My apologies that the news feeds from Haiti may not have made it to you all. Communications were very difficult while there, and I think my forwarding mechanism to get info to you may have failed.
That being said, we really appreciate your prayers and support during the time in Haiti. Thanks to your gifts and prayers our 2 teams to Haiti were able to transport, use and distribute over ½ ton of medicines and other medical supplies. We saw hundreds of patients in 2 different locations: Carrefour, to the West of Port-au-Prince and at the Nehemiah Vision Site on the Northeast side of Port-au-Prince. The first team was involved in a mobile clinic based at the Nehemiah site and delivered first aid / medical care to people in outlying areas that had not yet received help. Our second team worked at an orphanage that was in the center of an IDP camp of approximately 17,000 people in Carrefour. 2 of our team members, Melissa and Jordan, were able to do a needs assessment of the camp and then connect with other aid agencies and the US military to help obtain food for those in camp while the rest of us were busy seeing patients. The second team then moved to the Nehemiah site where we continued with clinics and also helped organized a large shipment of medical supplies and equipment that will be used to establish a hospital at a nearby site where an IDP camp for 50-100,000 people is being built.
Your prayer made it possible for us to continue under very difficult conditions, maintain unity as a team, stay healthy (no one got sick except one team member who needed a boil drained that started before the trip and then passed a kidney stone as we were getting ready to depart on a 15 hour bus ride to start home. Again, God intervened and his stone passed very quickly!), and bring hope to individuals, teams and organizations.
As we prayed over the land, we felt that this terrible tragedy is also a tremendous opportunity for Haiti to break out of the cycle of poverty, despair, and spiritual darkness. Pray that aid organizations and the Haitian people/churches can break out of the “donor/receiver aid cycle” and that the Haitians can take responsibility for their future as they begin the task of rebuilding. The Haitians have a unique contribution to make to the rest of the world – this is their time to take hold of their future. Please pray for the gift of hope to be given to them.
At the present time, we do not have plans to send further teams to Haiti. Things are transitioning from the acute phase to recovery and re-building. There is still critical need for food and shelter. Many people will be moved out of Port-au-Prince to IDP camps as part of the plans for rebuilding. We encourage you to support organizations with ongoing presence in Haiti such as Roger and Margaret Clark of Elim Fellowship, Nehemiah Vision Ministries and Grace Children’s Hospital and Orphanage in Carrefour. Medical teams from International Medical Relief will continue for some months to come.
Thanks again to all of you who helped make our teams successful.
John and Karen
