A call from Dad

My morning started with a phone call from "DAD". When my dad was last in Haiti he purchased a local cell phone and left it with me to share with visiting teams... the Marine have borrowed it and when they called this morning the call display gave me goosebumps.

25 of the US Marines stationed in Grand Goave spent the day with us today. They intended to bring down our collapsed buildings so we'd feel more secure during the aftershocks. They weren't able to bring them down completely but they were able to bring down the most dangerous areas and more importantly they were able to recover some of the food buried in the food depot.

The troops arriving:





Deciding how to bring down the buildings... explosive were mentioned but quickly vetoed by the ranking officer:



The front of the building was cleared to make room for the hummer to pull on the supporting beams:



The dangerous edge of the building was taken down:



They tried to break into the food depot from the front but couldn't:



...so they took down the back wall and made a hole in the floor. They crawled down and recover what they could:



They were also able to recover some of our school supplies in the Principal's office:



Rescuing a bike that was MIA:



The kids couldn't keep their eyes off this officer... any idea why? :)



That occupied most of our day. Despite the long work day for the Marines it was clear that they were enjoying the opportunity to "destruct" and their positive attitude rubbed off on the kids. It was nice to see the smiles back on the kids faces.







While they were packing up to leave I got a call from H2H Canada/Abbotsford Vineyard Church)
saying a helicopter from the DR was on it's way to us with the relief food & supplies!!! It arrived shortly after at the Marine basecamp and another group of Marines arrived with supplies... non-perishable food, soap, shampoo, flash lights, blankets, medical supplies, etc.





Here's Eliyou with some of the supplies. I can't express how thankful we are to have so many people working so hard to help us. Thank you!!!!

Just words today

I don't have any pictures to share with you today as my camera is out of charge... but is being charged as I type. These past few days have been filled with a whirlwind of activity.

We have been visited by Doctor's without Borders and they have supplied us with some blankets, soap, cooking utensils, etc.

We have been visited by the US Marines several times and they are working hard to help us meet our immediate needs - food & security. It is ironic how the Marines connected with us... I posted some pictures of the damaged roads on my blog and a Marine personnel emailed me to thank me. I was bold enough to "beg" for help and he did!! A group of US Marines arrived in our area looking for a white girl named Rebecca... luckily that description only applied to me :)

This morning I received a phone call from an NBC news team in PauP that wanted to come and do an interview with me. They received my contact information from a UN personnel in PauP that I spoke with earlier in the week. I'm not proud to admit it but I did more than just beg him to help us. I had been desperate to find food for the kids & had already been turned down by many sources and didn't take kindly to the first Canadian Officer I saw when he said there was nothing he could do to help... he was stationed in PauP & on strict orders. After my outburst he took my contact information and said he'd try to pass it on to someone who could help... obviously he did and I wish I could apologize for some of my remarks. On the other hand, my determination paid off & maybe taught us both a lesson... either way, the news team visited us today and is doing a story on H2H that should be airing on NBC in the next few days.

Enorck's wife is pregnant & due on February 2nd. Her last birth was a c-section so I've been scrambling to find a clinic that can do a c-section for her. I have found one and scheduled an appointment for next week.

I have been running on adrenaline since the first quake hit and the 2 days I spent in PauP really wiped me out... emotionally as well as physically. The first visit from the Marines left me a bit speechless and I stared at their military trucks as they drove away... it made me think of my Grandpa Pete. He was a Canadian Soldier and was burnt badly when his tank exploded. Despite his physical struggles he lived his life courageously and his zeal for life was contagious. He was always willing to help those in need and he could find humor any situation. He died shortly before I became involved in Haiti and I have often wondered what he would say to me if he knew what I was doing. As I watched the Marines drive away I was filled with a new source of strength and I am determined to follow my Grandpa Pete's example to live my life with purpose... despite my circumstances... and I will tap into the joy & sense of humor that I inherited from him.

I also want you all to know how hard our H2H board is working in Canada to help us here in Haiti. I am in daily contact with them and they have made huge progress in planning to get containers of food & supplies to us. It will take a few weeks/months for the containers to arrive but God is being faithful in supplying for our daily needs and has blessed us with contacts that will tide us over until the containers start arriving. Please continue to pray for their fundraising efforts.

Good night!

Petit Goave

Enorck & I went to Petit Goave today... here are some pictures & videos of the damage done to the roads and to the city.

A video of the road between Grand Goave and Petit Goave. There are several spots like this... the road is partially covered by rock slides and there is lots rocks overhead just waiting for another after shock.



A section of the same road... it almost looks like someone has tried to take a bite out of the road. There are teeth marks and pavement has sunken. The damage is more serious than it looks in the pictures because this road is built on the side of a cliff and it wouldn't take much for the road to slide down in one of the after shocks.





There are several section of road that have been covered by rocks from slides:



And there are more rocks just waiting to fall:



Here are some pictures of the damage down within Petit Goave:

A quick hello

We are low on diesel so I have to be quick tonight as we'll be turning the generator off soon. Just wanted to say a quick hello as I know many of you are checking this blog daily. We are still working hard at connecting with the Aid that is starting to arrive in Haiti - God has been guiding our every step and we thank Him for that. I promise to write more tomorrow.

Please check out this article for an update:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.updates.friday/index.html

When will this end?

These after shocks are taking their toll on us. Buildings continue to fall. Yesterdays quake left Soirilia's house close to ruins. We tried to recover some of her possessions but the walls are ready to fall at any moment so most of her stuff will be unrecoverable. Those of you who have visited H2H before know Soirilia well as she does all the cooking for teams. She is also a teacher in our H2H school and sews the uniforms for all 100 of our kids! It is very unusual for a single lady to be able to build her our house and having it destroyed has left her very discouraged. It is discouraging us all. When will it stop? We are trying to start thinking about moving forward but the shaking just won't stop.





Another local mission (Lifeline) has received a container (that was in port before the earthquake and has now been released) and did a food distribution in our area today. Each family received 5 bags of 'Kids Against Hunger' rice/vegetable/soy mixture. Everyone was very grateful as it was the first distribution since the earthquakes started. I was at the mission this morning helping them get organized when a big aftershock hit us... we fell over with boxes all over us. We are all trying to hold it together & be brave but we really need the shaking to stop. We are still getting easily over 10 aftershocks a day... sometimes a lot more than that.





The military landed in Leogane a few days ago. I have tried to contact them twice but they were unwilling to talk to me. I took these pictures yesterday on our way to Port-au-Prince.







Our guys built a temporary shelter over the area of yard that we are sleeping under. It won't do much for the rain but will keep the sun off us during the day & will help with the morning dew... believe it or not it is quite cold at night sleeping. Who would have thought we'd have that problem in Haiti. We are also sleeping on a cement slab so you can imagine the morning aches as we go into the second week.



After 2 long days in Port-au-Prince I spent most of my free time with the kids today. I cut fingernails, braided hair, played marbles, washed dishes, broke up a few fights, put on a few bandaids and pretended to have a nap with our youngest boy, Markenly... only until he fell asleep. These were precious moments for me as I now have a new appreciation for each of these children and feel very privileged to be one of the many they look up to. I think the kids also have a new appreciation for me too. A few of the older boys pulled me aside early this morning and said they had looked over our supplies and felt I could stay in Grand Goave today... we'd be okay & I looked like a needed a rest. All of our kids, but especially the older boys who have accompanied me to Port-au-Prince, have really grown up this week. I am taking their advise and heading to bed early tonight.

Day 2 in Port-au-Prince

Enorck & I (and our faithful team) headed to Port-au-Prince again this morning. We had an appointment at an orphanage in Croix-de-Bouquet called Ebenezer. My heart sank when we arrived and they said they weren't expecting us... but it quickly soared when they immediately offered to help after hearing about our situation!! They gave us some food to get us through a few more days and promised to deliver more food by the weekend. On the way back we stopped at Double Harvest in Coupon and they also added to our supplies. The last 2 days in Port-au-Prince have been exhausting but it was so nice to drive into our compound with this truck full of food... it may not seem like a lot but there are 15 bags of rice behind those boxes!!!



The earthquake that shook us this morning was powerful. Several more buildings around us fell (including Soirilia's house) and it shattered our hopes that things were starting to calm down. Most of us at H2H where still laying in the yard so there were no more injuries or major damage to the compound. I did however further damage the roads. The picture below is the road between Grande Goave and Leogane - it is still passable but can't take much more. The bridge at Foche has taken a beating too... it has separated in places up to 6 inches. We pass it as quickly as possible so I don't have any pictures.



Tent cities have been set up everywhere in PauP:



There are still bodies roadside:



Government building in PauP:







We are tired but so grateful for Ebenezer Orphanage & Double Harvest for being so willing to help us today. We are also thankful to return safely to Grande Goave after 2 long days in PauP. Thank you to everyone who is working so hard behind the scenes to help us.

Our trip to Port-au-Prince

Enorck (our driver at H2H) and I headed to Port-au-Prince this morning with a group of older boys/men from the church. We met GLA (God's Littlest Angels) at the airport & received some of the aid they received from a privately chartered plane. They received less food than they had expected but it will get a through another few days and we greatly appreciate their willingness to share with us.

Tomorrow Enorck & I will return to PauP again to connect with another orphanage that has offered us help. It has been a long day, I am exhausted, but I know how anxious you are for news so I wanted to share some pictures with you.

The road between Grande Goave & Leogane:









Leogane:



The rock piles cover massive graves sites:



The smell driving through Leogane was almost unbearable:



This is what is left of a 3 level school... 3 levels of cement:



One of the many tent cities in Leogane:



Bodies still line the roads, waiting to be buried:



As we reached PauP the scenes were the same:









A main road turned into a tent city in PauP:



Rescue teams are searching through colapsed building with dogs to see if there are any survivors - after 7 days there still are:



But bodies are still be carried to the roadside to be disposed of:



As another night passes I urge you to keep praying for us, and I thank you for all you are doing on your side of the ocean.