1. Jen has updated her blog here and is listing a need for tomorrow to travel to Haiti on Thursday. We are doing great on medical supplies now. Thanks!
2. Paige (our 15 year old) is coming back into Haiti later this week. We are excited to give her a chance to love on the people of the country she considers home. She was given ten minutes notice when she left for the Embassy and she did not get to take anything or say many goodbyes - pray her time here will be healing and good. Troy and I thought and prayed on it and both felt like she should be given time to grieve and leave on her own terms.
3. We drove down to a hospital today to drop a patient for surgery. It is the hospital our Lydia was in when she had Bacterial Meningitis in early 2008. The links to that story are here. The hospital is doing their best in a difficult situation (heard that before?) and they agreed to take a little 7 year old girl for us. They called a few hours later and said they would not do the surgery and we needed to pick her back up. :( Driving through the city is totally and completely devastating. I think by staying focused in our area and mainly going to and from the clinic/hospital - some of us have sort of insulated ourselves against the reality of the destruction. Looking at it photo to photo and one thing at a time is so different than looking at it driving down the road and seeing the unending stretches of total ruins and tent city after tent city of displaced people. It is grievous to think of all the people trapped and entombed under the cement rubble.
4. We're aware that our problems are so small in comparison to the beautiful people of Haiti - and we are the lucky ones ... but even so, we're asking God for clear direction on our future here. We want to be obedient and we want to be open. This has been our home for four years and we're grieving the loss of our normal. We're uncertain of how to raise kids in this Haiti. Please pray with us that we would find the time and the space to process and pray and HEAR from Him on all of it. And please, hear me again when I say that we know we are the blessed ones with options and choices ... unlike so many of our friends here. The unfairness of that is not lost on us.
5. We have been touched by the outpouring of kind words, prayers, love and support. Thank you for holding our family and the people we work with in your hearts. It means more to us than you can possibly imagine.