Haiti Trip Review

Greetings Friends,

I must apologize for the delay in posting anything on this blog but it honestly has been a whirlwind week with little time to stop and breath. We actually arrived home very early Friday morning of last week but it has been non-stop since returning and I'm just now getting an opportunity to post some of the details of the trip.

To start off, everything you have seen or heard about Haiti is probably true but to see it first hand is still a rude awakening. There is evidence of the earthquake immediately upon arriving at the airport. Then, as you leave the airport, you quickly see the results of the devastation; tent cities all over the place. And when I say tents, that is really more glamorous than reality. Basically, what you see is large areas where there are literally thousands of people living in tarp covered wooden or cardboard structures that in most cases in no larger that 8' x 8' that may have as many as 8-10 people living in that space. The streets are what we could classify as impassable but they manage to travel over them anyway. You find old abandoned cars, trucks, motorcycles everywhere. You see buildings that have crumbled from the earthquake with what appeared as little effort to tear them down and remove the debris. Literally thousands of people moving from place to place without any indication of purpose. I have had many opportunities to see areas of the world that are considered improvished areas but I do believe this is the most extreme I have ever encountered. My heart ached for the people there in Port-Au-Prince.

We arrived around 3pm on Tuesday and our host, Wendi Bryant was there to greet us. Wendi is an amazing Godly lady that God has called her to a very special task and as I record our trip here on the blog, I think you will begin to get a sense of who Wendi is. I have heard many stories of just how awesome our God is and how he provides, protects, and delivers proof of His greatness. One of the big blessings she has received is a truck for their use. Since her arrival in Haiti early last year, she had be reliate upon others to transport her to the various places she need to go. So, she, along with many others, began praying about their need for transportation. Kim O'Dwyer, who is working with Wendi at the orphanage (I'll share more about Kim later) was going to return to the states back last fall and had several opportunities to share with friends and family about the need for transportation. And you can guess what happened: Someone stepped forward with $20,000 for them to buy a truck. Well, normally you would expect to pay $25-30,000 for the type of vehicle they needed. But, again, God provided and they were able to purchase a new 1 ton truck and have a cage put on the back of it for the $20,000!!! An amazing example of how God provides when the need is great. Here is a picture of the truck. It is perfect to meet their needs. I must say, though, that the ride from Port-Au-Prince to Plaisance du sud was 7 hours in the back of the truck on some of the worst roads I have ever been on and it still was an experience of a lifetime. The last 2 hours were up a very steep mountain road to the community/village/area of 26,000 people. ABSOLUTELY one of the prettiest places I have ever been.

Check back over the next few days as I post more details about the trip and what God has revealed to me as far as a role we might play in Haiti.

Thank you for your prayers during our trip. They were felt by us all and we are so thankful to have such wonderful prayer warriors lifting us up.

God Bless.