The team arrived safely in the Dominican Republic last night with 20+ duffle bags full of medical supplies. They spent the night on the floor in a very nice air conditioned air port in front of the United Nations counter. Their hope was to get on a UN flight to port of prince with all of their supplies this morning. We have not heard from them yet. If they had to take a bus, they may still be on the road.
God’s Provision! In just five days this unique band of relief warriors was assembled. Two days before departure not a single medical supply had materialized. The next day it took 12 hours and a team of volunteers to pack all of the supplies. The medical supplies and equipment poured in from everywhere. Praise the Lord for US Airlines! They flew the bags for the team for free and ALL of the bags arrived! When does that happen?
Vineyard Columbus and many other family and friends made it possible for this team to have the means and resources to move quickly.
There was a connection to two orphanages that were in need of real help and a third connection to Thirst Relief, clean water NGO. The guys will be staying at one of the orphanages that has running water. Gratefully all the children survived. The orphanage itself suffered minimal damage in the earthquake but the aftershock has left it uninhabitable. The children and staff are all sleeping outside.
The Hess’s run this orphanage and since the quake they have been running a medical clinic down the street from the orphanage. April Hess is a nurse and she has been providing emergency medical care for the Haitians day and night. Her husband turned their van into an ambulance and goes into the city day after day and long into the night finding help for the injured and dying. Our team will provide much needed relief for them.
It was a difficult goodbye at the airport. We were functioning on very little sleep. Adrenaline and a passion for the cause kept us going so, there was little time to think about the personal cost. It seemed so small of an offering compared to the Hess’s and thousands of others. I tried really hard not to think about the kind of suffering they would be exposed to. I tried not to think about the danger, the after shocks, the orphaned children, the smell and the constant sight of death. I did think about my husband’s heart and love for people and especially children. I did think about the box of child sized crutches on its way to wounded and hurting, innocent children. I did think about the hundreds maybe thousands of others on their way to relieve those who have been tirelessly saying yes! Yes to digging with your bare hands for hours in the rubble because they heard that someone might still be alive in the crumbled building. Yes to staying up all night for days loading injured people into a van and carting them off to a clinic where your wife can hopefully save them. Yes to no sleep, no water, no food, no comforts of home all for the sake of rescuing someone. Yes to do that day after day after day until somone comes to relieve you. How can I not say YES!
