Jimani

This past week the director of our Administrative Committee, Bob Smith, and a representative of the Committee on Relief, Mark Vance came to Santiago to meet with the people here. We had a day of meetings on Wed. including the seminary students, Rona-the Haitian pastor, several members of the church, and a visit to the Red Cross. After a busy day of meetings we began our trip to Jimani, the Dominican border town in the south that is close to Port au Prince.

We left Moca at 10:40PM with Juan Manuel as our Dominican driver (he is Alex's older brother), and he drives like a Dominican! We made it to Santo Domingo where we saw a HUGE convoy of military vehicles lined up at the toll booth. Most of us were trying to get some sleep but just when you almost fell asleep the van would hit a rough bit of road and bbbbrrrrrmmmm you would be rudely awakened, or we would hit a pothole (same result). So sleep came in small doses! Juan Manuel did know the way which made the drive quicker. We only had trouble in one spot where they had taken down the sign that was his landmark. We had to find someone awake (it was 3AM) to tell us which way to go. (We saw several watchmen and policemen sound asleep on their watches!).

We arrived in Jimani at about 5:30AM and decided to try to get some sleep in the van, while we were parked. That's when we all found out that SOMEONE snores!! So one person got a nice rest (where are the potholes when you need them?). Eventually a policeman came and told us we had to move the vehicle off the road, so we drove into the area where the international groups had set up camp. We found someone from the Defensa Civil who gave us some information about the situation in Haiti.

Everyone going into the country must now show their vaccination records. Everyone gets tetanus, rubeola vaccinations and malaria pills. These are the three main concerns at the present time. You are also warned against going into the country on your own. It is best to go along with a guarded convoy. Muggings and robbery at the border are quite a serious problem. During our conversation, we were informed about a hospital nearby that was caring for a large number of Haitians. We drove there to meet with the doctors.

The hospital was in two large houses that had been converted into hospitals. The first one was being used as the operating rooms and the second one housed the patients before and after their operations. We saw a constant stream of patients being brought in for surgery - most of them need amputations. The doctors explained that they do try to save the limbs, but many times the amputations are being done because of infections and gangrene. We also saw the area where they were receiving donations and Mark was able to contribute the medical supplies that he had brought along.

We walked down to the other building and saw many Haitians in various stages of healing. Because of the trauma of the earthquake, many of them have a fear of being inside a building. They are fearful of the building collapsing down on them - the children especially have this fear- so we saw many people who had dragged their mattresses outside and put up makeshift walls around them. While we talked and witnessed with some of the patients that spoke some Spanish, Rona began witnessing to them in Creole and spent a great deal of time trying to witness to them and give them some comfort and hope.

We started on our way back to Santiago and were enjoying a nice ride when we had a flat tire. We got the tire changed and then stopped in Santo Domingo to buy a replacement. There was a place not far from the highway that was open. The owner of the shop brought a used tire that was the right size and all SIX of the guys from the van examined the tire before a consensus was reached that this tire was acceptable. The new tire was put on and now we were ready for the last leg of the trip back to Santiago.

All in all, it was a very nice trip and we were able to accomplish our objectives: Rona was able to witness to some fellow Haitians, and Bob and Mark got the information they needed to set up further aid to Haiti via the possibility of volunteer WELS nurses and medical workers going to Jimani to serve there. We thank God for keeping us safe in all our comings and goings.