We are excited to share that the feeding program for Pastor Peti Noel’s school has been going fine. Monday the feeding program will begin again at Pastor Marc’s school. Because his school is in a more dangerous area, it has taken a little longer to get started.  

  After living in Haiti, we came to realize what a huge blessing a meal a day for their children can be. This meal is often the only meal a child will get all day. Because their children receive a meal, it helps enable the parents to hold their families together. These children and teachers are very grateful and blessed for it. This is sad to say, but sometimes this meal is all the pay the teachers may receive.  

  Please pray with us that all goes well tomorrow with both feeding programs. Pray that the children arrive safely and enjoy the meal and their time at school with their teachers and the other children. And pray for the teachers as they minister to the children. We are very grateful for your prayers and continued interest in Haiti.  

Children playing soccer

Sewing at the Dorcas House.

  Saturday night we picked Micah up from the airport in San Antonio. We praise the Lord for his safe trip and the many opportunities He gave Micah to help minister to Haitians and Americans. Through these weeks of working in PAP, he has been forced into situations that were out of his comfort zone.

  Micah helped John Leininger with a great deal of paperwork for the orphan children’s release to the US. He spent several days helping make files, check spelling, and handwriting documents from the American Embassy’s required paperwork. While at the orphanage, he took time throughout the day to hold and play with the children whenever he could. Sometimes he would hold Neemie a baby girl who had pneumonia and needed to be held upright for hours at a time.

  Micah helped Lussade host the Vision Forum team which was a first and definitely not what Micah had envisioned himself doing in Haiti. The team stayed in Lussade’s home. They were there to make videos from a Christian perspective about what is happening in PAP. If you would like to see some of their documentaries go to www.visionforum.com and then click on ‘Doug’s Blog’.

  Another “new” experience Micah told us about was having two grown men break down on his shoulder. Both men are close friends of ours and had seen some very sad and disturbing things after the earthquake. Pastor Etean was in Cayes when the earthquake hit. He immediately loaded his car with supplies and drove into PAP. As he was driving into Port, the roads were filled with debris from the buildings, and dead bodies, sometimes blocking the road so that he would have to wait to get by. He gave out his supplies to people in need and helped where he could. Later as he was relaying his story to Micah, he broke down on Micah’s shoulder.

  Another dear friend, Whistler, a Haitian medical student, was in PAP with his family when the earthquake hit. He went to a medical clinic in Cayes and was busy right away caring for victims. When he saw Micah at the orphanage, he broke down and let it all out. 

  Micah hugged, talked to and prayed with both men. He felt ill equipped to handle this but we told him that he did all that he could do. It’s hard to know how to minister to men who are emotionally spent, but a hug and prayer are always a blessing and an encouragement. We realize that along with the physical rebuilding for Haiti, there will a need for lots of hugs and prayers over the next several months. So many people have lost so much, only the Lord Jesus Christ will be able to bring true healing and comfort to Haiti.     

 Hi Dad and Mom, I’m writing another Haiti update:

  Today we went to the embassy for half of the day and they basically said that they were still reviewing the adoption papers. Which means nothing is being done yet. A little discouraging. And we have been going to Deli-Cat and Mr. Barry is doing fine and still has the best, if not the only Ice-Cream in Haiti. (Deli Cat is where we exchange money and Mr. Barry is Iranian) 

  A few days ago, we were driving into Carrefour and we were approaching a large crowd. At the front of the crowd there was a man covered in blood, and people were beating him with clubs. Directly in front of us, there was a Police truck, but he just kept driving on. Later we learned that the man had stolen a CD player that he was actually still holding it in his hand.

  Another time we were driving through downtown P-A-P looking at all the destroyed buildings. There was a crowd stoning and beating a man with clubs while he was on the ground. It was so sad to see. But Jean Fritz told us that the prison where 4,000 of Haiti’s worst criminals lived was totally destroyed and all the prisoners escaped into P-A-P. He said that now it (Haiti) is ruling by the people. Kinda scarey.

  We have a 13 year old boy named Rood staying here at the orphanage. Doug Phillips’ team found him in a tent city. He told us that he had lost his Dad, Mom, Sister, and Brother after his house collapsed on top of them. He had to have his arm amputated after they pulled him out from under his home. He said that his Mom held him and put her head into his chest to protect him. He was buried for 5 days, in that time his Mom died and he was still holding on to her body. So he has been through a lot to say the least. And tonight Dr. Whistler was changing his dressing that is around the amputated arm and Rood passed out for about ten minutes. We think that he passed out because of the pain and that he was dehydrated also. But we started an IV on him and gave him some Gatorade and an antibiotic so he is happy and doing fine now.

  Tuesday morning Pastor Peti-Noel and Pastor Mark are coming so that I can talk to them about the schools and beginning the feeding programs again. Well I am not feeling very good again but I hope that it is just a small cold. If I think about anything else I will send it to you. I love you all and covet your prayers continuously. Let me know if I need to do anything to help you.

Micah

  Since Micah wrote this, he and Ken (through phone) have now talked to Pastors Peti Noel and Marc. The Pastors feel that it is safe enough now to begin the feeding program for the school children again, praise the Lord. Thank you for your prayers for safety for Micah, Lussade and the children when the food arrives and is served during these desperate times in Haiti. 

Micah’s e-mail:

  The first day that I got here (Jan. 20) it felt like a war zone. There were about 15 helicopters that never shut off, they would just fly in and load up and go non stop. We were amazed by everything, but slowly I have become numb to a lot of things.

  Life here has always been hard, but now hard for some people has a totally different meaning. There are tens of thousands of people living in tent cities everywhere. Just about every building that we pass by that is collapsed has the stench of death and you know that underneath all of that rubble is someone that did not make it out alive. And it is house after house that has happened to. It is so sad to me, and it is hard to take sometimes. But the Haitian people are moving on. I know that they are hurting though. I have talked to a few of my friends down here and they started crying on my shoulder because of all the death that they have seen. They talked about all the piles of bodies that were in the streets, and how people were going through them trying to find their loved ones. And I know that many people heard a lot of this in the news, but to actually talk to a person that had been there and seen it is just totally different. It is so heart wrenching some times that if you don’t take a break, you’ll go nuts. And I am pretty calm and collected most of the time, but this has pushed me to a new level that I have not experienced before.

  Pray for us as we are doing a lot of paper work and dealing with the American, and Haitian government trying to get 70 orphans to America. We keep on hearing that we are going to be able to take them out of here, and then it doesn’t work out. So it is a little bit of a frustrating situation that we are working on.

  Also the number of kids is now over 110 children at HCRM, it is getting really crowed here. And that number is increasing every day. Kids just walk in and nobody knows their story, or where they came from. I have been surprised at how much progress is taking place. There are people still picking up trash along the streets 24hr a day. And there is a lot of big equipment that is taking rubble out.

Keep praying for us as I am praying for all of you.

Some children at pastor Marcs school.

  .

  We have talked to Micah by phone almost daily. We are so sorry that we still have not received any pictures from him. Many people down there have the ability to send pictures back, but we do not. Lord willing we will have some new pictures this weekend, Micah is sending his camera chip home with a group that is leaving Haiti tomorrow.

  We do not have an accounting of all the children, but we do not know of any loss as of yet!  Pastor Marc and Pastor Peti Noel are fine, praise the Lord. This is a miracle when you realize that Pastor Marc’s school is in Carrefour and Pastor Peti Noel’s school is in Petionville, both heavily damaged in the earthquake. 

  Micah remains busy helping John with paper work for the orphans and helping Lussade host Doug Phillips’ group from San Antonio. After the team leaves on Friday, Micah hopes to locate food and supplies (which are scarce) to start the feeding programs again. The families of these children are even more destitute than they were before the earthquake.
 
  We know there is much talk of the orphans in Haiti. We agree that as many true orphans as possible should come out and be adopted by Christian families. However, there are many more children in Haiti whose families are not able to provide for their basic needs. This is why we have chosen to minister to the Haitian people through the Christian school feeding programs. Often parents are not able to provide food for their families. Receiving one nutritious meal a day along with Christian education helps keep families together.