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March 14, 2010

Count Your Many Blessings

3/14
Last night felt just like my first night in Argentina-hot, sweaty, dogs barking until the wee hours, roosters crowing, but somehow you eventually fall asleep.
We got up and came to church. The people are so strong. I just wanted to cry I was overwhelmed with the spirit they have. So many members! We met Margerie who has AMAZING English. The church just hired her as an interpreter/translator. She told us the members are strong. They are still paying tithing and fast offerings and fulfilling their callings. The church is helping the members who lost homes rebuild temporary structures if they have property. Members with homes have taken other families in with them. Every 2 weeks the church sends more food supplies to them. They are all taken care of! Isn't the church great?!
Sad story-back in December one of the bishop's here had his 3 year old son kidnapped. A lady walked into primary and took him. They later received a ransom note for 150,000 g (about $4,000). But then the earthquake happened. They found the lady who took the boy, but they have no idea where the boy is.
On the way to church we drove through one of the thousands of tent camps. I don't think I've ever experienced such a thick stench. It's amazing to me that people can survive these conditions. But the Haitians know how to survive. They are fighters. I guess the government has given the people in tents an ultimatum that they have to be gone by the end of the month. They aren't helping them relocate, just telling them to leave. Don't they think if they had somewhere to go, they would have left already?
I'm so impressed with the members (I'm sitting in church right now). They are truly a family here. And such quality people. They are hard working, compassionate people. You can just feel so much love from them.
At the end of relief society, a sister shared a quick testimony of how blessed she feels. Her home was broken in the earthquake and her little boy was inside doing his homework. Right where he was was where it was broken. But he was fine.
They had testimony meeting today. Before they began, the counselor reminded everyone that a testimony should be about what God has given you. There was never a break in someone sharing their testimony. The closing hymn was "Count Your Many Blessings." Imagine seeing a huge congregation of Haitians 2 months post-earthquake singing that song.

Sprinting

(I'm trying to keep a journal with me and when internet is available I'll copy it in here-I'll have to post pictures when I get home. Sorry if the entries aren't very coherent)

3/13
I didn't think I was going to make it to Haiti today. My flight out of Salt Lake was delayed an hour and a half, cutting my layover time down to an hour and a half. But then bad weather in New York had us circling for 20 minutes, we sat on the runway for another 30, and then 10 minutes to get off the plane left me sprinting from the Delta terminal to the American Airlines terminal. I got to the counter with 5 minutes to spare, but luckily the flight was delayed 30 minutes. So after sprinting through security and then to my gate, I actually got on board (after they opened back up the gate for me) and made it to Haiti. My bags weren't as lucky though. Hopefully the come tomorrow.
Haiti so far is mostly how I remember it. It smells a little stronger though. It was crazy driving to Healing Hands though and seeing the damage from the earthquake. Some buildings appear untouched while right next door is completely demolished. People seem like they are trying to resume life. There are all the street vendors out, clean-up is taking place, and repairs and going on.
It's really hot. Not much else to say about that. Hopefully we can sleep. We're going to church in the morning. it will be great to see the members and find out if the work has been moving forward with the earthquake.

March 9, 2010

T-Minus 3 Days

I leave on Friday for Haiti.

Thank you so much for everyone that has donated supplies and money. I am very grateful. I'm not sure how much access to the internet we will have while I'm there, but there is going to be a mass email sent out with updates sent through two of the team member's phones. Let me know if you want to receive those updates by sending me your email.

February 19, 2010

I'm heading back to Haiti

I'm going back to Haiti again with the same group I went with last year (Healing Hands for Haiti). We leave on March 12th and come home March 23. Since the earthquake I've had a lot of people ask me how they can help the Haitians. Below I have a list of supplies that we are collecting to take down. If you have access to any of these items, please let me know and we can figure out how I can get them from you. If you would rather donate money to help pay for getting these supplies down to Haiti, interpreters while we are there, transportation to and from clinics and orphanages, etc that would be great as well. Please don't feel obligated to any of this. I'm sure many of you have already donated to Haiti. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of this opportunity. Thanks for your love and support.

Medical Equipment
Crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, canes
Crutch tips, crutch tips, crutch tips
Corner seats
Car seats
Braces, splints (usable)
Casting materials
Bandages,
Band-Aids, wound dressing supplies
Burn bandages, burn creams or ointments
Gauze, eye patches
Medical tape
Ace Wraps
Liquid Hand sanitizer
Medications (Cannot be expired!) And CANNOT be prescription
Multivitamins (adult and children’s)
Prenatal vitamins
Over-the-counter medications
Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen (adult and childrens)
Antibiotic ointments
Cold medications
Hydrocortisone cream, benadryl cream, Caladril lotion
Powdered baby formula, protein powder
Zip lock baggies – small size and snack size
Office Supplies
Paper (lined, copy paper)
Pens, pencils, envelopes
Note books
Thumb tacks
Sticky notes
Paper clips, staplers and staples
Hanging files and folders
Medical chart folders
Sharpie type markers, highlighters, dry erase pens
Chalk, erasers
Misc. Items
Cloth diapers w/ pins or Velcro closures
Small hand tools
Small power tools
Screws, nails, staples
Pool supplies (bromine)
Pool float devices
Therapeutic Toys – BEACH BALLS,RHYTHM INSTUMENTS, SOFT BALLS

January 28, 2010

MSNBC Article

January 24, 2010

What can you do for Haiti

Last March I traveled to Haiti with Healing Hands for Haiti. (If you want to see a few posts from then, click HERE). The devastation from the earthquake has hit close to home because many of those people became my friends. Many of them have lost loved ones, have lost their homes, and have no idea what the future holds. I finally received an email two days ago from one of our interpreters who said,

"thank you for thinking with me i'm still alive but i'm homeless no job see the way you can help me out if you want call me at this number sincerely big mack." Me with Big Mack

The response from the world to this tragedy has been truly moving. A lot of people have been asking me what more they can do to help. Honestly, I don't have the answers. I don't know what the solution is (or that there is one). But I do have some suggestions. Immediately the biggest need is funding for the organizations already down there.
You can donate to the LDS church humanitarian relief fund by clicking HERE (100% of donations will go to Haiti)
You can donate to the Red Cross by clicking HERE
With a disaster like this, it will take years for recovery. Once the acute problems (surgeries, broken bones, cuts, infections, etc) are treated, long term recovery will become the focus. I worry that the world will begin to forget Haiti in a few months. Many people have lost limbs and will need prosthetics, wheelchairs, crutches, rehab, etc. To read more about this issue click HERE. This is what Healing Hands for Haiti's mission is.
You can donate to Healing Hands for Haiti by clicking HERE
If you have access to medicines (especially antibiotics), medical supplies, wheelchairs, crutches, etc. please contact me. We have a team leaving on Wednesday and then another one hopefully leaving in march
One of the founders of Healing Hands for Haiti, Dr. Jeff Randle has been keeping a blog while he has been in Haiti treating the earthquake victims. To hear his personal account click HERE