I didn’t know what else to title this post. I thought about holy cow or maybe, holy heck but settled on holy buckets. I suppose I should just put PRAISE GOD! Because, that is what I mean.

As of my last post about Haiti we thought three things: first, Pastor Corvil and his family were found and alive yesterday! Yay! They are a-ok! I asked Adam’s mom if there is anything left to their home and she said she didn’t know because he just kept talking about how excited he was to just be alive. No kiddin’.

Second, Dr. George and his wife: We thought we had probably lost them. No sirree bob. Not under God’s watch, I guess! Found out this morning that they made it through. He is injured but will be ok in the long run!!!!

Finally (and I save the best for last!): The orphanage. I spoke with Adam’s mom tonite and would you know that every last one of those kids are well and are accounted for?! Not joking. The missionary from Florida that Michael works with for the orphanage is a smart smart man. Before Michael was even involved with the orphanage when this gentleman built the orphanage he built it more like an American building than a Haitian building; therefore, much more sturdy so it handled the earthquake better and protected the kids.

I hung up the phone from my mom-in-law and wept (while driving to Lincoln, mind you). I then called to share this amazing news with my mom, my sister and my partner from the clinic. How incredible is it that every person from this ministry and every child is alive and well? I have goose bumps just thinking about the pure awesomeness of this! How amazing is prayer? They still need us. All of us. Our thoughts and prayers. They are alive which is the most important thing but have little else but that is where the ministry can carry on.

I had my picture taken for my passport tonite and now I know why the airport security screeners have a hard time watching out for terrorists. It looks like a mug shot. You can’t smile, the coloring is horrible. Heck, I look like a terrorist. The Medical Reserve Corps has been sending out regular emails now with requests for medical personnel that have certain experience to go to Haiti so Adam and I decided to go ahead and get my passport expedited so that I have it if I need it~it’ll take about 10 days I guess. If I don’t go now I know I will in the future. There will be a need for years to come.

When I got home I came across this video. This is a friend that I grew up with..he wrote this song and did the entire video, etc. It is basically a worship song and is perfect for how I feel right now.

I have so much jumbled in my mind right now that I want to say so I apologize if this seems a bit muddled. This is the first time I have been able to sit down to write an update.

Our hearts break. I am sure yours is too. Aren’t the pictures gut-wrenching? Bull-dozing bodies into dump trucks to mass graves?! I cannot imagine. We have a praise report though so I’ll start with that.

Adam’s Dad heard from the pastors on late Friday~Yay!!! Six of the seven are all accounted for (including their families). Pastor Corvil and his family actually lived in downtown Port-au-Prince and no one has been able to locate him so we fear they have perished. All of the other pastors and families are healthy-their homes are gone but they are alive! Again…Yay!

The orphanage….another story. Nothing has been heard.The gentleman from Florida that Adam’s Dad works with for the orphanage has not heard anything either. We have been told that where it was is essentially “gone”. We fear the children most likely perished but we will still pray.

Another sadness….I have been trying to get to Haiti with Michael for two years now to do medical care. The hospital here in Tecumseh has been wonderful and gives me all of their supplies when they expire (can you believe that tongue blades expire?!) and I collect all of the drug samples as they expire. Michael had made a contact with an American doctor and his wife who work at a hospital in Port-au-Prince and all of my supplies I collect go to them. I am ashamed to even type that I have been trying to get to Haiti for two years and haven’t made it…what is up with that?! Why has it taken two years? One thing after another. Time….essentially. The time I had allotted the first year to go to Haiti ended up being used for taking care of my Dad when he became ill and last year ditto with my Nana. The point is, I never made it. I had hoped to go and meet this Doctor. Maybe help someone. But you see, I didn’t and I am crying right now because no one can find he and his wife. They were in the main hospital. It was flattened. They are probably gone. I guess that is what you call a missed opportunity.

If you do not know it I am on the Medical Reserve Corps, a part of FEMA. FEMA was created for disasters on our soil, ie: 9/11, Katrina, etc. I got an email from my director on Wednesday last week saying not to expect any deployment requests, etc from the MRC because the US has different organizations better equipped to deal with international disasters. Surprising everyone, a mere 48 hours later, four FEMA units were deployed to Haiti. An unprecedented move displaying the pure magnitude of the situation; that they are dipping into our homeland reserve already.

Adam’s Dad is already saying he wants/needs to get to Haiti as soon as it is safe~thinking maybe March. I, however cannot imagine that the airspace will be open to commercial flights by then. If it is though Adam and I already talked tonite about our concerns. He is an insulin dependent diabetic. It doesn’t matter how much insulin we send with him if a looter steals his meds. Adam always says, though “if my Dad were to die in Haiti, at least I know he died doing what he loved”.

Money. The pastors need some money. It is amazing that even through all of this there is some store-like areas still up and going around Port-au-Prince and out in surrounding cities but of course, the prices have inflated crazily. The aid is there that we are all reading about but they aren’t getting it dispersed the best. They are trying but the infrastructure in Haiti sucked (lets be honest, folks) before the earthquake and so now there are even fewer roads that can be traversed by vehicles to get water, food, medicine to these people. Michael’s mission has always sent their money via western union as you can’t mail anything safely to Haiti as the government is likely to steal it. But, there is no way to western union into the entire country right now and they do need money. A couple of the pastors left tonite to drive to the Dominican Republic, a long drive in a normal environment to pick up some money that Adam and I sent via western union. They will get it tomorrow we hope and will be able to get water and food (fuel too) for their families and communities.

Pray. Pray for their safety as they are commuting to the Dominican Republic. Pray that they are safe from looters as that is really picking up now. Pray for their health, that they do not catch anything from the water as it is now contaminated. Pray for the aid workers to be strong. God be with them. I cannot even begin to imagine what they must be going through. The sights, the smells, the sounds…the agony.

Adam and his mom got a brief update posted onto their website tonite. They have no means of getting pictures. The pastors communicate with Michael with cell phones that they can purchase a few minutes at a time for. http://www.opendoormissions.com/

On a lighter note, Adam and I went to Kearney this weekend to see my sister and her family and have some funny things to tell. Great trip as always.

Love & blessings. XOXO

Okay, so our little “earthquake” as it was didn’t count. Haiti’s did. In an already extremely volatile and fragile country this major catastrophe has undoubtedly caused the loss of lives that we cannot even begin to imagine. The chaos has got to be beyond belief.

A photo Adam's Dad took

A country that has been unstable for as long as I have heard of it is even more so now. And, I mean unstable in many ways, of course. For example, I just read that it’s main jail in Port-au-Prince collapsed this morning and all of the inmates are now running free. Haiti has long been known for it’s voodoosim, creating frightening and dangerous rituals. These dangers were real before yesterday’s catastrophe and now today an entire new set of dangers are present.

Many do not know but Haiti holds a very special place in our heart because it is very special to Adam’s parents. They started doing missionary work in Haiti when Adam was merely a small child. His father continues to go to this day. Adam’s Dad goes down to Haiti for a week at a time quite often and preaches. It is dangerous. It frightens Adam’s Mom but it is his calling and we all know it. I won’t share the story where his Father once got his days mixed up and therefore didn’t get on his flight and his mother went to the airport and he didn’t get off of the plane. I hope you never experience what she and our family went through the next three hours thinking we had lost him (boy, was he in trouble!!!).

He has five churches and one orphanage there. One church is in Carrefour which is basically where the epicenter was. This is also where the orphanage is. Two churches are in Croix-des-Bouquets which unfortunately is also very close to Port-au-Prince and the final two churches are in the mountains.

This is one of the churches. It was a voodoo church that Adam's Dad bought.

So, a few things…the three churches and orphanage in Carrefour and Croix-des-Bouquets are all cement structure type buildings which is not good. This is more dangerous and the risk for loss of life increases of course because of this. The people living in these communities also live in cement structures…ditto for the same concern. The two churches and residents in the mountains undoubtedly were affected but hopefully not as bad as they live in more of hut-like structures that would not be as deadly.

A very big concern as of present is that one of the pastor’s house was on a hillside and all we are hearing about is how houses have just “fallen” down the hills. I ask of you two things. First, please say a prayer for the people of Haiti. He has been trying but Adam’s Dad cannot get through to any of his people (he has 7 pastors that he works with for his churches). This is not completely surprising as their phone lines are sketchy to say the least and are even worse now.

Here they were praying for Adam's Dad...we need to pray for them now more than ever

Second, take a moment and go to our parents’ website. Click on photos and then Haiti. We haven’t gotten anything new uploaded in awhile but still, take a peak into their lives. Take a peak into Dad’s Haitian family.

http://www.opendoormissions.com/