Heading Southeast

Jen tells me that Suzanne (above) has not been back for her narcotic pain patch. Her pain would be severe enough to send someone for it, we're thinking she may have passed-away. There are three people that have deeply moved me in the days and weeks post-EQ, Suzanne is one of them. I like to think of her pain-free and hanging out and talking smack while having a cup of super-sugary Haitian coffee with the Kreyol-speaking angels.

I am packing and getting ready and trying to spend some time tickling and wrestling small people; I need to keep this short. I have been so touched hearing of all the people praying about the different requests I've posted here. I don't really know how to thank you ... but it is insufficient to say "We've been blessed" --- it is more than that. Thank you.

If you're still taking requests, please pray for the new team of 8 flying in with me tomorrow and for Troy as he stays in Texas with our kids. Pray for continued healing at counseling for Troy and Paige. (Yesterday was really good.) I am so hopeful that this trip home will help me figure some things out and get some peace about our future and this Earthquake-forced break we're having in the USA. I am not scared or nervous -- just excited and hopeful. (Don't worry Mom - it will be okay.)

LINKS -

Amazing photos here.
Stories of families being reunited here.
Thoughts and feelings that resonate here.
Ripple effects of the EQ here.

BUSINESS ITEMS -

If you have written asking about sending supplies/donations to Haiti, at this moment I don't have a ton of answers for you - which is why I have not returned your emails or FB messages. We all walk a fine line as far as that goes. If we can buy it in country and feed the hurting economy, we would most-often rather do that. We are still dealing with an emergency situation and that means that cold hard cash is still the most helpful thing to tangibly and quickly (like today) help people. If we can put some money into the hands of a Mother of six today - we are doing her a greater service than telling her to come back for baby blankets and clothes in six to eight weeks when we figure out how to get the items into the country. Shipping things down is incredibly costly and many times we could use that money to buy an item in country. The Haitian Government now has Customs officials charging high taxes again, that also makes it hard to decide to take baby clothing and similar donations. This is not to say that the two ministries we work with won't be shipping containers down, it is just to say at this time I do not have that information for you. Because I don't have a place to store things, I cannot allow you to ship your clothes, toys, hygiene kits, or other items to me. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

If you've written about bringing a team sometime this spring, summer or fall - Please know that we don't at all discount your desire to help. Right now we don't have enough answers about the needs to promise you anything. We do not have adequate housing for teams and need to figure out how to better receive groups. Troy and I made a decision a long time ago that hosting groups in our own house is bad for our kids and our marriage -- we just have far too many balls in the air with our large family and regular ministry responsibilities to host groups in our home. (Read: we immediately start to take the stress out on each other) Both Heartline and World Wide Village are working hard to figure out what the future holds for groups. Rather than write to us, please write to the ministry headquarters with team questions and try to be patient as we determine what the needs (and our ability to host you) will be in a few months.

Until Later,

Tara