Haiti - E-mail from a Missionary

Was forwarded this e-mail from my cousin's wife. It's from my Aunt Dorothy, who is a missionary in Haiti, working with orphans and children whose parents cannot afford to take care of them (heavy emphasis on children with HIV/AIDS). She works for Christian Light Foundation, which I'm linking. A minute ago I was thinking what a disaster it was that I didn't have anything in my fridge to eat tonight when I go home. Then, I read this. Puts things in perspective and sums up what's going on down there. Even though I don't know anyone else she references, I don't need to add anything; I get the picture. Here's a copy of the e-mail:

Jan 15 2010

We survived the earthquake, all of us. PRAISE GOD!!!!!!

Amanda, Natasha and I were just arriving at Sacred Heart Hospital (CDTI) near what we think was the strongest area of the quake. Jesula, our nanny who had been with Poutchino at the hospital, was collapsing on the ground outside, in shock. Natasha ran inside for Poutchino. We parked the car. A man carried Jesula to the car. She was frozen with fear.

Hospital patients were brought outside, injured people came in thru the gate. All hospital personnel worked thru the night and next day with barely a break. Amanda and I took turns holding a flashlight for a surgeon stitching wounds and gradually learned how to do more. Natasha had to stay in the car holding Poutchino.

Some people were beyond help: the doctors gave them medicines for pain and treated those they could help. I counted about 40 people who died during the 24 hours we were there, all ages. Security manned the gate, only letting in the injured people that the doctor felt they could help.
Generators lit the parking lot. It seemed like a scene from hell with all the moans and screams and cries for help and the ground covered with injured people and blood. People panicked at every aftershock. Burns were the worst injuries but thankfully few.

Communications were cut off -- no one could find out about the rest of their loved ones. We had to try hard not to imagine the terribles thing that might have happened to our children and staff. Rumors trickled in about the buildings that had crashed. A rumor started that a tsunami was coming and we had to leave.

Heroes were everywhere. Groups of people sang and prayed and praised God for sparing so many. Doctors and nurses barely stopped to rest thru the night and well into the next day. Pain pills and shots were given freely. Every injured person got a shot of ampicillin. I gave shots, too. The hospital emptied its shelves, giving everything they had to help people. The strong carried the weak. Everyone comforted everyone else. People walked around praying for others. Two people scoured the streets for anything that could be used as splints. I am still amazed and glad that I had donated blood just that morning! We saw God working in us and all around us.
We finally were able to leave the hospital Wednesday afternoon, bring Poutchino with us. Collapsed buildings, wrecked and crushed cars, blood and bodies were everywhere. Coming home was such a blessing! No one was injured, the house was intact! Hallelujah! sweet relief!

Praise God we had just received new supplies of antibiotics. We gave most of them plus a lot of gauze and tape, tylenol and ibuprofen, needles, and IV sypplies to a clinic set up in our neighborhood. We had a little bit left over to give to Healing Hands this morning, and sent home some gauze and soap with a nanny for her injured grandmother.

Poutchino definitely had meningitis but there was no more infection by the time the CSF was tested. Considering the chaos at the hospital we brought him home with us. His abdominal pain is completely gone. He can eat again. I give him 1 gram of ceftriaxone every 12 hours hoping to keep the meningitis from returning. Infection could be hiding in his shunt. An operation to remove the shunt would be difficult to get now.

For those of you who know our staff, Claudia's leg is broken and her house destroyed. Jesula and her family are safe but their house was destroyed and they are staying here. Leonne's home was destroyed and she is staying here. Eva's house was destroyed but she has another place to stay. Suzette's house was destroyed: she can't come to work. Rosemanie is fine. Bb was thrown from a truck during the earthquake and was injured but is doing okay. She was on her way to work the overnight shift. The other ladies who were here took care of everything. They worked very very hard. Our staff is fantastic!

Both of our usual grocery stores, Caribbean and One Stop, were destroyed. We haven't heard what happened to the people inside. Those were the only places we could cash checks. Gas stations arent open yet. We heard that Sherrie Fausey's building partially collapsed and one child was killed. Sherrie and Julie are fine. Karen Bultje and her kids are fine. Nikki, who went to live with Roberta, was killed by a falling wall. Roberta and all other children are okay. Pastor CJ came by this morning to see if we were okay. He said Pastor Leny and his family are okay. Pastor Genada called. They were in Port au Prince during the quake and a block fell on his daughter's leg. They had to go all the way back to Gonaives to get help for her. Karen Bultje is still being an angel of mercy for as long as her diesel fuel holds out: she brought us several cases of pop tarts so we have breakfast for a while. Dottie was temporarily trapped in her house but is okay now. Nickson and Ivens and their families are okay. Deedee, the Boyers and the Olssons are okay. Barb Lataillade's foot was nearly amputated. The U.S. military got her out to Jacksonville, Florida for care.. Our pediatrician called to check on us.

Phones are starting to work again but not yet normally.. Helicopters are flying overhead all the time, and small planes. The U.S. military is running the airport now. Civilian flights are all canceled. UN police are in charge of security. Not much is seen of Haitian police, I don't know why. I expect, hope, that relief supplies will come in soon. Our biggest concerns at the moment are cooking fuel and water.

We all are fighting shock, trying not to be overwhelmed with grief and horror. I am trying to plan without being overwhelmed with worry. PRAYER AND PRAISES REALLY WORK TO KEEP SPIRIT UP! Remembering what God has already done in protecting and providing for us reassures me that He will continue to provide for our needs. I am so thank Natasha and Amanda were with me at the hospital and that Natasha can stay here for a while to help.
I have heard that maybe 100,000 people died. I can believe it based on what I have seen. I heard that the earthquake was 7.3 on the Richter scale. We need news from outside but please keep emails strictly to news. We have to use our precious supplies of gasoline to get online. Since we have no place to cash checks I have to work with Christian Light Foundation to find a way to get money to us.

Please pray for all of us in Haiti and for all those sending and bringing help.

Dorothy Pearce

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Cor. 13:13

Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue
http://dorothypearcehaiti.blogspot.com/

Donations:
Christian Light Foundation, Inc.
P.O.. Box 23881
Jacksonville FL 32241-3881
Memo: For D. Pearce, Haiti

Good News Update...

...to the Here's Another Little Something post about one of my co-workers, albeit living in a different state than I do, that I wrote a couple days ago.

Bob Sumrall was found! After seven days!!! Here's an article regarding him being found by a couple of ranchers, and here's another how he managed to stay alive. Apparently, he was lying face down fifteen miles from where his car had been found, and his dog, Zulu, a black labrador retriever, was sitting atop him, and that warmth saved his life. When the ranchers approached, the dog ran away, which is an ongoing story in this whole episode. As the matter of fact, a $2,600 reward has been posted for anyone that finds the dog. Hopefully, they find Zulu!!!

At first, Bob was unconscious, in critical condition, and treated for hypothermia. from another co-worker that he might lose some toes because of the frostbite he endured. He's since come around, and I think is in somewhat better condition.

So praises for that. Thanks to everyone who prayed. And we'll keep our fingers crossed for Zulu!

Here's Another Little Something

Over the years, on news telecasts and such, I've heard about people getting lost in mountains or when volcanoes blow or in rockslides, etc. I've heard about them. Heard. On the other hand, I've never really known or spoken with those people.

Well, for an unwelcome change, that's not the case anymore. Here's a news clipping on someone that works for one of my business' sister companies that went hiking with his dog out in the mountains of New Mexico. He didn't make it home on time, and then a blizzard hit dropping over ten inches of snow. His wife called him missing the morning after the evening he should have returned home, and the search teams started Sunday afternoon. To this point, no luck. In fact, the latest article here states that the search has failed.

Now, I don't know Bob very well, really don't know him-know him at all, but I have spoken to him on occasion for business-related subjects. I met him when he came to Huntsville once. Now, he's been missing for five days.

Just an odd, odd story. Familiar by other stories of this nature, but nontheless weird. Because it hits a little closer to home, I feel for the family. Prayers for him and his family would be welcome, I'm pretty sure.

A CaringBridge Prayer Request

Six or seven months ago, one of the program managers at my work (at one of our offices at Cape Canaveral in Florida), a guy named Dan that I've had the privilege of working with a lot over the past seven years, was diagnosed with a type of clear cell cancer that doesn't respond well to chemotherapy. He had surgery, where the doctors took out part of his intestine and bladder, I believe, and they hoped they'd gotten it all. A week or so ago, July 24th, he had been having some fluid build-up around the intestinal region, and he went in for a procedure to remove the fluid. When he did, he was informed that the cancer had returned.

Since that time, his wife, who is a fantastic writer with a background in English and teaching, has been giving updates through the CaringBridge website. She's updated the journals seventeen times, and I've gotta say, these have been some gut-wrenching, tear-filled entries. I have no clue how she's held up enough to write these updates. From what I heard, she has had one breakdown, and I think people need that every once in a while for their own mental health and to be able to function going forward. What I'm writing here doesn't do the story justice, but I did want to summarize their story and ask for prayers for this family. I know a couple of this blog's readers/lurkers have read some of the journaling, and really I wish everyone reading my lame attempt of an update could read her words, because what she's written is remarkable.

And what she's done is tell Dan's and their family's story in these last few days. Hearing these journalings, it's hard not to put yourself in their skin and just totally empathize and sympathize with them. Hurt for them. At first Dan tried to go back to work - I even e-mailed back and forth with him during those couple of days - but that didn't last. It's amazing how fast one can go from feeling "healthy" to being basically bed-ridden because of this disease. In the last couple of days, they met with a doctor from MD Anderson, and he essentially told them there was nothing they could do. Any chemo treatment would have Dan out of commission full-time instead of the part-time he's "enjoying" currently. Basically, it's a quality of life point he's at now. All this in just over a week.

They have a daughter who is scheduled to go to college in the Northeast, but now she has to decide whether or not she should put that off. What a huge decision for a seventeen or eighteen year old. You don't go, and you may regret that decision for years to come, but leave and it might be the last time you see your father. Man oh man. Also, he has a couple of boys who aren't sure during this time how to approach their father, who probably doesn't seem like the same person anymore. They see him on the couch or floor, curled up and hurting, not really able to respond. I can only imagine what it's like for them. Dan's parents have been informed and have been prepared, but she wrote that Dan's not prepared to face them. Every single thing they have to go through, it feels like another punch in the gut (at least to me reading it). And these are just a few of the multitude of issues facing their family at this point.

Reading the guestbook and just from what I know myself, Dan's such a great person, a great boss, a great friend, and a great worker. In my business, I wish there were a hundred more Dan's. Please, please, please pray for Dan and his family.

And if you're hanging in with that, please also pray for these other cancer patients and their families (and THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!):

my Aunt Patsy, my mom's sister
Millie's sister
Becky's sister-in-law

Lastly, I don't expect this but thought I'd offer it anyway, if anyone else wants to add someone they know to our Realm of Possibility prayer request list, please let us know in the comments. Cancer's a killer, but there're other killers out there, too. Not everything's life and/or death, but if you have something troubling you that you don't mind sharing, we will pray for you. And hope with you.

Serious Post

With all of our "Cry Wolf" posts that we pretend are serious but we're really joking, I could understand if someone saw this post's title and thought we we're being tongue-in-cheek. Not this time. Caught this one at Milly's blog.

Please pray.

Today

Wanted to give an update to my post entitled Yesterday.

After the first round of chemotherapy and after the latest bone marrow tests, the doctors found no cancer (leukemia) cells -- that's right: NO CANCER -- in my friend's husband. He still has to go through a couple more rounds of chemo, and it's not something you can ever just stop worrying about -- but this news was nothing other than fantastic!!! When he heard the news, he cried tears of joy, asking, "Can this be true?" He's a worrier, and he had spent a lot of time dwelling on what happens if it turns out bad. Well, so far, it hasn't. And here's hoping it never does.

Anyone who has or is still praying for this man and his family, you have all my gratitude. A lot of people, a lot of churches have, and all praise to our awesome God!!! Of course, with two more rounds of chemo, it doesn't stop here for him, so please keep praying if you can. But also, thanks for rejoicing with me over this. They're a beautiful family, and this has been a difficult time for them.

Thanks again!

Yesterday

Yesterday, Tuesday the 21st, a really good friend here at work got called to the hospital. Her husband had been feeling a little weak, so he had gone in for a doctor's appointment. They took some blood tests, and his - I'm not sure if it was white or red - blood cell count was down. They admitted him in the hospital for tests and gave him platelets. Tests came back, and the doctors are 95% sure it's leukemia. He's in his mid-forties, is a really great guy (is a high school P.E. teacher, popular in the community, and has been the head basketball coach of the HS), and his family is awesome.

It's amazing to me how Monday, everything was fun here at work. We joke around here all the time. Yeah, we've got deadlines (a huge one today as a matter of fact), but the people that work at my company are pretty resilient. So Monday was great, and Tuesday started off the same way. By Tuesday afternoon, things were grim. And who knew? I guess we never know what's going on inside our bodies.

Reminds me of a story another of my co-workers related to me less than a year ago. One of his good friends was the picture of health. Big volleyball player. Loved sports. Ran. Was always active. One day she just didn't feel right, so she went into the doctor. Turns out, she was in Stage 4 - what's the word? - ovicular? - anyway Stage 4 cancer of the ovaries. The point at which the doctors saw her, anything they could do was too late. Within a month, she had died.

Stuff like this just riddles me.

I know two posts ago, I wondered and am still wondering about all the prayer requests that I get. It also makes me think about those I ask people to pray for. I'll just say, for anyone who might, please pray for my friend's husband. He's starting chemo almost immediately and will be in the hospital for at least 30 days - probably since his cell count is down, that's to keep him away from any internal infections that his body may not be able to fight off very well. So he's beginning a new journey, hopefully one of recovery and renewal. I'll pray for that.

Anyways, next post, I'll try to bring the spirits up here a bit. Seems like The Realm hasn't been so light-hearted and fun lately. Guess we're in that valley of life's rollercoaster, but it's gonna go back up, I just know it.

Thanks.

Legitimate Non-Biblical Question # 1

For those out there that pray, how do you deal with prayer requests?
Here's what I mean: I'm sure we all have requests of God regarding ourselves. We also pray for our immediate families (spouses, children, parents), and then, too, our extended families. Then, you have prayer requests from close friends and sometimes not-so-close friends that you pray for. Of course, we're to pray for our churches, our Sunday Schools, our missionaries, our country, our leaders, etc. And that's all before you go to church and your big group class has a dozen more requests, your small group has requests, your Sunday night Bible Study has requests, and if you go on Wednesdays or other days, you hear more requests there. Our church, which is relatively large, also has a Christian sympathy list so we can pray for people in our church whose loved ones die. Also, our Adult 1, 2, and 3 e-mails are all hooked so that we receive prayer requests during the week. Wheeeeeeeew.

I know I sound like an ingrate, but truly, just in my church and Sunday School class(es), there's more requests than for what I can consistently pray. Some of the answers to this that I've encountered --

1) Our Sunday School in Adult 1 had a prayer book, where our class would write down requests and add to them each week. Every Sunday, a couple would take home that book and pray over each request in it all seven days of the week (if they could but that was the responsibility for accepting it).

2) Shoot a mini-prayer up for every request you hear

3) According to John Ortberg in his book, The Life You've Always Wanted, he tended to advocate a prayer list that I thought was reasonable, which was, at least at first, pray only for those requests near to your heart. Basically, pray about the ones you really care about. I may be missing that a little as it's been a while since I've read it, but I think that's close.

4) Keep lists and supplicate by those lists

For me, and I know everyone is different, all of these are worthy and noble if you can manage, but I'll be honest. I have a hard time even managing any one of these. At our church, a lot of people throw around the term "prayer warriors" and probably justifiably so for a lot of people in our church. I'm not one. Most of the time, if somebody asks me directly to pray for someone else, I will. And most of the time, if I say I'll pray for someone I do. The rest of the time I'm a liar, which isn't a good thing but it's my thing. But I'll readily admit, prayer isn't the easiest thing for me to be disciplined about. I do have that somewhat constant walking and talking to the Lord as I'm going through the day, which doesn't really start or end, but what I'm really talking about here is prayer where you're sacrificing your time to pray for others about specific requests.

My question is pretty basic, and I asked it at the top. How do you handle all the prayer requests you hear? Do you try to pray for them all? The portion of them that really move you because of emotional attachments? It's always interesting and enlightening to discover how other people overcome the problems I have.

Prayer

An Aside

For those of you who pray, I'd like to ask for your prayers for someone close to our family -- how 'bout that the tests come back negative, and if not, that the peace of God (the peace that passes all understanding) be with this person and her family.

Thanks.

On a Sorrowful Note...

...one of my co-workers lost his mother today. From what I know, she had been having some heart troubles, and he was keeping tabs on her. When he walked in today, he found his mom dead. Pretty traumatic.

I'd be thankful for any prayers offered up for him and his family. Much appreciated.