things are being changed in our infrastructure to accommodate shipments of aid coming in.

The kids are doing well. They and we have had some trauma counseling and everyone is dealing with it well in general. We have many "quirks" about things right now but they tell us that these are normal things that will pass with time and open communication.

We are looking forward to having a bit of time off as the mission will send us soon for a little break to deal with the trauma we have seen and to spend some family time together.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support and prayers.

We will keep you updated