Nov. 30, 2010

Elections went as expected. Lots of confusion, lots of fraud reported. Many unable to get to the polling stations. Ballots found out in the alleys and streets. The government report that all went well. 12 of the 19 candidates called to the elections to be nullified. Very little traffic on the roads yesterday and no schools were in session. This is Haiti.
Today David went into town to purchase much needed supplies and he said traffic was off at least 50%. This is good when you are having to drive. We have a team of 14 arriving today. They will be painting, sorting and sacking clothes for give away, etc. Friendships left and gave us a lot more clothes to give away.
Our son...David Jr....turned 46 today. Happy Birthday !!!!

Nov. 27, 2010

I'm sure many of you know of the cholera outbreak here in Haiti. Samaritan's Purse...located on our property...along with many other organizations have been battling this outbreak for over a month. Lots of medical teams are arriving in the country but the main problem is getting the meds they need out to the areas where the worse outbreaks are. Customs and the government are holding thousands of cases of the needed IV's. One distributor said they couldn't sell to organizations working in the province because they needed to keep the IV's in reserve in case there is a major flare up in PAP. Our nurses have been doing education in the schools, churches, etc. Some of our staff have been involved in helping other clinics keep their doors open around the clock. As of this weekend many of the clinics are seeing fewer new cases. As you can imagine there will always be an ebb and flow consistent with the living conditions here.
Always busy getting caught up after being gone for a few weeks. The schools are functioning well. This year with the help of Blessings in a Backpack and an NBA basketball star's foundation we have added lots of new items to our school feeding program. The teachers and students are thrilled. We started the new menus this week. The morning and afternoon schools are having meat four days each week and one day a boiled egg along with the rice/beans, corn/ spaghetti, etc. The Kindergarten has added eggs, hot dogs, chocolate milk and fresh juice to their usual snack time of bread, peanut butter, milk, juice and cookies.
Thanksgiving Day all our American staff gathered at our house for a lovely dinner. Everyone brought in goodies and we have a wonderful day of food, fellowship and sharing of the Word.
David and crew have spent hours and hours trying to get caught up with the breakdowns of vehicles. We've ordered parts from everywhere and had them shipped to teams coming in.
The Runk's with their two children have joined us for 90 days....he has mechanical and maintenance skills and they are being put to good use. They are seeking the Lord's will as to whether this is where He would have them serve full time. Please pray for them.
We have national elections tomorrow for Deputy Senate and President. Please pray for calm to reign. Travel will be limited tomorrow for the entire country.

Tuesday Nov 16, 2010

Another busy week getting items purchased and packed to come back to Haiti. We arrived back here last Saturday. We left KY Thursday morning early and headed to Nashville to prepare to load a 40 ft container on Friday. PTL! we had 42 people show up to help us sort, sack and load. Teams of people came from Bells Run Church , Walnut Memorial Church, Bellvue Church in Owensboro, KY, Paul Scott team from Orleans, IN, people from Louisville and Nashville. It looked impossible to sort all the clothes in Tommy Scott's warehouse but this crew "got it done." The container arrived about 2 hrs late so many of the team members who drove so far sacrificed their time and returned home very late. THANKS TO ALL WHO GAVE ITEMS FOR THIS CONTAINER AND THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME AND LOADED THE CONTAINER.
We arrived back to a country that is being ravaged by cholera. So many new cases and many dying for lack of knowledge on how to treat and reduce the spread of the disease. Our plane coming back to Haiti had at least 95% medical people coming to serve. Pray for the release of a plane load of IV's that is being held in customs ???? Why????. These are needed in the treatment of the cholera cases. Our nursing staff is doing education in the schools and churches here in our area and helping others man their clinics. It is 24 hr round the clock at all clinics and hospitals. PRAY PRAY PRAY

November 7, 2010

On the road for two weeks. No time for blog updates. THANK YOU for your prayers for Haiti during the hurricane. Our area was not hit hard and the devastation to the entire country was much less than expected. PRAYER WORKS!!! We need you to continue the prayers. We've heard from our staff in Haiti that there are more cases of cholera and that it is spreading closer to our compound. Several cases are being treated at the Haitian clinic next door to us and Susan... one of our nurses helped them through the night last night. All the missions in our area are meeting and working together to help educate the population and deal with this epedimic.
We had a team arrive in Haiti on Saturday from CO. Sheryl said it was a challenge to get to the airport. Lots of flooding on the roads. Praise the Lord they arrived back at the compound safely.
We were blessed to be in a 5 day Missions conference at Christ Church in Nashville. (Oct 27-31) This is an annual conference and it was great to see so many friends. It was exciting for us to see what a multi-culture church this has become.
Glen and Linda Erickson drove a rental truck from CO with their furniture and items to put on the container shipping out of Nashville. We will be loading the container this coming Friday. People are coming from KY and IN to help.
Global had their annual Missions conference and Fall Board meeting Nov. 4-6. We had 46 missionaries there for the conference. This is the most we've ever had at one time. What a joy to visit with them and hear how the Lord is working in countries around the world.