February 6th, 2010: Exodus from Haiti

Dawn in Haiti
I do not look pretty!










Our mission to leave Haiti started at 5 am. We headed to airport, turned in our vehicle and got in line to confirm our seats on the MFI flights out that day. We had previously confirmed these seats twice before. However the person responsible for the list had left the day before and took the list with her, so we had to wait all day in hopes of getting back to the US. In the end we stood on the tarmac for 11 hours before we boarded.



















What made this wait even harder was the ammount of military aircraft evacuating other civilians who were working in Haiti. It was an option for us but we would have to abandon our attempt to fly on MFI to get on a waiting list for the military flights. We were then unsure which city we would arrive in. This significant delay totaly ruined any plans to fly out of Orlando that evening and I was able to get a hotel near the airport, so I could catch a flight the next morning.




















The airport was basicly a military base and I was as close as I am ever going to get to experiencing life in Iraq or Afghanistan that our troops live with every day. The security was extremely intense with armed soilders never more than a few yards from you and patroling in ATVs and Hummers.

OK, what I can't express is how hot it was on the tarmac for those 11 hours. This heat was amplified by the jet exaughst and the cement dust blowing off the city. The soldiers looked so hot in their full combat gear doing security patrols. I was so greatful to be in a tank shirt and jeans.

In the end we were able to board a turboprop which took us to the Bahamas to refuel then continued to Fort Pierce where our vehicle was waiting, so we could drive to Orlando where I spent the night waiting for a flight the next morning and Captain Jon went to visit his sick Dad.

I will be back in a month before I head to Liberia, to build some wireless networks for some of the organizations working to provide the emergency medical services these people deperately need.

Mark -Out

February 5th, 2010: Morning Mountain Assessment Trip

Here I am on an early morning drive through the mountains above Port O' Prince. We are checking out the rurals areas where a lot of aid agencies have not been concentrating on.

The Haitians walk over 12 miles through the mountains top bring their goods to market. This trip is both up and down mountains regardless of whether you are going or coming to market. We saw many childeren being used to help haul goods. We were not sure if this was normal or the families were taking advantage of all national schools being closed for 3 months.

At first they were just dots on the mountains.

Then as you got close you could see how hard these people were working to get their goods to market. They do this 3 times a week.

Even the donkeys looked tired. At least the morning was cool, I can't immagine the heat on their return trip.

Be greatful as you get in your car today whether its a beater or an expensive vehicle. God has blessed you with something that these people can not even dream of in their lifetime. The rich people are the ones with the donkeys or horses.

This little boy had his head peirced by rebar when the cieling collapsed on him. He had not had a tetnus shot at this point.

We then went down to hospitals to check on the back log of amputations at the remaining hospitals and to see if we could find any possible free post-op bed space. This critical shortage is impacting the number of surgeries the surviving hospitals and the naval hospital ships can do.

a large number of the surgeries were externally fixated fractures that are vary vulnerable to infection in these dirty environments.

Most post-op patients are outside under tarps.

This is a Mercy Ship alumni working for the German medical NGO, Humedica. She is an anesthesiologist, which is the most critical medical skill right now, people like her are needed throught the country.

We are leaving in 2 days, I am torn. I want to go back to my girls, but the need here is so great!

Mark -Out

February 4th, 2010: The 10th Day in Haiti

There are so many young men and women who have no idea what the future has for them. This young man seemed to like my MRE meal I had just given him.














People roaming the streets outside a tent city looking to find food or a job. there are a lot of people just standing around waiting for someone to help them instead of helping themselves. The few people we have found working in the debris were theives combing through people's houses looking for treasures they can sell to get food or booze.















We found by accident that our official Mercy Ships shirts were made in Haiti, I had no idea! I wonder if this factory still exists after the quake? Your thought always seems to go there with such devistation all around you. You could go mad thinking about all the people killed or impacted by a disaster that lasted 45 seconds. It is hard to immagine what that sort of nightmare that must have been.














This is where I have been sleeping it is very hot at night and lots of mosquitos to keep us company during the long nights. the mosquito net and 100% deet seems to keep them away for a few hours but eventually they seem to find and opening or in your tossing you create an entry for them. At this point your mosquito net and bed combine to make an aviary and you are the "soup de jour" for the persistent little beasties.

February 4th, 2010: 9th Day in Haiti

OK, I am tired, dirty and exaughsted from the emotional drain that a humanitarian crisis dumps on you. You see the beautiful children walking the streets looking for their families or just sitting next to destroyed buildings and you know the story behind the picture, because you have seen it a hundred times over the last week.

And then you see this, a bulletin board at a school where on the day of the earth quake the teacher wrote "God Loves You" You immediately wonder if the students and teachers are OK? Are their families OK? Do they still have homes or will they return to school? I don't know why this happened but I do know the truth of the words on this board, and today at this moment I am a representation of God's love for these people. I must always remember this!

Our days are filled with meetings as we seek to strategize with our partners in country to better facilitate their efforts with Mercy Ships' core skill sets and organizational strengths

We confered with Mission of Hope where some of the field hospitals from Cuba and Canada were performing surgeries.

We delivered water to the medical teams working here, to allow them to dedicate their time to the hundreds of amputations in front of them.

I will be heading home at the end of this week. I can't wait to hug my children and remind them how lucky we all are that we can serve God by helping the children of Haiti.

Mark - Out

February 1st, 2010: 6th Day in Haiti

Hi,

It is Sunday here in Haiti. It was so hot here last night. I'm not sure I got that much sleep between the heat and the mosquitos.

The big fear here is not just malaria but also dengue fever which has no prophylatic treatment to help protect us.

We spent Sunday at the church here on the Mission of Hope compound.
So many came to worship and cry out to God it was so moving. People were stacked up outside the church so they could watch from the windows.

Today I saw what real faith is. Faith is the belief in a loving God when there is no visable proof of Him. These people lost their homes, their parents and childeren their savings and their jobs in 45 seconds. Yet here they are crying out God asking for forgiveness and mercy. My worship and faith seems so small in comparison.

I can only pray that our faith is never tested to the extent that these people are.

Mark -Out