I wish that I had magical fingers that could type a million words per minute, because my heart is to share literally every single moment of my time in Haiti with you. It was the most incredible and yet hard experience of my life. I still struggle with putting these stories into comprehensible words, so please bear with me as I try.
Before I begin I just want to remind you guys as well as myself that we serve an awesome God. It has been hard for me to not be angry at God for the horror that has happened to this Nation, but then I am reminded of His goodness and sweetness and how He can take a truly horrific situation and redeem it to be the most beautiful of situations. Jesus is going to restore Haiti. It is as plain as that, He has big plans for this place that has chosen to forsake Him for so long. Every time I intercede of for Haiti I get verse out of verse out of Isaiah, which is God calling His people back to Himself. One of the verses is, "For your Maker is your husband-the Lord Almighty is His name-the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit-a wife who married young, only to be rejected, says your God. 'For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. " Isaiah 54:5-7 That is powerful stuff and so I am deeply encouraged that Haiti will rise up as an awesome nation under God.
The following stories are things just random snapshots of our time, again I hope to share more, but may try to do that through a written newsletter or video blogs that I post on here. So here goes...
When we got to the YWAM base in St. Marc we jumped right into ministry. One of the biggest needs was the make-shift refugee camp that the base had set up in their outdoor arena. There were about 56 victims there lying side-by-side on straw mats. The situation was very crude due to the lack of supplies and resources available. Because most of these people are so severely injured they are not able to walk yet alone get up and go to the bathroom. So each person had their own bucket which was often filled with waste, vomit, or blood.
I have a huge heart for the medical aspects of things and although I have absolutely no training, the Haitian doctor at the facility was quickly referring to me as a nurse and was given me orders in Creole. All we had in terms of medical supplies was peroxide, iodine, and neosporin so we set to clean the deep cuts, third degree burns, and deep head wounds with these basic supplies.
One particular young boy, about 11 years old, had a horrible head wound. It was triangular in shape and was about three inches wide and deep enough we could touch our fingers to his skull. After cleaning out his wound, the doctor asked me to push on both sides of the wound in hopes that the skin would begin to repair itself as we tightly would it in gauze. As horrible as this sounds the thing that struck me the most was his bravery, he didn't shed a tear, as they say in Creole "Bon force" meaning "be strong," and that he was.
Please pray for this boy, that he would be able to get to a hospital and get the surgery he needs so that his head can properly heal. Also be praying that he stays free from any sort of infections or bacteria that may try and enter his body so that he can stay strong and healthy. Also pray that he will be able to tangibly feel God's love and peace resting upon him at all times.
There were 6 little orphan boys at the base that had severe wounds. They had been living in an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince when the earthquake struck, the quake destroyed the orphanage and killed most of the children living there but these six were able to escape.
One of these little boys, whose name is Mayclave, had been pronounced dead on site. The doctor took his pulse and found none, so Mayclave was put in a coffin and shipped off to the morgue to be buried with the rest of the dead. While the doctor was walking around the morgue he heard this faint knocking noise, he figured out that it was coming from the coffin so he quickly opened it up and found that Mayclave was still alive! So they brought him to the base to be cared for.
People at the base are prophetically speaking identity and destiny out over his life and are saying that Mayclave will be the next Haitian president, because clearly God has a purpose and a plan for this little guy's life. What an awesome God He is!
Another man that was mid-twenties told us that he also was pronounced dead by the doctors and loaded into a dump truck full of dead bodies being sent to the morgue. He said that he woke up and found these bodies stacked on top of him and began to frantically kick the side of the truck. He managed to unlatch the back gate and rolled out into the middle of the street, but he was too weak to move, so he just lay there in the middle of the road. Two days later a medical team came across his lifeless body and brought him to the base for recovery.
On our way out of Haiti we stopped at a pile of rubble that had been dumped there, as the people in Port are trying to clear out the rubble. We wanted to pick up some pieces that we could have as a reminder to be continuously be praying for Haiti. We were stopped in our tracks when we saw half a small body lying there in the pile of rubble. The small child had been crushed by the concrete that fell. Words cannot describe the extreme sadness and reality that hit me at that moment....Again I am rendered speechless...
Off in the distance we were also able to see the mounded dirt that marks the mass graves they are digging to bury the thousands.
I think I will stop here now as these stories are really hard for me to tell. I often am paralyzed by some pretty heavy emotions, but I am trying to see them as a blessing. Although my human emotions cannot begin to compare to the burden and loss that God is facing I am grateful to feel a sliver of His heart for Haiti. I know my life is forever changed and I hope that 30 years down the road I will still feel the urgency to lift the Haitians up in prayer.
Please continue to pray for these incredible people. God has a plan and a purpose for this nation and restoration is coming and already happening! Tyler and I are beginning to pray into outreaches that Project Sixty-One will be taking to Haiti over the coming year. So please be praying that we would hear the discerning voice of God and that we would be patient if He asks us to wait and ready if He asks us to go.
I hope to post, write, and do more video updates regarding our time in Haiti, because there is so much more to tell, so please keep checking for new blogs, emails, and Facebook updates.
Also check out these videos that YWAM Haiti has posted as they are powerful.
http://www.ywamhaiti.org/VideoGallery/Earthquake2010Updates/Earthquakeof2010/tabid/2236/Default.aspx
http://www.ywamhaiti.org/VideoGallery/Earthquake2010Updates/WednesdayUpdateJan20/tabid/2237/Default.aspx
http://www.ywamhaiti.org/VideoGallery/Earthquake2010Updates/ThursdayUpdateJan21/tabid/2204/Default.aspx
Love,
Jacque
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