Monthly Archive for February, 2010

Orphan Update: The Rest of the Story

Published on February 18, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

This morning we sent out in our current update the story of a family of 5 orphans. Well, here is, as Paul Harvey would say, “The Rest of the Story” — and a wonderful ending that we just found out about this afternoon:

“Three girls and two boys, all siblings, were cared for by their mother in PAP. The mother had a regular business of selling at the market, and had left in the morning as usual the day of the quake. When the quake hit, the three youngest were outside while the two oldest girls were inside. The house collapsed upon them and they both sustained leg injuries as they were hit by falling cement blocks. They spent the next four days without food and water. Everyone assumed that they were dead. On the fourth day after the quake the two tried to make a loud noise to be heard. Others outside did hear the noise and a neighbor began to chip through the rubble and concrete using only a hammer. They were extracted and rejoined their three siblings, but did not know the status of their mother.

The children waited, and heard the news that the market where their mother was planning on selling had collapsed. Many people were killed there. Their PAP neighbor eventually took them out to their grandmother’s house in Hinche, having had no word from the mother, but she is old and does not have the resources to care for them. A friend knew of the Caneille relief and and suggested they would be welcome and cared for seeing that they were now orphaned. The five arrived on Feb 7th with only the clothes on their backs. They have their own tent, while housing is in the works, and they need some basics.

On Sunday we had a chance to sit down with them at Bastia & Betty’s house and hear their story, introduce ourselves, and let them know how much we were sorry for their loss, and reassure them of our love and concern for them. It was a sad day for them though, and it was their lost mother’s birthday. They responded with sincere thanks, but said that they didn’t believe their mother was dead, but that they had faith that God and protected her life and that they would find her somehow.

On Tuesday, Bastia took the oldest girl into Hinche to get shoes for the rest of them, amidst other shopping needs. As she was in Hinche her phone rang. IT WAS HER MOTHER!!!!

As it turns out, their mother had suffered very serious injuries to her legs, and in the rush of getting people cared for, she was whisked off to the Dominican Republic without any notice, and without her having any means of contacting her children. At the first available moment to call, she did. They all have a wonderful and miraculous story of how God had provided for them in a time of great need.
PRAISE THE LORD!”

Lane Gibson

Current Update from Feb 17 – from Dwight

Published on February 18, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

My stay in Haiti was longer than anticipated. I was supposed to be back on Monday but it is almost impossible to get out of Port Au Prince these days even with reserved seats with MFI.

Anyway, here it is Wednesday afternoon, and I am just getting back to the office. We spent a good afternoon in Port Au Prince assessing the damage from the quake – and words fall far short in trying to describe the destruction and devastation we saw.

It was heart-wrenching to see the devastation. USA’s cover story talked about 1.2 million left homeless as a result of this. The thing that struck me being in PAP was the tent cities, consisting of basically a tarp here, a bedsheet there, and whatever building material they can find. They find themselves being crowded together, one on top of the other, scattered at many different locations around PAP.

I am very happy with the progress in Caneille, and just got a phone call from my assistant, Lane Gibson, who I left there for another week. We have established a base camp with 71 people; there are many stories I could tell but I will just tell you one.

A family of 5, with 15 being the age of the oldest one, she and her siblings were trapped 4 days in the rubble before being rescued, all with leg injuries. She is now the leader of her family. Mom went to the store and they never saw her again. They are just so happy to have shelter and food. I met with them for an hour on Sunday, it was her mom’s birthday on the 14th, and they were happy to just talk and told me the whole story.

We also rigged up a security system for the camp from solar batteries, and this week we purchased a pump to draw from the river into a 400 gallon container that we will be able to transport back to the camp city that the people have named “Jerusalem”.

We already have a cistern previously built to catch rainwater. With the pump we will be able to move 400 gallons at a time. Soon, thanks to a ministry that has already donated $10,000 for a water purification system, we will produce 1000 gallons a day of clean drinkable river water. Currently, the camp is using 500 gallons a day and the people receive 3 meals a day.

We are not really sure what to expect after this point, the people are in survival mode and getting the basics. We are also digging latrines Haitian style, which gets pricey as they need to be lined with stone and be deep. We are building showers also. I am sending several pictures so you can get a rough idea of what the camp looks like. We graded the purchased field with a grader and brought in many loads of stone so that when the rain comes, mud won’t be an issue.

I was able to speak to the church in Caneille on Sunday AM and basically spend quite a bit of time, as in the States, people normally go home after church, but here they stay on site, so we serve them coffee and then fellowship the rest of the day.

The word that we are getting is that the many that are fleeing PAP are going back to home cities. We have gotten reports form Hinche that the city has grown considerably as houses that used to contain maybe 5 – 6 people now house between 10 – 20.

Lane will be sending us regular updates. Please pray for Betty as she was diagnosed this week with tonsillitis. She had a bad cough while I was there and I was concerned, as tonsillitis at her age is not good. The other thing I will mention is that Bastia is resigning his position with the UN so he can be fulltime with the church and camp.

Dwight

Caneille Update live 2.15

Published on February 16, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

We headed into PAP early for Dwight to catch an MFI flight out. After leaving him at the airport, we began to search for components for a water storage & distribution system for the camp. Ended up shopping in the old part of PAP where there is heavy quake damage. The old buildings, made mostly of un-reinforced brick, disintegrated or toppled or collapsed in pancake fashion. Multiple buildings on every street in all directions as far as you can see…every block in every direction. The scope is beyond comprehension. I know I’ve seen only the smallest part.

We encountered a couple rubble removal & demolition teams with heavy equipment. We saw more teams of Haitians in masks digging through piles of rubble searching for who knows what. It would be far quicker to count the buildings that show no signs of damage. They are rare. As we shopped and entered buildings, though I came in to see the contents of the store, I would enter looking up at how badly the building was damaged and if I really wanted to go in based on that.

More later…batteries on the computer and human are running low.

in Jesus,
Lane

CC Caneille Updates Feb 12 & 13

Published on February 14, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

FEB 13: We spent the day creating a roof-only canopy for the camp as they have no relief from the sun. Caribbean winters are hot…near 90 today. (I’d be willing to bring some of that back to Wisconsin, if it were possible.) We dug some holes for small footings and are using rebar for columns to hold up extra tarps as shade.

The people’s spirits and attitudes are up as they see things happening and know the Lord is providing for them. There is an expectation of the Lord to bless and take care of them that permeates all the residents.

We are also configuring the battery system with an improved DC/AC inverter for the security lighting, so that we can bring over a small generator to the camp and keep the batteries charged. Extra lights are being placed around the camp property using downed & stripped trees as poles, with modern photo-switched security lights bolted to them.

Continue to pray for the Lord to bless and heal them, and for the work of His love in their hearts and minds.

in Jesus,
Lane

FEB 12: Arrived in PAP today around 12:30 by MFI. We took a very brief tour of PAP to see some of the earthquake damage on a couple streets. Every building is damaged, if not destroyed. No one wants to go in any building regardless. There is talk of rebuilding a capitol city for Haiti in the central plateau area.

We arrived at Calvary Chapel Caneille about 5 PM and went to see the tent camp a short walk away. We were eager to be with the people and to greet them. All of them escaped with only the clothes on their backs. Many of them have injuries. One woman had a dislocated fracture of the right tibia (Her x-ray and photo are posted). She was found alone in PAP after twelve days of no medical care, having no family. One family of five kids lost their only parent, their mother, as she went to the grocery store just before the quake and has not been seen nor heard from since. Two of the oldest girls were trapped for three days before someone dug them out.

The initial emotional state of the residents was of shock and sadness, but that has lifted some. Now they say “We are fine” and greeted us warmly. The children are especially resilient and have become friends with one another.

There is a great sense of gratitude to the Lord among the residents. They know their lives have been saved by the Lord, and they believe that they have been brought to CC Caneille for a reason.

in Jesus,
Lane

Calvary Caneille Update #8 – 2.11.10

Published on February 11, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Pastor Dwight and Pastor Lane departed this morning for Caneille, at the one-month post-quake point.

While the trip came up quickly, the timing of it is important, in order to see firsthand the progress of the work at Calvary Chapel Caneille, to assess the ongoing needs of the relief camp and the Bastias, and to make some decisions at this juncture, with input from them.

For some time, Bastia has had a job with the UN in Haiti. While this has been a good “tentmaking” situation for him as a young pastor, the earthquake rearranged not only the landscape there, but his priorities as well. The reality of working an outside job and running a relief camp and church would likely be overwhelming for Bastia and Betty. So the timing of the trip is critical, as Bastia would have to be back at the UN, dividing his time between work and home base, beginning early next week. Pastor Dwight would like to see Bastia get the financial support he needs to quit the UN job and go to a full time ministry/relief camp position in Caneille.

Please pray with us – for wisdom for Dwight and Lane, for their safety and health, and that the Lord would provide for Bastia and Betty so they can continue, and concentrate on, their daily work of meeting the needs of displaced Haitians.

Pastor Dwight will return to Appleton early next week, and Pastor Lane will return later in the month.