Upon arrival in Haiti

Four days had passed since the earthquake. I hadn't felt it. I was driving in Santo Domingo when I got a phone call from my fellow missionaries at the house. They asked, "did you feel that?". I didn't know what they were talking about. I called my parents in the States to let them know I was alright and have them get online and find out what was going on and what was going to happen. Dominicans were talking about the possibility of a sunami. I was a bit concerned because I had just arrived at a church service in a building located by the water.

My parents watched the news and kept me informed. One of about every ten calls went through at this point. Our partners in Anse-a-Pitre were fine. They had been shaken, and feared more, but they were ok. One of the first things I thought about when I heard the news was a question one of my co-workers, Luke, had asked me just days before. . . "Does the DR ever have earthquakes?" I didn't even know the word for earthquake. I had NEVER heard the Dominicans talk about them, so I said I didn't think so. He wasn't satisfied and kept asking others, but even the Dominicans told him that they don't really have earthquakes. It has been more than a generation since the last big quake, so it just wasn't on the radar screen, until now.

So back to day four. . . in Anse-a-Pitre, the main effect of the quake was that the border had initially been closed between the DR and Haiti and they couldn't cross to get food. They were hungry. We bought food and took it to them. We also borrowed a generator and took it to them to get the water system working. They used that system to take water to affected areas. By the time we arrived in Anse-a-Pitre the situation had changed. The border was open again, and all was well.

I had been strictly warned by government officials that I could not go into Haiti with donations. They told me it was all gangs and thieves attacking the vehicles of donations. I would surely be kidnapped and my vehicle stolen. I was pretty sure I knew Anse-a-Pitre better than that, and Pastor Andres ensured me that things were ok and that he would be meeting us with members of the UN. We crossed normally. Many people came and helped us unload the giant generator and things felt almost "normal" to me there.

I spent the afternoon with Pastor Andres' kids. They played with my camera and took hundreds of pictures. The earthquake was far from my mind. Pastor Bronny and Pastor Andres worked hard on getting the generator connected I played with the kids. It was a good day!

When we left to head to Jimani, I had no idea what to expect and I wasn't exactly sure why we were going. It was a LONG drive from Anse-a-Pitre. The Pentecostal Church had asked us (Bronny especially) to go and scope out the situation.

We arrived and met with Pastor Maccoris. I had never met him before, but immediately felt the quiet loving spirit of a man of God. He is raising 30+ orphans out of his house/church and had been doing so for years. We had intended to spend the night with them and then assess the situation in the morning. I was grateful. It had been such a long day, I was exhausted. I had been driving since early that morning and playing with the kids had warn me out.

But, as Maccoris told us about the situation and how hundreds of people were being brought over the border to a little hospital down the road where they had few doctors and few resources, we felt obliged to go check it out. I wavered between going that night and going to bed. Truth be told, I could barely keep my eyes open, but I wasn't about to be left behind, so I decided to go.