Obed Visits

Today we had a pleasant surprise when Obed came to visit during sem classes. He had a break at his work and was able to be in the DR for a few days and also was in Haiti visiting his family.

He went to see his parents who came through the earthquake fine. His brother, though, suffered the loss of his home and two of his children received injuries. When the earthquake hit his brother and his wife were not yet home so the children were alone. The oldest child, 11 yrs. old, was able to get all the children out of the house. But then they stood next to the building next door, about 3 stories high, which collapsed and two of the children were injured anyway. They took them to "Doctors Without Frontiers" who had already been working in the city and had their installations set up. The children were cared for and are recovering, but the parents could not find the children when they got home and it was not until the next day that they realized they were all alive and at the hospital.

Obed also talked about the violence in the country that is continually escalating. People are desperate to get food. Looting is rampant. He says that by 6PM everyone tries to find cover or shelter before it gets dark. He also referred to the kidnapping of children and thinks they will be most likely sold for organ trafficking. About five years kidnapping was a serious problem in Haiti and most of the children that were taken were sold for this purpose. The government made it a priority to get these kidnappers and many were put behind bars. Many of the people that were captured and put in jail have now escaped. It has been reported that 5,300 prisoners escaped in the earthquake. One Santiago newspaper ran a story about a Haitian woman who identified her rapist, here in the city, so we know they are crossing the border.

We asked him about the food situation. He said that there were some stores open but that all the prices had almost doubled. There also are no mechanisms in place for these stores to receive more supplies so they can only sell what they have in stock. We have noticed that the prices have also gone up in the DR. The government says that the provisions that are going to Haiti are surplus supplies and should not affect the availability of food here - but that is not the reality when you go to the store, especially in the poorer areas of town.

Other reports say that the Haitian hospitals are all out of morphine and analgesics, so they have nothing to give to their patients that have suffered amputations. The majority of the operations have been limb removal. The hospitals desperately need supplies: gauze, bandages, cotton, ibuprofen, antibiotics, intravenous solution, ... and the list goes on. The need is made worse by the fact that people are attacking UN convoys that are delivering supplies hoping to find food for their families.

In spite of all the tragedy and disaster we still find comfort and joy in our Savior's arms, remembering all he has done for us and rejoicing in his promises of forgiveness and eternal life when we leave this vale of tears. We continue to pray for wisdom and guidance in the midst of such sorrow and hurt and give thanks to a loving and merciful God who watches over His church and keeps us and guides in all His ways. It was with joyful hearts that we shared a devotion today with Rona and Obed and we give thanks to God for watching over them and their families.

Haiti's Children

These past few days there have been several news reports of children being stolen from hospitals in Haiti. Many "tent" hospitals have hired guards to keep track of the children under their care. A horrible circumstance in any situation, it is especially tragic in Haiti where the system of "restavek" is accepted and has been entrenched in the society for many years.

What is "restavek"? Basically, it is child slavery. Poor children are given away or sold to other families with the hope that they will be taken care of and have enough to eat. Sometimes the child goes to another family member, but usually is given away in anonymity and never heard from again. Once at their new home, these children lose all contact with their blood families, and like slaves of the past are sometimes given new names for the sake of convenience. Some are not even given names, but are simply called "boy" or "girl".

This practice first started after the emacipation in 1804 and initially was only used among the upper class who wanted a young child to help with kitchen and yard work. With time, as the practice became more common, families with less economic standing began acquiring restaveks as a status symbol.

I read a book by Jean Robert Cadet in which he describes his life as a restavek. He slept under a kitchen table, was given food in a bowl and made to eat like a dog, was forbidden to smile, laugh or speak unless spoken to, and was also subjected to numerous beatings and sexual abuse. One common punishment described by many restaveks is being made to kneel on cheese graters covered with salt while holding mangoes in their hands with their arms straight up over their head. If the owner was too lazy to supervise this punishment, they simply hit you over the head with a heavy object.

Restaveks work long hours doing whatever jobs their owner requires of them. Most of them do not receive any pay. A law was passed requiring every working person over fifteen years of age to receive a wage, so many people turn their restaveks out on the street when they turn fifteen to avoid having to give them any kind of pay. They try to get another one for free, but are willing to pay for a young one in return for the many years of free labor they will receive.

Any child that is stolen now could easily be lost within the system of restaveks and never be heard from again - condemned to a life of slavery as a restavek - a system of child abuse widely accepted in Haitian society.

Rona Returns

This past week we had news that Rona has safely returned from his trip to Haiti. His family and friends here in the DR were happy to see him and are thankful that no harm came to him on his journeys.

He traveled to see his parents and found them well and without any damage to their home. They are in the northern part of the county in Cap Haitian. One of Rona's sisters was also at home. She had been planning to travel to Port au Prince on Tuesday, the day of the earthquake. That Tuesday was a rainy day, and since travel is more difficult in the rain she decided to postpone her trip until the following day. So, because of this, she was not in the capital when the earthquake hit.

From there Rona traveled down to the capital. He found his uncles' homes. They were all doing fine and none of them had any damage to their homes since they were in a different part of the city where damage was not as serious. Some cousins that lived in a different area of the city died and some cousins of his wife were also killed.

Rona also talked of the destruction in Port au Prince. Many people are without homes and even those that have places to go are afraid to go inside because of the aftershocks. Many are waiting for medical help and food. The donations of food have been generous and were brought in fairly quick. But the majority of this aid has not yet reached many parts of the city.

We thank God for Rona's safe return.

Haiti Recovers

Ten days after the earthquake, things are slowly beginning to get organized. Many Haitians will now be located in camps outside of the capitol where aid can be distributed in an orderly way (?). Food and water donations are still pouring in to Haiti. This is a photo of a semi trailer parked at the grocery store where I usually shop, helping make it easy for people to donate right at the store. There are similar trailers at most of the stores in town and also in the hospital parking lots for medical supply donations.

The Dominican Republic continues it's generous donations to Haiti, not only of water and medicines but also of fresh fruit and vegetables. Donated items of this past week include: 200 pounds of squash, 1200 lbs. carrots, 200 lbs potatoes, 4300 lbs rice, etc.

Since there is no more space in Port au Prince to store all the food donations that are arriving, the Dominican Aduana is donating several acres of land close to the border to create a "dry" port where the donations will be stored and will be closer for easier transport into Haiti.

Dominican soldiers will also be entering Haitian territory for the first time in the history of the country. The mission of these Dominican soldiers will be to secure the highway that links Santo Domingo to Port au Prince to keep it open and traffic moving. Several vehicles have already been assaulted at the border, the donations stolen and the car dismantled.

Hotels in Santo Domingo are full - some reporting 99% occupancy. Government officials from other countries, the press, rescuers, charitable organizations, and international aid groups are among those who have come to stay. The drive from Santo Domingo to Port au Prince is about 8 - 9 hours (approx.) depending on weather (slower during rain) and amount of traffic.

I mentioned earlier this week that many Haitians are entering into the Dominican Republic from the north. Estimates now indicate that about 2,700 Haitians are crossing the border every day, most illegally, by walking across the river Lago de Peligro. It is estimated that at this rate, in five months, there will be 3 million illegal Haitians in the DR (that is the same number of people in the Haitian capitol!).

Back Home

Last night we had a very nice visit with Elvin, Nelia's husband. He was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake working with a construction company. His company had located him at the northern end of the island, but they felt the quake there quite strongly. He was in his truck when the quake hit and the truck started to rock back and forth. His first thought was that his load was unbalanced and was going to slide off. Then he realized that it was an earthquake. Communications were immediately knocked out so he didn't realize how extensive the quake had been until his boss sent him to Port au Prince for supplies and he and his fellow workers found out the magnitude of the quake as they got closer to the capitol.

Since his company had heavy equipment already in the country they were able to offer immediate aid. Their company wanted to focus their help on trying to get the dock back up and working. Elvin's job was to drive a truck back and forth through the city removing rubble from the dock. His various trips took him though the length of the city seeing firsthand the results of the disaster and his stories are moving and shocking.

Even before the earthquake, all the workers and the equipment of the company were under constant guard. Since the quake, he says security has been stepped up to protect them from the violence that is breaking out. He arrived home on Mon. evening and was welcomed not only by his wife and sons, but by many other family members and neighbors all thankful to have him back safe and sound.

Rona's brother, Nabeau, also returned from Haiti this week. He also was in the northern sector of the country when the earthquake hit. He brought news that their family had come through with no harm to immediate family members and their house also was not damaged. The woman sitting next to Nabeau in the photo is Rona's wife, Manette.

We give thanks to God that in the midst of all the loss, He grants us these joyful reunions with loved ones. God is good.

Aftershocks

This morning we felt more aftershocks of the earthquake. As we were eating breakfast, a 5.9 aftershock was felt here in Santiago. There were no damages in the DR from this quake. People in Haiti were heard shouting, "We're all going to die!"

We made a visit to the Red Cross here in Santiago to ask about the situation. The director met with us and answered our questions about the help needed to confront this tragedy.

Donations have been very generous and they are sorting them by need: those that can be used during the "emergency" stage, such as water, things in packages that can be easily opened, and bandages and diapers. Other goods such as food in cans will be distributed later on when things are more organized.

We asked him about the possibility of going personally into the country to help. He suggested that in order to do that, we get an armed guard from the Red Cross since violence is breaking out in Port au Prince and at the border also. We were warned about trying to go in alone. He also explained that it would be easier for organization if there are less people trying to do things on their own and everyone tries to work together. So if people want to help, he suggested joining the Red Cross and going in as a volunteer under their umbrella of support.

He also explained that blood supplies are low and bandages are sorely needed for surgeries and also bandages of any kind - supplies have run out in Haiti and are down to almost nothing here in the DR.

The information he gave was very helpful. We hope it has helped answer some of your questions also.

Haiti update

These are some of the main topics in today's newspapers here in the DR. Comments in italics are mine.

The Brazilian Minister of Defense published a list of five of the most urgent problems that need to be treated in emergency situations: 1) Bury the dead People are complaining about the stench emanating from all the decomposing bodies. The rat problem is also becoming quite intolerable as they migrate toward all the dead. 2) Help the wounded. The hospitals are all full. The Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo will be militarized due to the high number of Haitians coming to the hospital looking for information about family members. 140 Haitians have been treated at this trauma center, but they have reported up to 3,000 Haitians waiting around the hospital grounds for information, creating chaos and disorder and impeding the normal functioning of the hospital. 3) Remove the rubble. For right now, only to free people trapped underneath. 4) Security. We have heard about the US soldiers and the great job they are doing at establishing order and food distribution. When they came their helicopters landed on the lawn in front of the destroyed Presidential Palace. The Haitians were all in the streets, behind the fences. To most Haitians, this felt like an invasion and as they say, a "loss of sovereignty". 5) Distribution of food and water. There have been great improvements of getting aid out to the people. International aid is arriving at the airport in Port au Prince, also at the port of Santo Domingo, and then trucked over. This past weekend the Dominicans held countrywide telethons and collected $124RD million pesos for their Haitian neighbors.

It has been suggested that Dominican troops be sent to Haiti. Most Dominicans are against this suggestion. They see it as unnecessary and dangerous for the troops due to "historical tensions" between Dominicans and Haitians.

Another topic being tossed out by international organizations is to establish refugee camps for Haitians across the border in the DR. Most Dominicans also reject this idea as they see it as an attempt at erasing the border and reuniting the country into one.

Doctors are also beginning to warn about epidemics caused by decomposing bodies and unclean water. A massive campaign against malaria is being conducted, especially at the border. Up until now, malaria has been contained to Haiti and has not been a problem in the DR. This may change with the large number of people migrating across the border. Fumigation programs are also being done.

There has been a massive exodus of Haitians into the DR especially at Dajabon which is the northern most point of entry into the DR. One border agent said, "We have never seen such heavy traffic and if someone doesn't stop it, Haiti will soon be empty, because in a few days they'll all be here". Many of those coming over the border are not wounded but come in hopes of better living conditions. Most of these Haitians are heading to Santiago, the second largest city in the DR.

Thanks again to all of you for your continued prayers and support. More tomorrow.

Help for Haiti

One week after the earthquake things are becoming chaotic in Haiti. Food and water that has been donated is slowly finding its way to the people. Their is a bottleneck of planes at the Port au Prince airport and their is a back-up of trucks at the border trying to get across safely and actually make it all the way to the capital without being assaulted.

The hospitals are all full. Victims have been helicoptered to Jimani in the center of the country, Barahona in the south and many to Santo Domingo. Some of the wounded government officials were brought to a Santiago hospital (HOMS), the newest one in the country.

There have been reports in the Dominican newspapers that because of the shortage of gasoline in Haiti, the price at the border has shot up to 300 gourdes per gallon ($10US) and most of the gas stations close to the border have been militarized.

The majority of the international aid is being directed to Port au Prince which has received the greatest amount of news coverage. People are now becoming aware of the other cities further out from the capital that were also affected, such as Leogone where 90% of the buildings were destroyed.

Some of the topics being discussed among the Dominicans are how many refugees this country will be able to absorb, realizing that most of them will not want to go back after their injuries have been treated and they have recovered. People are also wondering what will become of children left without parents. They are signing up to adopt children that have lost their families, but these adoptions will be some time in the future as a search will have to be made for family members. There is also a debate as to whether the capital should be rebuilt in the same location or if it should be completely razed and moved to a different part of the country.

Most Dominicans believe that even after the rest of the world forgets about the earthquake, they will be picking up the pieces, helping their Haitian neighbors rebuild and making decisions long after the international community has moved on. In spite of the tensions between the two countries on the island, the response of the Dominicans has been very generous. Besides receiving many of the wounded in DR hospitals (at DR expense), food, water and financial aid have been given. Many Dominican kitchens on wheels have been working non-stop in Port au Prince (more than 30 I believe).

These are topics that will be decided in the future. For right now, the greatest need is food, water and bandages - which have been exhausted in Haiti and in the DR, and people are also being asked to donate blood.

Haiti

This past Tuesday, a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti. We felt the quake here in Santiago. Parked cars were rocking back and forth and power lines were swaying. Thankfully, there were no damages reported here and everyone is safe.

We talked with the Haitian leader, Rona Abraham. As of today, Friday, there is still no telephone communication with Haiti. Thousands of Haitians living here in the DR have not been able to contact their family members to know their situation. Rona is planning to make a trip this weekend to see his family in the north and then travel to the capital to look for other family members and some from his wife's family.





International aid has been coming into Haiti. The difficulty now seems to be how to distribute items to those in need. The unloading dock at the port of Port au Prince was destroyed in the quake, so boats coming in will have difficulty in unloading their shipment. The Port au Prince airport cannot accommodate any more planes. Some planes filled with aid have been parked in the DR and others are waiting in Puerto Rico. Just from the DR alone, 32 plane loads of water, medicines and blankets have been sent in. Even though we are here in Santiago, we cannot receive any funds personally here on the field. Please send any offerings or financial aid that you wish to contribute to WELS Synod office and they will direct the funds to the proper channels. We want to thank all the people who have written and called. Your concerns and offers to help are deeply appreciated and we will try to keep you informed as we receive new information here.



Every day the news agencies announce a different number of suspected deaths - and every day the number is higher. When Rona was here, we had the news on and as he watched some of the reports of the damage, he broke down and cried. His heart aches for his fellow countrymen. He is concerned not only by the high number of deaths. He also realizes that the great majority of them were not believers. There are many churches in Haiti, but he has not heard any of them proclaiming the truth of forgiveness in Jesus - without works. Many of them not only suffered a physical death, but also now must face an eternal death.




"When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" (Amos 3:6). In the midst of all the pain and suffering, a Christian reacts differently than the world. As we watched the news reports, Rona said, "Look at the mercy of God. Look at how good He is. So many survived. So many still alive with time to come to faith". The Christian sees the disaster through different eyes. We see the Lord at work also in events such as these, using them to fulfill His will that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. We see His goodness and His mercy. Our merciful and powerful God is still in charge, still protecting His church, still calling people through His gospel.

Cleaning day

Saturdays are always cleaning day at church. Several members volunteered to be on the cleaning committee and they are in charge of getting things ready for Sunday service.

The floor is swept, benches are dusted and everything is hosed down with water. Then the mopping begins. This is hard work, especially in the heat. It also takes more than one mopping since the dust accumulates easily with the sides of the building open to the air.

The children stay in the back, since they are taught from young not to walk on a wet floor.

After the work is done, everyone enjoys a quick cup of coffee and some bread or cookies and then heads back home, content that everything is now prepared for worship.

Serving the Savior

2009 ends with two news items of members serving the Savior. The first announcement is the musical debut of a member of the congregation. After two years of practice, he played for services for the first time this past Sunday. I want to thank Roxanne Martens for the musical course she developed for learning to play by chords. The member from the Moca congregation faithfully practiced and has learned to play almost all of the hymns in the book that we use. He is using his talents to serve the Savior.





Another example of service is a younger member, Alexandra. Formerly the congregation was using a ceramic dish for the gathering of the offering. This dish was accidentally broken and a new offering basket was needed. Alexandra had the desire to make one using plastic canvass and yarn. With some guidance from the women in the congregation, she was able to sew a lovely basket that now is used for Sunday offerings. She, too, is using her talents to serve the Savior.