We are Fine

We are fine. The 6.1 “aftershock” this morning shook the house and rattled the roof agian, but not as badly as last week and for not as long. I had just decided to get up at 6:30 rather than 6:00 when I started feeling it. And I was just thinking I should get out of bed and stand in a door, when it subsided. Greg and Colin didn't feel it and thankfully, a couple of the survivors who are back in the area didn't feel it either.

I am sorry about being so late with this post, but I had eye clinic this morning and our internet service is very slow since we were sanctioned last night for no apparent reason – we did not have usage over the bandwidth that would normally cause the sanction. So please bear with us.

Yesterday I was all set to post some good news, but the day got busy. Monday, Fon Koze was able to change money for us, finally. Interestingly enough, the exchange rate is down from 42 gourdes to the US dollar to 30 gourdes to the dollar. We were still able to get enough money, so yesterday Colin and I prepared the pay for the teachers and the dorm cooks and then we paid those who came between 1 and 2 in the afternoon.

Then at 2 we had a meeting with several of the youth in the area. It was a good meeting about forming a committee to get the youth active in participating in the activities in the area to help the refugee situation. They will coordinate with the community leaders and the missions in the area for a unified response to this crisis.

All the meetings with community leaders and youth and other missions have come up with the same priority – get people out of Port-au-Prince. That has become even more critical now with the strong shock this morning. So, the Matthew 28 orphanage, HAFF and UCI are collaborating to get 3 big trucks to 2 predetermined locations in Port to pick up people who have been contacted to be in those places. Those trucks have also been offered to the HIM ministry in Pignon to help carry relief supplies down to Port-au-Prince.

It has also come to our attention that while it didn't seem that there was any damage to homes in this area, some damage is now becoming apparent. So the committees are talking about how best to assess the damage and then help people repair their homes. In all this, the community is taking the lead and the missions are coming along side to participate at the request of the community.

Please keep all these endeavors in prayer.

• Pray that we would be able to get people out of Port safely – we hear the situation is getting quite dangerous there now.
• Pray that the community leaders and the missions and the committees can remain unified and present an efficient,, wise, Godly and calm help to the people in need.
• Pray for security in Port-au-Prince as well as in the provinces, since some folks who are from Port-au-Prince and have no where else to go are following neighbors back to areas they have never been and some folks are just getting on any truck they can to get out of town. With the prisoners from the destroyed prison and other people who are not law abiding moving out into the provinces, that raises security issues for everyone. Our area has always been proactive about security and the leaders are already aware of the potential problems.
  

Once again, thank you all for your prayers and concern and desire to help. You are precious to us and your encouragement means the world to us.