Testimony from Haiti Trip #3 (2/7-2/13)

By Susan Sciarratta, Woodside Presbyterian Church, Yardley, PA

As we prepared to re-enter the United States on February 13, I reflected much on our past week’s work in Haiti and Jimani. What stood out most was the juxtaposition of goodness and evil, life and death, beauty and ugliness, laughter and tears, heartbreak and hope, in all that surrounded us. The monotony of tents against the majestic backdrop of the Haitian mountains…a newborn set of twins sleeping a few feet away from a dying grandmother….the abundant food and medical supplies with no system of distribution….the little girl rescued from being trapped underground for two days, whose aunt told us that she would have been better off dead along with her mom and baby brother…the boy with the distended belly smiling as his mother bathed him…the traumatized Haitians refusing shelter in a building for fear of the aftershocks.

I learned to say three phrases in Creole: Good morning/afternoon, How are you, and God bless you. That was truly enough to touch people. God’s grace and His Holy Spirit filled in the blanks when words failed. Not surprisingly, the language barrier lent quite a few comical moments. I approached an older gentleman and greeted him with my best Creole. He didn’t say much. Then my friend Lynne came up and said, “Hi!” The man responded -- in perfect English -- “Hey, where are you guys from anyway?” It turns out he was from Florida and was in Port au Prince at the wrong time. I really enjoyed praying with him because he actually understood what I was saying. Also, I had a nice conversation with three young women who had escaped their university building during the earthquake; we spoke through Isidro (FFP staff) who speaks both Spanish and Creole. I enjoyed being in many such conversations where combinations of Spanish, French, Creole, and/or English were volleyed back and forth.

My favorite work project was building five private shower stalls at the Love A Child camp. I worked with Emily, Branko, Pastor Bronny, Isidro, JJ, and a couple of Haitian volunteers. A truly global effort! Not only was it great to complete this project in less than a day, it was gratifying to see the showers being used immediately after we completed them. It was a simple way to restore a little dignity to our Haitian brothers and sisters.

As I conducted my work, I felt like a soldier of Christ on the battleground of good versus evil. Armed with my breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the sword of the Spirit, and some copies of Creole scripture, I went from tent to tent with a big smile and a heavy heart. The best part of my trip was sitting with the refugees at their tents, listening to their stories and then praying with them. We were so blessed to have Vicki and Anide with us, who could translate between English and Creole. I know that God did not send me to Haiti because of my biceps or brawn or background in First Aid, but the blessing that I could be to my Haitian brethren in just being present. The gift of presence cannot be overrated. We were so affirmed when one woman said, “Today is the first day I feel like a human being.” It was not the tent, medical care, or food that she received, but the nourishment of God’s love provided by a simple human touch.

This place truly was a battleground. So many tragedies and evils abounded; the helicopter crash, the two traumatized Haitians who jumped to their death following an aftershock, the renegade group leader who undermined our mission at the ARC camp, the feelings of defeat and worthlessness that so often plague missionaries. But ever faithful, God reminded us of His holy presence, His completeness, and His redemptive grace. I have never seen the night sky so brilliant as that first night in Jimani. God, you took my breath away. You gave me the holy privilege of building up the body of Christ, one tent at a time. You showed me amputated limbs and broken bones lifted up to You in worship and praise, one month after the earthquake. Unbroken spirits. The hypnotic rendition of “Breathe” sung by our FFP friends in Spanish, which lifted me so high. We came face to face with You in every person that we touched. You provided us a cloud of witnesses from Vermont to Ecuador, and together we ran with perseverance, restoring Your goodness, with eyes fixed on our Lord and Savior.

I don’t know how the story will end. I pray that hearts will be softened throughout Hispaniola. I pray that the world will not soon forget the plight of the Haitians. And I pray that this devastated country will be rebuilt on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Testimony from Haiti Relief Trip #1 (1/31-2/6)

By Warren E. Wilhide, Sr, WEWilhide@cs.com, Hilltop Church, Mendham, NJ

What an experience! What a life changing experience. In Haiti, I saw such need in situations where you are able to truly help others, and where there are many critical opportunities all around you. Help is needed now – the sooner, the more meaningful.

Of course, this trip included some hardships such as hot temperatures without air conditioning, dust and dirt, Johnny toilets (or none), 8 days without a shower, and being involved with things of such importance, that using a bathroom was often forgotten until things became urgent. But, what rewards come from knowing you are making a difference to people in their time of great suffering and need.

The team I was part of for this trip were mostly medical professionals, mostly from New Jersey. I felt very fortunate to have been accepted for this trip (as a civilian). I offered to do anything I could to assist or support the medical people, or jobs no one else wanted to do. Believe me, there was plenty of meaningful work for everyone. The night before our 6 hour bus ride to the Haitian border, we all helped salvage wood from old pallets, to take to Haiti to be used in construction of latrines. On the way to the border (with 5 armed guards), we stopped to pick up a group of doctors and nurses from a Presbyterian church in Greenville, SC. Our combined team was a fantastic group of dedicated people. Also, the Foundation for Peace leadership and coordination was superb. I shall always remember everyone involved.

Once at our compound on the Dominican side of the border, I helped assemble many double deck bunk beds for our use. (Some of us still had to sleep outside). Everyone insisted that I get a bunk (lower), probably because of my gray hair. Across from our quarters, were other buildings holding several hundred injured Haitians. Many were amputees.

I helped unload boxes and supplies, and assist nurses who told me where to move things by medical category. I also made trips to their pharmacy area to pickup and deliver needed medicines. I was also able use Excel to assist a nurse in setting up a checkoff sheet for patient care schedule. In addition to numerous other activities, the one which was most rewarding to me was accompanying nurses (particularly Mauricia of Overlook Hospital) as dressings were being changed.

I greatly appreciated the opportunity to provide some comfort to these injured people and their family members who were (and still are) extremely concerned about their uncertain future. It was amazing to me to see how rubbing their arm, and giving a smile and a caring look seemed to transform both the patients and their families. For the younger members, I was able to show a few tricks, including my thumb trick, which made a positive change in atmosphere. Fortunately, I was able to do many of these support type activities on both sides of the border. I was happy with what I had the opportunity to do, but, it was really very minor compared to what everyone else was doing around the clock. Also, please remember that these were all volunteer activities by many people from countries around the world (many giving up their vacations to be here).

One of the needs I saw while there, involved the many very sad situations where people don’t know what happened to their family and loved ones. I remember hearing about one very anxious mother who greatly misses her 12 year old daughter, and has no idea if she’s dead or alive, or where she may be. Apparently, there is no system in place to have an overall database. After checking into this on both sides of the border with senior doctors, and Mayo Clinic, and Johns Hopkins people, it appeared that nothing is currently available, but the need is acknowledged. Later on, I was directed to a young doctor from the Harvard Medical School who said that he and a friend are working on a system concept using I-phones, with their cameras, and GPS systems. He hopes to develop a new App (Apple I-phone application) to collect and transmit this information to build a centralized database. I got his cell number and passed it on to contacts at JHU. This is for a system that, while it may be too late now to help in Haiti, should be ready and available for the next disaster anywhere in the world.

Shortly before our team was to return home, we were informed that the Dominican government wanted all Haitians back across the border and into Haiti within the next day. This caused great concern to everyone (patients, family, and medical staff). We were told that after a certain time, the Dominican military and police would enter our compound and force people into buses and take them across the border and be dropped off somewhere. Through interpreters over many hours, the Haitians realized that for those able, it was in their best interests to be delivered across the border to the “Love a Child” medical facility. Within less than 24 hours, we had transported several busloads across. The Dominicans agreed to give extended time to the remainder.

I must also mention the very sad happening involving two men from Naples, Florida. Instead of just writing a check they came to help in person. One of the men bought a small helicopter, and with his friend, a pilot, took it to Haiti to ferry doctors and medical supplies between hospitals as needed. This was a big help. Unfortunately, on the night before our team departed, their helicopter crashed into a mountain, killing them both. What a shame! So many people from all over the world have sacrificed so much to help in this –they sacrificed everything.

At this point, I want to mention how extremely proud I was to be an American, and to be a Christian, and to be involved in critical help for our fellow man. It’s very difficult to describe how impressed I was with all of the many doctors and nurses I saw. It was fantastic to see how people from different countries, different hospitals, and different backgrounds were able to discuss options and quickly reach agreement on what would be best for the patient (without politics and self interest).

The world is changing rapidly with so many new technologies to connect us all. We are truly becoming one world, one people. We should all be involved to help our fellow man in time of tragedy. What happened in Haiti is not the fault of the Haitian people, as some have said – no more than 9/11 was our fault. The Haitian people have suffered from a history of colonialism, and bad governments. On the other hand, we have been blessed by our founding fathers, and our ability to fight for the good of mankind, and the progress of humanity.

I want to thank Harriet Muir for directing me to Dr. Ken Culver of Foundation for Peace, after I expressed an interest to her in volunteering to go to Haiti at this critical time. I also thank Ken for accepting my application although I lacked medical experience, and maybe being a senior citizen could present problems. However, I feel privileged in getting to go with his group who are doing many good things.
I took about 800 photos and some video, which I edited and assembled into a 45 minute DVD. Some of the photos were taken on what would have been Carol’s 76th birthday. She would have been proud to have been on this important trip with me.

Unwavering is Your Love

Make a Smilebox photo slideshow

I Know What I Know

This note is from a team member who recently participated in the relief efforts in Haiti. May you all be blessed from the watching of the video.

Hello Team,

My dear friend forwarded me this link. It is a music video by Sara Groves. It was inspired by her recent trip to Rwanda. I wept as I watched and listened. It reminds me so much of our experience.



I am praying for you all of us as we re-enter our lives stateside.

Love and hugs,
Mary

In the News...Again

The Foundation for Peace was in the news again. This article was featured on NJ.com on Saturday.

Salem County students collect funds, items for quake victims
Saturday, January 30, 2010
By Shabria Davis
and Phil Dunn tsnews@sjnewsco.com

In the wake of the recent tragedy in Haiti, at least two county school districts
have staff members who will be traveling to the Dominican Republic next
month to aid in the relief effort.

Their actions are also helping to inspire their students and other staff to
donate whatever they can to help the earthquake victims, and their country in
general, recover.

Laurie Miles, a Spanish teacher at Mary Shoemaker School in Woodstown,
and Elsinboro School nurse Lori Couch, will travel to the Dominican Republic
from Feb. 12 through Feb. 16 with the Foundation for Peace. The group will
be lending their support to Jimani Hospital, which is on the border of the
Dominican Republic and Haiti. Many earthquake victims are being treated at
the facility.

According to Miles, the group usually travels to the Dominican Republic on a
mission trip every year to work on various buildings, but after hearing of the
earthquake they decided to change the focus of this year's trip.

"The trip was planned before the earthquake occurred. We were going to go
there and finish building a medical center that we started last year and start
building a church," said Miles, who also teaches English as a second language
and the gifted and talented program at the school. "But after the earthquake
we decided to go to the hospital and provide relief work."

Miles said those traveling with the organization are ready and willing to help
in any way possible. She added that there is a group from the organization
currently assisting at the hospital.

In preparation for her trip, students at Mary Shoemaker School spent the
month of January collecting items to send to the Dominican Republic.
Initially, the students were collecting backpacks and school supplies to be
given to students at the Centro Educativo La Obra de Dios school, which the
Foundation for Peace has worked with for several years. But in light of the
earthquake, Miles suggested that students bring in medical supplies, which
she will take with her on her trip.  Read more>>