Ups and Downs...and Up Again!

What an emotional roller coaster! Today has been full of ups and downs but God is definitely in control of it all.

Although we were sure that the food would be released from the boat today, it did not happen. There are a few more hoops to jump through, but we believe that it will all be taken care of tomorrow. Jeremy, Alex and Dickens spoke with the proper authorities in Port-au-Prince today, filled out the mountains of paperwork, and did a little jig for the Minister of the Interior. Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but it certainly didn't sound easy. Tomorrow morning they will take the "official in charge of aid coming into the country" back to St. Marc with them. I am not sure of her exact title, but that one fits. If she approves the release of the food (and why wouldn't she?) then they will be able to load it up and finally take it back to Petionville. There it will be prepared and distributed as originally planned.


Since Dickens, Alex and Jeremy had to go to downtown Port-au-Prince today, they were able to see the worst of the earthquake damage. Jeremy was unable to find the words to accurately describe what he saw. He just kept saying, "it's bad, really bad". There are still bodies under the rubble that have not been recovered, most of the buildings have collapsed, people are sleeping in the streets, and concrete dust blankets the city. It is much worse than any of us can imagine.



Back in Petionville the medical clinic went well today. The medical guys saw many patients and gave out lots of medicine to those who needed it. Even better than that, several people met Jesus for the first time today. The last number I heard was five, which just blows me away. God works in mighty ways through His people, doesn't He?



In my last post I talked about the people singing praises in the streets at 5:30 this morning. I just want to take a minute to break that down a little more. These people already lived in overwhelming poverty and have just been devastated by a massive earthquake. Many of them have lost their homes, vehicles and even loved ones. They are sleeping in the streets and have nothing. They live in utter filth and despair is all around them. Yet here they are singing praises to God as the sun comes up yet again. What a testimony of God's faithfulness! They have nothing to cling to but Him, no earthly treasures to hinder worship, nowhere to turn but the Giver of Life, the One Who gives and takes away. It seems that we have much to learn from these "poor" people of Haiti.