15 people returned to the States Early Sunday morning with stories, memories and hope for Haiti.
It is estimated that 30,000 refugees have poured into Jeremie either by boat, bus or on foot since the earthquake.We found that news travels fast in Jeremie when a doctor from the Jeremie hospital came to our church service Sunday morning and asked us to come with him to see the hospital.
Dr Susan Busse and I left church and went with him to find the facility to be terribly understaffed and undersupplied.
Doctor Marks told us that there had been 18 doctors from Colorado there the month before helping to do surgeries and treating the earthquake refugees but now they had all gone home and left him alone to do the follow up care.
There were amputees and burn victims that had no pain medications.
The ER was being staffed by a dental student and the mother of a child being sutured. Patients depend on family to bring them food because no meals are served. Doctor Marks is the only doctor on staff and I saw only one nurse when I was there.The rest of the week was spent traveling into the mountain villages surrounding Jeremie. Each day we loaded our supplies into a vehicle and caravanned up into the mountains either in the back of a pick up truck or in the back of Pastors car over bumpy, dusty roads until we heard the singing of the people that were waiting to greet us in each village.
Hundreds lined up for medical care, eye glasses and VBS.
We visited 6 villages in all, one of which was Dame Marie, where we are sponsoring the School and Feeding Program. I cannot tell you how impressed I was with the schools that we are sponsoring.
When the bowls of food were passed to each child they sat patiently waiting until everyone had food in front of them and the teacher said a prayer before they ate. These are starving children!
I even saw one child that did not attend school peeking into the classroom from around the corner at all the children that had food in front of them. One boy saw him and fed him out of his own bowl. I cried.
For those of you that are sponsoring the Orphans I would like to let you know that they are all well and happy. Although we did not spend as much time with them as we had in the past we did see that they are being well taken care of.
There are a few new children that Pastor has taken in, the latest is a 6 year old boy, Charles, who was buried for 5 days with his dead “Auntie” in the rubble of a building in Port au Prince. His parents were also killed. He seemed confused when we were concerned about him, never smiled but never cried. I know we will see a different Charles when we return in the future.
Thank you to all who have been supporting Pastor Isaac and the Haitian Lutheran Mission Project over the last several years. We have seen the big difference your prayers and donations have made.
The school section of the construction we started should be done by September.
Pastor Isaac’s Church is overflowing with people on Sunday and during the week for worship. Overflowing out the door and into the street. God is blessing this ministry!
In closing I would like to say that we all mourn the passing of Pastor Louis who was the Father of Lutheranism in Haiti.
His murder was a tragic event that touched all of the Pastors last week. Our team left Part au Prince the day of his funeral and on the anniversary of Pastor Israel’s death. God took both of these brave and loving men home to be with Him just before Easter but their Ministries will continue for years to come.
Blessings,
Susan
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