The hardest part (part 2)

This post is called the hardest part and (maybe this is a little philosophical for me) but its from a coldplay song which says this 

The hardest part was letting go 

not taking part

was the hardest part. 

I could feel it go down 

bittersweet I could taste in my mouth 

silver lining the clouds 

I wish that I could work it out  

And the hardest part 

Was letting go 

not taking part 

You really broke my heart 

Chris Martin says it wonderfully.  'The hardest part was letting go, not taking part.'  

There are so so many things that I will not miss about living in Haiti.  Its hard, its hot, its humid, its dusty, its intense and its demanding physically, emotionally and spiritually.  There are bumpy roads, mosquitos, tarantulas, snakes, rats and cockroaches (in our kitchen cupboards).  There is no cheddar cheese, no yogurt, no strawberries, no chocolate and no sweet potatoes.  Cooking is hard, doing the dishes is like going to a sauna, driving is exhausting and the humidity sucks out all your energy. 

So why is it so hard to leave..... because we are letting go of this time in our life, we are not taking part anymore.  Yes we will always be involved in what Bethesda and Emmaus are doing in Haiti whether that is by praying, or giving or coming but we will not be living as a family again here in Haiti. And our 'taking part' had just decreased dramatically.  Please don't get me wrong, praying and giving are absolutely essential parts of missions, without those two things missions would not exist so yes we will keep taking part but its not the same as living here. 

Its hard because of the relationships. Relationships which have been formed through language barriers and cultural differences, not easy ones to make but even harder ones to break. Not to break forever but broken physically by distance, sometimes talking on the phone just doesn't cut it.  Supporting someone is always better in person especially in the relationship orientated culture which Haiti has.

Its hard to think about going back to some sort of 'normal' life - which I don't even think we really know what that is anymore.  After spending years in the middle of suffering and poverty its hard to listen to conversations about the things that now feel frivolous to us. Its hard to watch people waste their money knowing what good that money could do in Haiti and other places around the word.  Living in that context changes your worldview, it changes your perspective and I sincerely pray we will not get sucked into a life of materialism and keep that worldview we have learned to value to so much.  The worldview we have tried to teach to our boys - that stuff doesn't matter.  It not important.  That giving must be sacrificial. That relationship and time is important.  That obedience to God is ultimately what we are called to do. ( All of which we are still working on and probably always be.) 

Its heart breaking because everyone is already so discouraged with the situation in Haiti the last thing we ever ever wanted to do was to add to that discouragement. Its heartbreaking because this is not what we had planned and it is definitely not what we wanted. 

Its also bittersweet because we are so looking forward to 'normal' life, to not packing up house after house, to not knowing when the next time we might move might be.  To see our families (well mine at least) when ever we want, to not have to think will I have fuel for the car to go to school tomorrow, to know if one of the kids gets sick a hospital is right there and we can go and they will have treatment.  

And there are silver linings marking this hard time. There are so many thing I am so looking forward to.  Going to church in English, the boys being able to go to having Sunday school, being able to drive on smooth roads (can you tell the road is a big thing for me 😂😂), getting fuel at the pump whenever I need it, only showering once a day instead of three, wearing jeans, spending time with my friends, taking the boys to a forest,  having freedom, doing my own food shopping, buying lasagne that hasn't been chewed on by rats, taking the boys going to the park with their cousins and eating so many things!

Its a lot of conflicting emotions happening all at once in our brains and its a lot to process.  We have had a little time to process with this extra time because of covid.  When I first saw that positive test I almost panicked. As if the week wasn't crazy enough.  But you know, the Lord has been good.  We really did need some extra time to process what was going on, some extra time to pack and some extra time for Bill to finish teaching his classes. 

When we told the boys we wouldn't be leaving that day we had planned, they were ok Sam thought for a second and said ' Well God has answered our prayers, we had been praying that he would show us when to leave Haiti and we needed more time to pack so now God has given us more time.'  Sometimes we learn a lot from our kids. 

We don't know how long we will stay in Canada or what exactly we will do there.  But we do need some time together to process and work through the stress of the past 6 months or should I say 6 years! and the farm in the middle of no where with family seems to be a good place to do that even if it will be -30 degrees. 

The hardest part

We have had one evacuation from Haiti and it was pretty dramatic.  When we returned in the summer we never in a million years imagined we would be evacuated...again. And this one maybe as dramatic as the last one.  Before we go any further, we are safe, we are well and today, on Sam's birthday we are currently in a hotel in New Orleans.  We got here around 1am last night, everyone else is still asleep but seeing I do not have the ability to sleep in I am awake.  

We knew things were not great in Haiti when we returned in August, the president, Jovenel Moise had just been brutally murdered in his own home and everyone waited for things to blow up but they never did.  Everyone was outraged that this would happen but life in Haiti had to continue on because that is what Haiti does.  Just moves on, just keeps going regardless what life throws at Haiti because really what other option do people have.

Basically since then things have gone downhill pretty quickly with one of the biggest problems being insecurity.  Port au Prince has always been much much more unstable than Cap Haitian but we started to hear more stories of robberies, kidnappings and murders closer to home.  We limited our movements and really didn't go anywhere except  school / work (which are in the same village).  Every weekend was the same thing, home all day and walk to church down the road on Sunday morning stay home on Sunday afternoon. Outside of work we really didn't see anyone else. 

Elections which were scheduled for November are cancelled indefinitely, the prime minster was (still is) being implicated and investigated in the murder of Jovenel Moise, and then the fuel problems really began to get bad.  Gangs in Port au Prince are controlling the city which means they control what goes in and out.  From the beginning of October it was becoming almost impossible to find fuel at the pump, by mid October the only place to get it was at the side of the street on the black market at $20 (US) a gallon.  This began to affect hospitals who depend of diesel generators to function, it was / is affecting businesses, schools, universities and banks. 

This is how the majority of people now buy fuel. 

 Bill and I started having conversations like how long should we stay here, what would have to happen for us to leave, if we do leave where could we go.  By the beginning of November these were probably daily conversations. These types of conversations are so difficult to have.  How do we weigh up the risk, how do we know what the risk is, how do we are we stay obedient to what we believe God has asked us to do, what about the responsibility we have to our children, it is ok for Julie to be driving to work alone every day etc 

Please please if you know any families on the mission field in 'dangerous places' support them in anyway you can because these conversations and circumstances are so so hard and they very last thing they need is either condemnation that they took their children somewhere unsafe or condemnation that they choose to leave somewhere that God has called them to.  Trust me when I say these conversations are so so very hard to have and to consider staying or going is also very very hard.  Anyway that was a side note. 

I missed many days of work because of fuel, we just didn't have any to go.  When we were able to go I had to pick Jacob up from school at 11 with me and bring him to work with me and get the other boys out early because we simply didn't / still don't have the fuel to be driving back and forward. 

Kidnapping in Cap Haitian is not very common but in Port au Prince it is a daily occurrence and since president Moise was killed kidnappings increased by 300%.  Haiti now has the highest rate of kidnappings per capita in the whole world.  This is not something you want to be known by.  EVERYDAY Haitians are being kidnapped, rich or poor, it doesn't matter anymore, some are beaten, the girls are raped and who knows where they are sleeping or what they are eating.  Families are known to sell everything they own to get some ransom money. It is dreadful.  In October a group of 17 North Amercians were kidnapped and the group included 5 children, one of the them an 8 month old baby.  A baby who is now 10 months old and has spent 1/5 of their life in captivity.  It is truly awful. Two of them have been released but its now almost 2 months that the other 15 are being held hostage. 

On November 10th the US and Canadian Embassy both sent out a warning asking all of their citizens to leave Haiti while commercial flights are still available. Now we started to hear of missionaries leave, even here in the North.  After various conversations with OMS it became clear it was time for us to go.  

Honestly, we were heartbroken. 

It was not easy for us to return to Haiti after so long away because of Covid and we had such a strong desire to pass over our jobs and finish our time in Haiti well. We have seen way way too many missionaries, almost always not out of their own choice, leave Haiti quickly and it is devastating for those left behind.  We were certain we would never do that, we wanted to finish what we came to do so we came back, dragged our kids across the world (again) to finish up and leave well.  

Yet here we are. 

After a conversation with OMS on Monday (15th) we booked flights for Saturday (19th), spent the next few days telling people, every conversation was difficult,  packing up our house, giving most of our stuff away, packing up some special things from Haiti and deciding where we should go and for how long.  We made a rough plan for the next few weeks and prepared to leave.  We didn't feel ready to leave at all but we did feel peace about going.  Then on Thursday evening we did our covid tests for flying.  After holding the boys down to do theirs I looked at my result and almost couldn't believe it.  

Positive. 

I wasn't sick, I had hardly been anywhere or with anyone because of the fuel issue.  So I brushed it off as a false positive and did another one. Same result. 

We could not believe it, my head was spinning with questions, what on earth do we do now. 

Bill put the boys to bed and I phoned Dr Rodney, he laughed and I felt a lot better! We think we can control things, make plans and so often the Lord has other ideas.  That evening I got a few things together and moved up to the apartment at Emmaus away from everyone to decrease the risk of me passing it on to anyone at home, even though they have already been exposed.   The next day we did one more test to be sure and got the same result.  So poor Bill was now holding down the fort at home.   

We figured out a way for the boys to come and sit on the steps to chat to me.  Jacob kept saying mummy please come back, I want a hug it was so hard for him to understand.  On that first day I asked Sam on facetime was he ok to which he replied 'no, no body feels right when your not here.' (just nominate me for mother of the year now 😂😂) We were able to cancel our flights and get a travel voucher.  We also tried to get our hands on as many covid tests as we could thinking about the possibilty of someone else being positive once I was negative. 

By Tuesday Bill didn't feel well so on Wednesday he tested again, it was positive.  I came home and we decided it was best if we tested everyone because when you test positive affects when you can fly.   So at that point I was actually praying that all the boys would test positive then we would all be in the same boat and it would make planning travel easier.  So all the boys tested positive that night aswell.  Thankfully they all had a very mild cold and were tired.  Bill was affected the most and he was really tired and lethargic.  

You are able to fly to the states 10 days after a positive test so at least now we could make some plans.  We stayed home, packed and planned to fly out of Haiti on Sunday 5th. 

As my isolation was finished I was able to go to the clinic on Friday and say goodbye.  This was not easy at all. By Saturday we had all finished our isolation and had a few friends come to visit while finishing up some last minute packing. 

Sunday we headed to the aiport and flew from Cap Haitian to Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans. 

You may be wondering why New Orleans.  Well we are going to drive from there to Jackson Mississippi to visit the Ayars, our neighbours in Haiti who we have not seen since that last brutal evacuation.  Stacey and the kids were supposed to come to Haiti in November but the trip was cancelled.  The boys are so looking forward to seeing the kids and we are all looking forward to spending time together, eating together - like we used to alot and catching up on the last year and a half. 

Again covid brings us more complications, Canada will not accept the anitgen test we took in Haiti so we need to get a PCR test which we cannot get in the North of Haiti. Tomorrow we will need to get a PCR test which we assume will be positive then wait for two weeks before we are able to fly to Canada. 

The Ayars have very graciously agreed to put us up for just over a week, then we will fly to Indiana to stay with another missionary family, the Grosses, who again we have not seen since that last evacuation in March 2020.  It is not easy to have 5 extra people in your home, especially with 3 little emotional boys, right before christmas so we are so thankful for the Ayars and the Grosses for letting us stay with them.  We are also really looking forward to seeing them all and spending some time together. 

Then on 22nd December we will fly to Canada to spend Christmas with Bill's family, who we now have not seen for two and a half years.  And that is as far as we have got. 

I realise many of you will have lots of questions.  I wrote most of this post when I was in isolation and have another one half written but I  will try to write more over the next couple of weeks. We would value your prayers, this has not been easy at all and neither will the next few months be. 

So what is the hardest part.....its always has and always is saying goodbye. 

Toys

 One of the things I was able to do on during my time at home in Northern Ireland during covid was some more training, specifically in paediatrics to help our paediatric service  at Bethesda. 

We have big plans for the future of the paediatric service at Bethesda.  Altidor and Echebert have already done some training with an American OT on how to build adaptive equipment for children with additional needs.  We are planning more education for staff and for families. We want to have an occupational therapist, maybe even a speech therapist.  Its going to take a few years before we get a really good comprehensive service but its what we are working towards. Once we build a new Bethesda and move we will have more space,  something we really lack right now. 

Our kids with come every Tuesday and Thursday morning and I am so pleased to say the extra training has paid off and they are all making great improvements.  

Altidor has done a great job while I was gone during covid especially with little Oly who first came in the middle of covid, unable to even hold his head up.  He was born two months premature and has cerebral palsy.  Oly continues to improve and improve, his mum is so willing to learn and do all she can at home.  A year ago he was learning to hold his head up today he is pulling himself up to stand at home!!  

I wish you could hear the fits of giggles he has when we play with the foam roller.

Little Gabby started  about a week before I started working in September, when he first came he was not interested in anyone or toys.  His little hands were fisted shut, he was floppy and unable to hold his head up, infact on his first day I was unable to even get him into a good position to practice holding his head up because his spine was so stiff.  His wee chest was all rattly (maybe that not even a word! he was full of secretions) - not out of neglect but out of lack of education.  His family did not know what positions to put him in and how the lack of movement and poor posture affects his chest. 

Today, he is engaged, he is smiling at people, at his mom but mostly at himself in the mirror. He is holding his head up when he is supported in sitting, he is holding his head up when lying on his tummy, his chest is clear, his hands are open and grasping toys and he wants to roll over. 

After two sessions he was holding his head up and happy about it!

This is absolutely my favourite bit about being here. 

We get these kids who can't do anything, again it is not because they are neglected, it is not because they are not being well taken care of. It is because of a lack of education among the general population, among the parents and dare I say it even among some health care professionals.  One of the reasons being that physiotherapy is still a relatively new profession in Haiti and the role of physiotherapy in children with additional needs is not widely known. 

Anyway after 1 or 2 sessions we see a massive difference. It is like a light has been switched on and the child realizes they can do something.  Their brain is stimulated and it wants to learn, it wants to move and build connections.  It is really amazing to see how movement affects every area of their development.  Once they start to learn it just grows and grows and they become more and more motivated because our brains were made to develop and learn. 

One of the things we lack is space and another thing we lack is appropriate toys.  Almost all the toys there are my boys old toys and the heat and humidity has destroyed most of them.  We are in desperate need of new toys. 

This is where you can help.

I have put together a wishlist on amazon of toys which would really help us.  You can buy from anywhere in the world and have them to delivered to Bethesda using the following address 

Bethesda Medical Center PT 

Unit 1133 

3170 Airmans Drive, 

Fort Pierce, FL 

34946 

USA 

Here is the link to the wishlist maybe some of them will even be on offer for black Friday - I hope so I love a  good bargin!  I would really appreciate your help and so would these little ones. 

You can have a look at the list here.

Opening up....well sort of

 After the holiday on November 1st and 2nd we were not sure what was going to happen the rest of the week.  But it seemed like people were fed up of staying at home and are trying to get back to normal. 

So life kind of looks normal here in the North, some schools are open, people are moving around and there are some vehicles on the road.  However fuel has not been available at the pump for more than two weeks now.  Some hospitals are close to shutting down because they do not have diesel for their generators. The only place to buy any fuel is at the side of the street for $20 (US) a gallon and I have a few questions about that. 

Firstly, how is anyone affording to pay that? If I filled up the car we drive it would cost at least $300 US.

Secondly, where is the black market getting its fuel from?

I wish I knew the answers to these questions.  Anyone I have asked doesn't know the answers either. 

It is extremely frustrating that there is fuel in the country and that people are paying the extortionately high prices for what they can find therefore the problem continues on.  As far as we hear gangs are continuing to block fuel coming from Port au Price. The gangs have said they will continue to do that until the current prime minister steps down.  So we continue to watch, wait and pray. 

Last week Emmaus did fill up the van with diesel from the generator so I have been at work the past 3 days and the boys went to school but we cannot really continue to do that so we really don't know what next week will bring. 

Emmaus did have classes last week including 3 masters courses where students had to come everyday.  The courses were offered in person and on zoom and everyday there were students who were not able to come due to transportation issues.  Emmaus has a massive advantage over other schools and universities in the country, firstly we have solar so we are not dependent on diesel to run a generator for electricity during the day.  Secondly the majority of students arrive on a Sunday and stay all week so they do not have to worry about transportation to and from Emmaus everyday. 

Bethesda has been open and receiving patients.  Not all of our staff are able to come and those who are coming are paying a ridiculously high price to get there as are our patients.  I talked with one patient on Friday, usually she pays 75 gourdes to get from where she lives to Bethesda on Friday she paid 375gourdes and that was only one way.  Just imagine how it would affect you if the price of public transport was now 4 - 5 times the normal price or the cost of filling your car up was almost ten times the cost.  There is only so long this can go on.  

Before this many people were struggling, now I have no idea how anyone is paying that sort of price for transport. 

Bethesda is pretty low on fuel and it is affecting our water supply as we need electricity to pump the water.  We have cut back as much as we can but we do need electricity for water, lights, fans and to run lab tests and X ray.  There is talk that boats are coming into Cap Haitian with fuel but much of this fuel has gone to places like banks, hospitals and the phone company.    

You can read the latest update from Bethesda here.

Shutdown again

 Here we go again.  Payi lok. Payi femen. Shut down. 

You have all experienced lockdown but this, this is different. 

Payi lok in 2018/19 was all about getting the president to step down, it was about politicians paying members of the public to protest, it was about others taking advantage by setting up road blocks and make a little money to try to feed their family.  It didn't ever work so they (whoever they are) killed the president instead. 

And since then, well since then things have just gotten progressively worse.  Kidnappings are up 300% since July and include a group of Americans and one Canadian kidnapped in Port au Prince now 9 days ago.  I can't stop thinking about the mother of the 5 children kidnapped with her 8 month old baby and 3 year and other kids being held hostage, trying to take care of her children and having no idea what the outcome may be.  Please don't get me wrong their lives are not any more valuable than the lives of the hundreds and hundreds of Haitians who have been kidnapped this year.  I just don't know if any of them have babies involved. 

The fuel crisis has hit an all time low.  Today fuel is extremely scarce and anything anyone can find is only on the black market, its probably got something added to it to make it stretch and the price ranges from $15 - $30 (US) a gallon.  The normal price is $2.50.  Yesterday as we walked to church down the road we saw very very few vehicles on the road.  The church had no diesel for its generator so there was no sound system.  The very few vehicles on the road are charging up to 5 times the normal price to go anywhere.  Hospitals all over the country and are warning that they will have to close if they do not get fuel for generators ASAP.  No electricity means no oxygen concentrators, no surgeries, no emergency C sections, no lights for treating patients after dark and no refrigeration for vaccines and other medicines.  There is no doubt people will lose their lives over the lack of fuel.  

Fuel comes into the country at the Port in the capital city in Port au Prince.  From there is it distributed to petrol stations throughout Haiti.  But in the last few months many of the truck drivers have refused to drive through certain areas without armed police because of gang activity. Today they are on strike, too many of them have been kidnapped or even killed just for doing their job.   There is fuel in the country but the gangs are asking the government for 50million gourdes ($500,000 US)  to let it through. So the whole country is at a standstill waiting to see what will happen. 

Then there is government.  Haiti now has no president but a prime minister who, by the way is being investigated for his role in the assassination of President Moise.  Elections for a new president have been postponed indefinitely.   I will say no more.  

All of this having a massive knock on effect on everything.  The price of food keeps going up and up.  Today schools are closed for who knows how long. The mobile phone service is being affected in some areas as the companies depend on diesel for their generators to function, soon it will start to affect internet service. 

So what is going on today?

Today is the start of payi femen.  Its various unions calling for a strike and asking the population to protest against the fuel crisis, the instability, the insecurity and kidnappings.  Protests are scheduled most of the week and maybe into next week.  We don't know.  But the people of Haiti have many many many reasons to protest. 

Maybe I have said it before, I probably thought it before but Haiti really is a breaking point now.  You can feel the tension, the hopelessness and the desperation.  The other sad thing is what you hear on the news, or what you hear about kidnappings and violence those people are really in the minority ruining the lives of everyday people and destroying the future for their children. 

The issues are complex and complicated and I don't think anybody knows the solution, especially long term. But something which will ease the immediate problem is deliveries of fuel and lots of it. Since we got back in August I have got fuel at the pump once.  All other time someone has had to queue for hours to fill up the tank.  When fuel is delivered many people buy it in cannisters then sell it for double or triple the price.  It has become a business.  So when fuel does come there needs to be a lot of it and it needs to be distributed properly.  

Secondly - the root of all of these current problems is insecurity.  The country is being run by gangs who are controlling what and who goes in and out of the capital city.  People living in Port au Prince where the majority of the kidnappings happen describe leaving their home like a game of Russian roulette, you don't know if you will make it home alive.  

I know many of you are now thinking, what on earth are you doing there?  We live over 100 miles away from where most of the problems are.  Today we are safe at Emmaus, we lived on a walled campus with 24 hour security and most of our electricity comes from solar panels greatly decreasing the need we have for diesel for the generators. We have a freezer full of food which no one else in our community has so we will sit tight, stay at home until well first until we get fuel for the vehicles then when it is safe to go out.  In general we don't go anywhere outside of the clinic and school anyway which are both in the same area.  I stayed home today with the boys as there is no school.  I phoned Dr Rodney who told me we had very very few patients at Bethesda and only staff members who live within walking distance were able to come.  Likely this will be the case for the next few days. 

Emmaus on the other hand, well Emmaus is pretty much functioning as normal apart from some staff members being unable to get here.  Emmaus has a massive advantage because most of our students live here in the dorms.  Many of them stayed for the weekend and others arrived early on Sunday to make sure they could be here for the week.  Bill taught this morning and did have some missing from his class because it is almost impossible to find transportation. This week we have 4 masters classes going on, a lot of the students were able to make it here yesterday and they will stay for the week but for those who didn't Bill, as the IT guy then had to get all 4 teachers connected onto zoom between 11.30 (He was teaching until 11.30) and 12 only to realize Emmaus only has one paid zoom account.  I know it sounds like a simple fix.  Trust me when I say nothing is simple in Haiti.  They got the class done but its needs to be better for tomorrow.  He is currently sitting behind me trying to work out a better system for tomorrow only the internet is being ridiculously slow so its taking a long time. 

Back to the question in point....we returned to Haiti after being away in order to finish up our time here and be able to leave well and that's what we hope to do.  Anyway that's another post. 

Don't be worried about us. 

This post is not about us but about the people of Haiti who cannot see a future, who are trying to feed their children but its seemingly impossible, who are just trying to survive while their country falls apart around them and they have no way out. 

But do pray. 

I can't see that we can do anything else. 

- Pray for fuel to be released and distributed across the country 

- Pray for those currently being held hostage by kidnappers, both Haitians and foreigners. 

- Pray for intervention for the insecurity problem caused by gangs 

- Pray for deliverance for Haiti. 

 

Yet another prayer for Haiti

As I scrolled through my Facebook feed yesterday trying to find out how bad the situation in the south of Haiti was, over and over again I saw Pray for Haiti, Pray for Haiti and I hate to admit it but I was tired of seeing it. I know, not the kind of thing you expect to hear from a missionary, never mind a missionary who lives in Haiti. 

We have been praying for Haiti for sooo long, many have been praying for Haiti much longer than I have and yet every year it seems like things are getting worse. Every few months another crisis on top of the normal difficulties of life and it feels like we are always praying for Haiti. 

 Since I've been coming to Haiti in 2008 Haiti has seen earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fuel shortages, drought, political unrest, cholera, a sharp increase in gangs, murders and a president assassinated. That is on top of extreme poverty.

 It really takes you to see poverty to get some kind of grasp of what it means. Even I, who live here, who visit people in their homes, who treat people with medical problems cannot get my head around how ANYONE survives.... Even those with jobs.  Many people think that because a country is poor living expenses must be cheap. This is not true for Haiti. I simply cannot believe the price of food in Haiti. Since last March this is how some of the things I buy has changed.

A bottle of mayonnaise - doubled 

A cabbage - doubled

Carrots - 50% increase 

A packet of spaghetti - doubled 

A  box of eggs - 50% increase

Pretty much everything is more expensive and not just by a few pennies. 

 Just take a moment to think how your monthly budget would be affected if the price of the food you buy had increased, some of it by 50% and a lot of it doubled. 

Then every year the school fees increase. Different schools charge different things but I know they are pretty much all expensive. Many people are telling me the entrance fees are 15,000-20,000 gourdes ($150 - $200 US).  On top of that parents are responsible for buying uniforms, shoes, school bags, lunchboxes, school books and the fees for each trimester. After that many kids need money for transportation everyday and lunch. 

When you do the maths, it's just not possible. 

I was talking with a friend last week about this very thing and I said ' You know if you add up everything you spend in a month then look at what you have earned....' right there he interrupted me and shook his head, laughing and said 'no no you can't do that, God provides.'  I said the same thing to Yverose who responded with 'It's God he does miracles.'

So you may wonder what this has got to do with prayer.  As I thought over my response to 

'pray for Haiti'  I began to realise that God is answering prayers, it's just maybe not in the way we want him or expect him to. 

He is answering prayers for so many children whose parent's absolutely cannot afford the school fees yet somehow He provides. 

He is answering prayers for the many families who have no income.  Can I just empahise that. ZERO income. NOTHING.  There is NO job seekers, NO benefits and there are simply millions of people with no jobs.  How do they live? I have NO idea but many of them do.  Again He provides. 

He is answering prayers for strength, courage, energy and resilience for the people of Haiti.  I am telling you I have never met a people in my life who have been through what the people of Haiti have been through and yet they keep going. Even in the midst of immense suffering there is joy.  

Then my mind turned to the 2010 earthquake and the many people I worked with throughout 2010 and how the Lord answered prayer for them. 

There was Lucner's brother who was trapped all night. One by one his classmates grew silent and soon he was the only one left alive and he was rescued. Lucner travelled down to Port au Prince to find him, in the middle of utter chaos he somehow, miraculously, found him and brought him back to Cap Haitian.  He had no movement in his right arm from being trapped under blocks and Lucner brought him to me to treat him.  I had no idea what I was doing but 6 weeks later he had full movement and strength in his arm.  Many many answers to prayers. 

I thought of a young girl who I treated in Milot, who was trapped under the rubble for 21 days.  Yes you read that correctly.  She was trapped for THREE weeks with no food and sometimes a drip of water which fell through from outside. She should have died, she should have never been found but she was and six months after being in hospital in Cap, she returned to Port au Prince.  Many, many answers to prayer. 

I thought of the little baby born in Milot, so very kindly named after Hannah and I - Julieanna.  Her mum was trapped under a building for days, she lost her leg and even with being trapped, plus the stress, plus an amputation, 6 months later baby Julieanna was born, a beautiful little girl with no problems.  Many, many answers to prayer.

I thought of Sterlina, only 14 years old, alone in the children's ward with her family presumed dead.  She had her leg amputated and even after she was better she lived at the hospital for months before being moved to an orphanage in Cap Haitian.  She was so reserved, devastated and traumatized by what she had experienced and was now living in a city she had never been in with people she had never met.  By the end of the year the red Cross had found her family and she was on her way back to Port au Prince to be united with them.  Many, many answers to prayer. 

Honestly I could go on and on. Miracle after miracle. 

So, like me, please don't grow weary or tired of praying for Haiti.  Although we may not see what we are asking for God is answering prayers throughout Haiti and it is truly through His people that Haiti will transform. 

Tonight the situation in the south of Haiti is bad.  The death toll now stands at over 1300, with almost 6000 injured and an unknown number unaccounted for.  Aftershocks continue and everyone is sleeping outside in the street either because they have lost their homes or they are too scared to sleep inside for fear of more shaking. 

Hospitals are crowded and medical supplies are scarce.  There are some organizations on the ground working to evacuate people to different hospitals throughout Haiti and I believe some patients have already been evacuated.  There is an immediate need for food, water, shelter and medical care.  

If you want to give please please research who you are giving to.  If the 2010 earthquake taught us anything its that is it much better to give to small organizations who are already working in Haiti.  It is also better to buy food, water and supplies in Haiti than to have them shipped in. If you need any advice on who or how to give please get in touch with me. 

And finally please continue to pray. 

- Pray for help to come soon. 

- Pray for those trapped, that they would be found, quickly. 

- Pray for those in need of medical care - that they would find it. 

- Pray for food, water and shelter to arrive quickly. 

- Pray for those involved in the rescue mission, digging through block by block with their bare hands.  Pray for strength and more equipment to arrive. 

- Tropical depression Grace is now headed for Haiti arriving tomorrow (Monday) and is predicted to bring flooding.  Pray for divine intervention.  Thankfully Grace has already been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression. 

- Pray for comfort and strength for those affected. 

- Pray for other affected by PTSD from the 2010 earthquake. 

Thank you for interceding for the people of Haiti once again. 

Earthquake

 This morning around 8.30am there was a 7.2 earthquake in the south west of Haiti.  We felt it very slightly at home and we are all fine.

I almost can't believe it is happening,  Haiti just takes one hit after another. Now we have what is likely a humitarian crisis, during political turmoil in the middle of a world wide pandemic. How does anyone deal with that? 

Everyone's mind (including my own) goes to the 2010 earthquake in Port au prince.  There will be many today who will be suffering the affects of PTSD,any who will be remembering loved ones who died in 2010 and now many who will be in severe need.  

Initial reports are saying there is a lot of damage but we will let you know more as we find out. 

Photo from port au prince 2010 earthquake 

Keep continuing to pray for Haiti. 

We made it!!

I know its a few days late but we are here! Thank you for your prayers, all of our travels went well and we are here. 

It really is good to be back.  This doesn't take away from the fact it was hard to leave but we are so thankful for the extended period of time we had at home with our family and friends. 

The boys did great on all the flights and flying through the Bahamas worked out fine.  It was pretty amazing to fly out of the Bahamas and onto Turks and Cacois and then onto Haiti.  The beauty of those flights in that you are on a small (30 people) propeller plane and the views are amazing!  The colour of the water is unbelievable.  I have to say and maybe I am biased but Haiti does have the most beautiful landscape the mountains in Haiti are just beautiful.  Haiti has so much potential. 

We arrived on Sunday and as soon as we got home the boys ripped their shoes off and were straight outside. Its like they are back in their natural habitat!  They are really enjoying being back and of course the fact that Bello is unbelievably, still alive, made their day.  Bello is pretty glad to have some company and some actual cat food!  I was a little concerned how Jacob was going to be, we had no idea if he remembered Haiti or not.  Usually he is very quiet and scared around strangers but so far he has been great with everyone who has been to our house.  This is such a big answer to prayer.  Jacob has made so much progress in the past year not only with his speech, but in his whole development and we just weren't sure how another big transition would affect him, but he has done brilliantly. 

 

when we first got here it felt a little bit like we were in a time warp, when we arrived in the house my shopping list was still written on the whiteboard, meals written in the diary for the week we left, my pjs and our bedsheets in the dirty washbox, and Bill's whiteboard full of his classes. 

We have been spending the last few days organizing, cleaning, washing and seeing people.  All our clothes have been sitting for over a year and all needed washed. With not having any other missionaries on campus and no tesco nearby I wasn't sure how those first few days would be.  Normally when any of us get back we make sure the other people have some food in the cupboards and meals for a day or two but even without the other missionaries here the Lord sent us lots of people.  Leme and Gerta went to town to buy us some food,  Yverose came on Monday to help with the washing and cleaning, Rose has been staying for a few days, Vedane left a lasagne for dinner on Sunday and Shelley brought dinner and other things on Monday.  All of this has made these first few days a LOT easier.  

I visited Bethesda on Wednesday and it was so good to see everyone even if they did say ' Julie you look so much fatter its good, you look better like that.' I'll take it as a compliment.  I walked into the PT department and it was full of patients plus Altidor and Echebert and 5 students from the local PT college.  It has come a long way from when I first came to Haiti 5 years ago.

Thank you for your prayers and support over this time.  I am not really great at keeping this blog up to date so I have decided to try to share a little more on my instagram page about living in Haiti. I can do shorter posts and share more photos if your on instagram feel free to follow me @julie_edler. When we were home a lot of people were asking me what day to day life was like and I think that is the best way to share.