Sunday, January 31, 2010

Hey everybody,
Our first weekend in Haiti could best be described as Bryan Smith, our group leader, put it: a fulfilling sorrow. The first few hours after stepping off the bus reminded us of how truly human we are and, in spite of our extremely fortunate position as U.S. citizens, how vulnerable we are to every single one of the emotions, the frailties, and the weaknesses we see manifest in the people (many of them children) around us.

Above, Carolyn Smith, a mother of three, holds an infant at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince and is overcome by the same emotions that are running through all of us. This particular orphanage is run by Dorothy, a former real estate agent from Florida who had a life-changing experience on September 11, 2001 and subsequently dedicated her life to God's calling. She rented the house above 6 years ago and has taken it upon herself to provide care for abandoned infants & children. Dorothy currently houses 18 orphans, 4 of whom are HIV positive. These children fortunately get all their medicines, lab testing, and care through the WHO (World Health Organization), although the remainder of her supplies are provided entirely through charitable donations.
In spite of the remarkable devastation in Port-au-Prince, the majority of people we met have found reason to be thankful. A surprisingly large portion of the population is Christian, as evidenced by the approximately four dozen people who showed up for the two church services at the Baptist Church of Solidarity (our home base). The fact that the majority of the area's inhabitants are currently living in tents (because they are afraid to re-enter their homes) did not deter them from putting on their Sunday best and looking, I daresay, a heck of a lot more presentable than I did in my 3-day-old shirt.

Here, our group leader, Bryan Smith, interprets for a patient and explains to me what 'Bon jou' means. Much of our day has been spent providing open clinics for the local residents and trying to address whatever needs they may have with our limited number of medical supplies. At the end of our clinic, Bryan explains to me how to say "I like croissants."

This 8-month old girl presented to our clinic (a makeshift stand on the front steps of an abandoned building) with burns suffered during the earthquake. The camp she was staying in was filled with patients who had not yet received any medical care in spite of the passage of 2 weeks since the quake; many of them inundated our clinic once they heard that medical help was available.



In spite of the long wait for many of them, and the fact that many of them had health concerns that were beyond our capabilities, I never saw a single person complain. Above everything that weighed heavy on their minds, nearly every one of them had a smile for us. Coming from someone who has always been introverted, immersing myself in the sea of humanity here in Port-au-Prince has been the most "fulfilling sorrow" I have ever experienced. God bless you all for reading.
Sincerely,
Todd Isaacson





Saturday, January 30, 2010

During todays medical clinic, Carolyn gives aid to a young child.

Dave is cleaning out a cut that a young boy had while his dad watches on.




Dr. Todd and Carolyn gave medications to many that other wise would not have recieved any treatment.




For those who could not come to the clinic, we went to them. Dave here is starting an IV on a person who was too weak to move. He was suffering from severe dehydration and possible heart problem. He had not left his tent for 4 days after having severe chest pain while working and collapsing. He was carried to his tent and was being tended to by his wife. His family watched as Dave treated him.





While going to those who could not make it to the clinic we found a "tent city" of about 200. Since the earthquake they had recieved no help. We were able to provide some medical aid and food. We plan to go again tomorrow to give more aid.
As I write this I think of the gentleman that you see me starting an IV on. Normally I have the benefit of an EKG, drugs and means of transportation. Cardiac call in Haiti? Here we have an IV and aspirin, and I'm hoping tomorrow we can get transportation to a hospital. Our faith brought us here to Haiti, your prayers give us strength, and through it all the Haitian people continue to move forward. God bless you and thank you.
Dave






Friday, January 29, 2010

Dividing up rations

I'm holding up the packet that each family will get. We expect to have Around 200 of these.



Our Haitian friends are working very hard. We would love to hire as many as we can. Its mostly dependant upon resources.
Ken

SATURDAY'S DISTRIBUTION, I missed some pictures.





I missed puting up these pictures. Haitans here will help us with the packaging.
I come home on the 7th with the medical team, and return on the 14th with a team. Brian will stay as another team will arrive when I leave.
Ken

SATURDAY'S DISTRIBUTION

Bold





Today we will get this food put into smaller bags for each family. It is more than it looks like. Its 40 bags of rice , 10 one hundred pound bags of beans. Six cases of cooking oil and a bunch of bread.
The medical team arrives today so we will bring them to meet those needs. The USA Military will probally come with us for crowd control. They have been calling us all day saying they are ready to go.
We will post it for you all when we get it done. All the food we had to buy and the prices are going up daily.
Ken



















In the past couple of days we have done a lot of networking with different organizations. Looking for food and supplies we can give to the people. It is difficult at time to deal with bureaucracy when people are in need but we feel we have begun to make some headway. We are waiting for the first team to arrive and excited to see them and put them to work. The pictures are of centreville in Port au Prince. They were all taken within a mile of each other. We hope to get more up on the blog later as the team arrives. We have been very busy as I am sure you understand. We are also trying to get some video on the vlog. Thanks for your support and love.












Brian

Tuesday, January 26, 2010







We recived approx. 3 tons of food from the argentinian contingent at the UN today. they bruoght it throught he neighborhood with 2 big trucks and an armored personnel carrier. They were very kind hearted and seemed to like hanging out with the children at the orphanage. Yesterday we distributed the remainder of the rice and beans we had purchased. It went well no serious problems. The Hatian people for the most part are calmer than we would be if we were in similar circumstances. After unloading the food we headed out to Gonaives, the city about 100 miles to the north that we have an ongoing work in. We came to check the condition of the hospitals in the area to see if they had been overrun by people injured in the earthquake. all hospitals in this area are in good shape. They reported that they initially had a lot of patients but now are back to normal. We will also be picking up mattreses and other supplies to bring down for the teams that will be arriving shortly. We will sit down to dinner with our freinds in the Pakistani army that are part of the UN force that has been here for a few years. We will head back to Port Au Prince tommorrow morning after we pick up some beans that we haven't been able to find in Port. thanks for everything.






Brian

Sunday, January 24, 2010

FOOD DISTRIBUTION







Today we scouted out new places to distribute food. We will have Pastors and leaders in the community come to our camp and pick up food those in the community. This will be the first time for many to receive a food distribution.
We also have acquired tents that we will hand out and help put up.Their are many makeshift tent communities throughout the city. People are still afraid to go back into their homes.
Ken

BRIAN AT THE HOSPITAL









For a couple of days we worked to help get a Japanese team connected to a hospital here. They ask Brian if he would help them one day because they were having trouble understanding the interpreter they had.
There are patients laying on the ground outside all around the hospital because there are so many people needing care. I would guess around 100 patients. I also had an opportunity to pray for several people.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Finally! Food Gets to the People

We finally got some things done today. We have been trying to get food released, but those who have it have been unwilling to give it to those who can distribute it.

So we finally found a warehouse where we can buy food. We have several thousand dollars worth of rice we will be distributing. We also have the Japanese team of doctors staying with us at Smith's house. Like us they set up tents out in the yard.

It grieves us to see the people suffering the way they are. Please pray for them as we give them Life bringing food.

- Ken





Friday, January 22, 2010


Yesterday we purchased 50 bags (50#) of rice. Today we will buy beans and oil and find families in need. For now and the forseeable future we will be distributing food family by family. We don't feel mass distribution is the way to go for now. Because we are small we feel we can use our mobility to get to those missed by larger NGO's. Traffic is very heavy at the us embassy and airport unfortunately we have to pass both of these when going out into the city. Much of the work is driving and waiting which is difficult when you know people are in need. I have to remind myself we just got here. By the time our team arrives things will hopefully be running a bit smoother, but it is called a disaster for a reason. Please continue praying for the Hatian people. There is an underlying sadness in everyone I see. For many this disaster is just beginning. Slowly but eventually the physical needs will return to "normal" but for many the pain of losing family and friends has yet to begin because right now they are just trying to survive. As you pray try to put yourself in thier position. Your husband/wife gone and you have to set asside this overwhelming grief because your children are hungry and you have no access to food let alone money to buy it. You get lost in a sea of need just one more face for the nightly news. Pray that we would find these.


For the Hatian people,


Brian

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

God Provides


Gas lines are very long running out of fuel. And food is running very low in the city. Brian helped facilitate getting a Japanese team connected to a hospital here. The United Nations was unable to do it so they ask us to help. They will be staying in our camp. We may have to buy food in the Dominican republic. The city of Port-au-Prince is quite a mess. But the people are dealing with it quite well. The aftershock from the quake was quite strong. We were told more homes were destroyed.
- Ken













HAITI,WERE HERE




The damage is as bad or worse that they have reported. We have established our base camp. Looking forward to a team getting here. There is a lot of work to do.
Love you all thanks for your prayers and support.
Ken Smith


Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Arrived

We arrived in Port Au Prince about 3:30 this afternoon. We have begun preparations for teams to come. The drive was uneventful. We saw many buildings down in Port au Prince but light left shortly after we arrived. We will start again tommorrow early trying to find food and medical supplies at the airport from some of the larger organizations. We will try to keep you updated as often as possible. We will include pictures as we have time. Thanks for you support.

Brian