First Hand News

I am glad to finally have first hand news from Haiti! I interviewed someone yesterday who has just returned from a week of medical work in Port au Prince. In fairness to those who don't know me personally, I want to tell you that the"someone" is my youngest daughter, Patience Fort."

Patience is a Pharmacist at the University of Kentucky Hospital. When the earthquake occurred, she began investigating avenues to join a medical relief team. I treated our conversation much as I do interviews when I am writing for the paper, and I asked her a number of specific questions about her trip. With that explanation of our family connection, and of her professional background, I'll proceed with her perspective of the work they did and of her reaction to the people and the whole experience.

Patience said that she knew she needed to go to Haiti as soon as she heard of the earthquake because she could immediately envision her skills with medication would be valuable to a medical team. She was right! Her team said that they had not had a pharmacist on medical teams in the past, and her knowledge of medications and her preparations of medicines by dosage in the evenings in preparation for the following day's work enabled them to care for significantly more patients.

One day, they cared for over 500 people, and they averaged over 350 per day in the time they were there.

The team traveled under the auspices of International Medical Relief, and consisted of two doctors, a nurse practitioner, several nurses, and other medical support, a total of eighteen people. Patience was the only pharmacist. Few of them knew each other before the week began but she said that she had never worked with a more quickly cohesive group. Their purpose was aid, and there was never a time when personalities complicated that purpose.

They met in New York, and flew to the Dominican Republic. From there it was a grueling trip across land to Port au Prince. I asked her if she were ever afraid, and she said only once, when a group of Haitians who obviously had need tried to stop some cars in front of their transport. They needed the medications they were carrying, but they knew they could be abused in the wrong hands and could also be the kind of property thieves would want to steal. Prayerfully, she said she trusted God to get them through, and he did!

Patience has worked in disaster relief before and has traveled to Europe, South America, and Africa on short term mission projects; however, she said she had never encountered the kind of devastation that she saw in Haiti. The team set up camp in a school yard, but they did not go into the buildings which were not secure. They slept in tents, pitched on a rocky ground, and tried to see all who came. Some had minor injuries; others were serious. They saw one case of typhoid fever, and feared at first they could not save the woman. However, with prayer, competent medical professionals, and good meds they stabilized the woman and sent her to a temporary hospital nearby, set up by an American university. They also treated one case of pertussis (whooping cough), hoping this disease would not begin to spread in the crowded and limited camps set up by and for the Haitians.

Patience said she had never seen such resilient people! Though absolute devastation was everywhere, she said children laughed and played with whatever they could find. She was deeply touched by a little boy who had tied a string to the remains of a plastic bag and was pulling it through the rubble, amazed and entertained as it bounced in the debris! Patience said, "They don't know that they don't have, but I know, and that is what hurts."

Two situations caused her most distress. The team went to an orphanage, filled with children of all ages. The children had absolutely nothing, but they laughed and smiled as the people cared for them, always seeming appreciative of the smallest attention and care. The other was a young boy about seven who came bringing his three year old sister for medical attention. He carried her in, held her paternally, and comforted her during the procedure. All they had was each other, and he tenderly cared for her with ability far beyond his young years.

I couldn't leave our conversation without finding out about two things: food and bathing accommodations. These were the only funny moments in our hour-long conversation. Arrangements had been made for two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. She said breakfast was good and hearty. She had no complaints. Dinner was also tasty, and after working all day with little time wasted, they were always tired in the evening. So they ate what was given them, even though they often had no idea what it was. "But it was good. If you don't' ask, and just eat, you can enjoy what you have."

Bathing was another story! They used Handiwipes, but that hardly affords the daily showers most Americans are accustomed to. The girls on the team found a spring behind the remains of a house nearby. They got someone to "watch for them" to maintain some degree of privacy, and they went to the spring, stripped down, and bathed head to foot, even to pouring water on each other's heads to complete the "spring shampoo." She said, "You know, you can just stand being dirty so long, and then you have to resort to drastic measures. We did!"

Patience Fort's experience in Haiti will probably impact her life for years to come, if not forever. She said she left with mixed emotions--an almost desperate need to see her husband and children safe and sound in Kentucky and a strong pull to stay and go on with the work begun. She hopes to return in better times, to go back to the spot where they worked and see how it is reclaimed. She even said that she can imagine herself working with the Haitians long term, for she found them to be such an accepting, grateful, gracious people. She knows her team helped many. She wonders if they know how they changed the lives of the team.

I confess that I am proud of my courageous daughter, of her unselfishness and her eagerness to live what she believes--that all human beings are precious and worthy of care. Well done, Patience! I am thankful for the privilege of being your mother.

The Latest Word

Someone reminded me that it has been days since I posted something, and I am sorry. The main reason I have been silent is that I have had little news. Now I have some.

My daughter, Patience-the-younger, is in PAP right now with a medical team doing all kinds of things to help the injured and frightened. I'm going to quote some things she's sent to her sister on facebook.

"We transferred a lady to the Uunv. of Miami field hosptial who just about died in our clinic. We think she might have typhoid. But we stabalized her with IV fluids and other "mess" and I think she is going to be okay.
"We have had a really long day but it was fairly productive. Tomorrow we are planning to set up our mobile clinic at a school nearby. We won't actually be inside the building because it is very tipsy. But we anticipate seeing ~500 patients. We really need for it not to rain tonight so we won't be working in the muck.
"You can google [the address where they are]: 25 Matthew Street, Port au Prince.
"In keeping with my ability to go with the flow, the one bag that didn't make it to Puerta from NY had all of my food in it. I had put some wonderful trail mix together. . .. )-:"

Of course, I am proud of her for taking her vacation time and trying to help these people I love so much! She is trying to arrange a trip to Petit Goave so she can give us some first-hand knowledge of the situation there.

I just got back from Miami, where I worked with the Florida/Haiti Covenant Committee to coordinate the work churches in Florida are doing during this time of disaster recovery. We found, to my dismay, that the shipment to Haiti that was supposed to go days ago is still in port. It cannot leave here until arrangements are made for it to dock in Haiti, and there is some hold up. Meanwhile our people are doing without food and tents . . . . I feel the frustration that I have heard so much about from other catastrophes in other places. Every nation should have disaster plans, and Haiti apprently had either no plan or a poor one. For food that is needed to sit because it cannot be received in a port seems so senseless.

We had a most productive day in Miami, and we hope that we have found avenues for communicating church to church about the work. Several Florida churches were represented at the meeting, and all of us are preparing for further work just as soon as it is safe to take teams there. I found a person who knows about cisterns and how to make them more efficient. I'll contact him immediately, hoping he will consider going with us to Carrenage. I also learned of another water-filter source, so we may be able to get some filtered water to our children at Carranage if we cannot get the well working correctly.

Plans for our team to return to Petit Goave are still uncertain; however, I think it is very possible that I will return to Haiti soon. One of my friends on the Covenant Committee is going, and I hope to travel with him. It is important to know before teams go what to expect and what teams can do once there. We must not take our mission teams into impossible or even dangerous situations. Flights are now restored to PAP but only on a limited basis.

One good thing. Join me in praising the Lord! Revival has broken out in Haiti. I have had several communications from friends who tell me that the churches are full, and people can be seen and heard all over PAP praising God for his mercy. Even in their grief, they realize that there is much to be thankful for. When I talked to Patience last night, she called the people "amazingly resilient." That's the word I often use to describe them. They are resilient! They have been knocked down so many times, but they get up, smile, take what little is left, and move on! I learn from them every time I go there. They challenge my faith and my character! I live in the most wonderful country in the world, but I am oh, so spoiled! I have so much and take much for granted. They have little, and praise God for the smallest thing!

I have recently been introduced to a missionary team in PAP, and I have news from them about what is happening. I will try to condense it and send you some beautiful stories tomorrow.

Meanwhile, thank you for your continued prayers for these great people. Pray the rains hold off until the tents arrive.

A DAY OF MIRACLES!

This morning before 7:00, I got a call from Pastor Maude Hyppolite, the dear friend whom I have worked with and about whom I have been so concerned since the earthquake two weeks ago. She is indeed alive and well. I was elated at the sound of her voice, to know first-hand about her and the situation in Petit Goave.

The people there that I know and love all survived the earthquake. Not a child was lost at the school. For that I certainly praise God. But the situation is dire. Little, if any, relief has reached them in the town. There is little food available, and what there is has such inflated prices that no one can afford to buy it. Almost everyone is hungry. Pastor Maude is sleeping outside on the ground, without any covering, because the Mission House is not safe. The fire that occurred at the time of the quake caused serious damage in the kitchen. The structure itself has not been declared safe for her to return. They continue to experience after shocks, and according to news from our relief organization, UMCOR, there is a possiblilty of a third quake.

I told her that food is on the way, being loaded onto a container as she and I were speaking--good news to her, of course. I asked what we could do that we are not doing, and she told me they needed a tent to protect them from the weather. Right now it is not raining, but the rains are expected soon. I promised that somehow I would find a tent and get it to her.

I hung up the phone and literally cried out to the Lord. I didn't know how to find a tent. I certainly did not know how I would get it to her. I can't put into words all the emotions I felt as I imagined that lovely, little woman of dignity sleeping on the ground out in the open. I told the Lord I had no idea either where to find a tent or how to get it to Maude.

Later at my office, I surfed the web looking for tents and began making phone calls. That is when the miracles began! I reached a man in South Florida whom I did not know, told him of my need, and he promised me not A tent, but tents! I told him of my prayer this morning and that I was sure he was an answer to that prayer. Then he told me of his morning prayer. He needed the name of someone on the ground in Petit Goave whom he could trust, someone to whom he could direct the containers to Petit Goave. "You," he said, "have given me the name of the person I needed."

And so, God has arranged for the tents not just to go to Petit Goave but to Maude Hyppolite, along with a whole container of food! When I hung up the phone, I cried again! How like our God! I cry for a tent for a woman in Petit Goave. My new friend asks for the name of a person in Petit Goave. I call, and God puts the need and the name together! Only God could have arranged this!

The container will leave south Florida the last of this week. Pastor Montreuil Milord will go to Petit Goave in time to meet the shipment, and he will arrange for the distribution of goods. Soon food--and a tent--will be in the hands of our friend Maude Hyppolite and our friends there.

Tomorrow, concerned members at the church will gather at 3:00 to pray for the protection of our container, for the safety of the men who will move the food from the ship and give it to the needy ones, and for the on-going help needed for Petit Goave.

I thank you for your prayers! And as you say them, please remember to thank him for the amazing answers of those spoken this morning.

Some GOOD News

Today I got a little good news from Petit Goave. One of the teachers there with whom I have corresponded over the past year wrote that his family is safe; and Joseph, the headmaster of Carrenage School is safe, but his brother was killed. Pastor Maude Hyppolite, the pastor responsible for both the school at Carrenage and the little church at Olivier, is also safe. The mission house is damaged, but I don't know how badly.

We had planned to stay in a new mission house this year, one just completed. I had heard wonderful things about it, and they had given us a very attractive plan for taking care of our team. Those plans are gone, for that house is "flattened." I've never seen the house, but I feel sadder than I can say because the Christian community had worked hard to build it, making it a comfortable place for short-term missionaries to stay. They were so proud of their contribution to our work, and now it is gone.

Both Pastor Montreuil Milord, my Haitian friend in South Florida, and Jean Marnochy, my teacher friend, told me that rice is so expensive Haitians cannot afford to buy it. A 50 pound bag of rice that once cost $250 Haitian dollars now costs $400 or more, which equates to over three times what we are paying for rice to fill the container.

Our church has sent money to South Florida to Pastor Milord, whose friend ships containers all over the world. They are filling a container as I write, and it will go this week to either Port St. Mark or Port au Prince. Pastor Milord will meet the container and supervise the distribution of the food to the people in Petit Goave, Carrenage, and Olivier. Men from the churches and possibly some of the teachers will help them with the distribution. He'll take pictures of the distribution, and I'll post them as soon as they arrive.

Homosassa United Methodist Church and Hernando United Methodist Church have prepared several hundred Health Kits to send to Haiti. They will not go in the first container, since food is the most critical need right now. The first container is full of food. We will take the Health Kits to Miami to be shipped in the second container.

Our church members have been extremely generous, and we have more money to send for a second container just as soon as we are assured that Montreuil was able to get the food to the people who need it in our little commumities.

I continue to thank you for your prayers for the people. The horror of the quake may now only a terrible memory, but the desperate need continues.