Pastor Lloyd

Haiti Relief Effort - Update 1/20 12:24AM

Today team one made their way to a refuge hospital on the Haiti/DR border in the town of Jimani.  From the accounts I received the ministry was very good but there remains much more need than there is ability to meet it.

There remains only 1 surgeon to treat 200-300 patients and while the physician is overwhelmed, he is incredibly grateful we are there and has given us a full green light to minister to the patients, pray with them and care for them.Increased medical personnel at this hospital would most certainly be welcomed.

This link shows the hospital our team was minstering in (first 8 pictures):

http://blogs.tampabay.com/photo/2010/01/haiti-earthquake-covering-the-tragedy.html

The other team that was going to Jacmel were blessed with incredibly safe travel.  After the 5 1/2 hours trip on the Dominican Republic naval ship, the team ported safely with a large amount of medical supplies.  (God had blessed the team with a way to purchase $30,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies at a mere fraction of that cost!)  The Vice Admiral was incredibly helpful.  He told us that the Navy will provide Naval transportation for our team everyday if we would like.  He even held up the boat to wait for us and our supplies!

More importantly is that we were able to connect Score International (a ministry we work with in sending teams to the DR) with our naval contacts and now Score International has a way to get tons of medical supplies into the DR that they didn’t have before!

At the port it was completely chaotic and busy, but thankfully very secure.  The presence of the DR navy and the UN made their arrival much safer than they expected.  The team was then transported to the Hands and Feet orphanage in the back of a small pick-up truck.  God certainly blessed our team as this tiny pickup carried 10 men to the destination (the pickup was more dangerous than the trip at sea!) 

Upon reaching the orphanage, the team saw much different than they expected. The orphanage was surrounded by 15ft walls and topped with barbed wire.  Inside the walls was a large yard that looked like a tent city that was “housing” many people that had no other place to go.

The team is incredibly excited to see what the Lord is going to next.  When asked to describe the trip so far, their response is that “this is a trip of the unexpected” and God continues to ask us to “just walk by faith.”

They said their plan for tomorrow is to meet the mayor of the town, go to the port warehouse and bring the supplies back to the orphanage, and scout the area to see if it will accommodate a base camp for future teams…but this is also a “trip of the unexpected” and “walking by faith.” 

Before this update could be completed, the team just told me they made contact with a pilot from Miami who has access to other planes and is eager to help in any way. The plan for tomorrow has already changed!  The pilot is taking Lonnie and Raul to Leogane which was hit worse than Port-au-Prince, as it was right near the epicenter.  There is, according to news reports, a greater need and they are airlifting  as much medical supplies as they can there.

Please keep our team, the open doors, and the people of Haiti in prayer.  Who knows what the Lord will do?!

Blessings
Lloyd