David was at Bolosse today

In the short email he sent me tonight, he mentioned that he was at Bolosse yesterday and today. Samaritan's Purse hopes to put in a water filtration system there to provide safe drinking water for the 2500 people camping on the campus and the surrounding community.

It is so uncanny to me how my posts and David's activities on the field in Haiti are dove-tailing with each other. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that God can draw my heart and thoughts to what he is doing. And even so, we miss each other on the internet....playing tag with our messages. So, again I rest in the knowledge that he is where he is supposed to be.

My thoughts turn to the many hours I spent with David on that campus while we were dating.

Bolosse gets help

An update from CrossWorld just in, with thanks to dear friend Boxley Boggs. Bruce Robinson, the engineer who wrote the letter in the previous blog is mentioned. As are Roger See, Jenny Reitz, Bruce and Cindy McMartin and Dave and Phyllis Schmid, all of whom our family (or extended family) know.

“I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, ...God sends his love and his faithfulness.” Ps. 57: 1-3While we wait for a secure infrastructure to handle the monumental problems in Haiti, CrossWorld has the following people on site:

• Roger See, Mark Bradley, & Dave Muchmore, all former residents of Haiti & fluent in Creole, will encourage and aid the missionaries/believers in whatever way possible.
• Dr. Bill Piepgrass (a former Haitian MK) and a team of medical professionals arrived at Beraca Medical Center (a CrossWorld founded hospital) in the north of Haiti. The injured are being transported here by any means possible from Port-au-Prince, over 100 miles away.
• Two men from CA are there to train our personnel, assess the situation, and return with recommendations.
• Bruce Robinson from the north arrived with a dump truck of supplies/food to our seminary campus.

Please pray for wisdom, understanding, strength, patience, healing, comfort, and relief for the many injured.

The STEP (seminary) women have organized some children's classes in the afternoons. Friday they hope to show a film to the children outside. They took a census and we have 600 families - 2500 adults and 1600 children sleeping on the campus at night. Many leave during the day but we pack them in at night. Usually there is singing in the evenings before people turn in for the night. I love to hear so many voices joining together in hymns.

The community leaders are trying to get set up for distribution of food aid when it comes. We have a couple of sources promising to get food to us. Food and water is available in our area but people are putting the prices up of course. We've received medical supplies and also some  doctors have arrived to help on campus. (Phyllis Schmid)

“Your prayers, words of encouragement and willingness to help, have blown us away. We are so blessed, thanks for standing together with us." (Jenny Reitz, House of Hope)

Correction:

• It was reported that two seminary students perished when part of the seminary building collapsed. Upon further investigation they believe only one student was beneath the rubble and perhaps the other student was not on campus that day. The parents of the student who died also lost their daughter and their home on Tuesday. Please pray for this family.

• Susie Day’s arm was injured not broken. She & her three school-age children are in the US while Denny Day remains in Haiti temporarily to help in the recovery efforts.

"SENEGAL'S president on Sunday called for Africa to make room for victims of Haiti's earthquake to restart their lives on the continent from where their ancestors were snatched as slaves. His spokesman gave further details of the proposals. 'If it is just a few people, we will offer them a roof and a patch of land; if they come in large numbers, we will give them a whole region.' Does man ever know or understand the plans of God?! What if this is his way to get hundreds of Haitian believers to this country and continent? Pray that God will continue to give direction and open doors." (Cindy McMartin, Haiti)

"A worship service was held Sunday morning on the campus by seminary students. Several responded at the invitation led by Wawa to trust Christ as Savior. Bruce McMartin had to go to his house to get some diesel fuel and matches at the request of the young man who trusted Christ so they could burn his charms and fetishes. (Dwight Lehman, International Director for the Americas)

Check out David's photos on Samaritan's Purse website; click on the Haiti in Pictures option on bottom of the opening page. Then find the arrow for "More Photos". There are video updates as well as articles which are updated several times daily.

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Samaritans_Purse_Today/post/the_scope_of_the_disaster/

Jazz concert

Today has been a bit like the jazz concert I went to last night. Lots of improvisation on a theme with some parts not quite recognizable to an untrained ear. The beauty of course is that the composer/conductor delights in the music which results. I'm thinking that God is smiling on the many attempts to respond to the massive quake of 10 days ago. Whether we gather information and pray, give or go, the combination of all of us doing the best we can with what we are given, is music to His ears.

"Listen" with me to the variations on a theme of Hope I heard today.

I received this long letter a few days after the massive earthquake on January 12. It is written by water and civil engineer Bruce Robinson, a missionary with CrossWorld. He lives east of Port-de-Paix on the northern peninsula of Haiti.  Bruce and his wife Deb have a well drilling (and everything else) ministry.  I met him back in 1986 when I lived in Haiti. David got acquainted with him since they were both bachelors at that point and would spend time together whenever Bruce would come to the capitol for supplies or R and R. David was living on the mission campus where the seminary is that Bruce describes in the article. I spent many hours on that campus when David and I were dating.

So, I have attached it for those of you hungry for this sort of thing. 

Thank you Bruce for your permission to share this.

Earthquake Haiti

I always expected the next big one would be here. On the north coast. In doing research for the bridge one of the things you do is check the earthquake history. For the last four hundred years. It is not pretty.