Sinking in

I had meant to write this yesterday, but just didn't have the head space to do it.

Wednesday night, I saw one of my good friends for the first time since early Tuesday. Turns out he had been one of the people to go with the clinic truck to Port au Prince on Tuesday night - I had no idea that he had gone. He wasn't able to say much of what he saw... bodies everywhere, buildings destroyed, schools collapsed with children inside. At that point on Wednesday he hadn't slept since Monday night. He had tried to, but couldn't get the pictures of what he saw out of his head. Yesterday when I saw him, he said the night before wasn't much better.

Yesterday morning I saw another one of my good friends for the first time. He has an uncle and cousins in Port au Prince and since there is no way to communicate and they cannot go to find them - they are assuming they are dead.

Dr. Manno returned from Port au Prince at 2 Friday morning. They were not able to rescue the person they were looking for - they did not have the equipment to move the rubble. Manno was pretty sure they were already dead. While there, Manno did a quick assessment of where Ebenezer Clinic could possibly help. What he saw was that so far aid and help has been going to the wealthy communities, not to the poor. He found a poor area where he believes the clinic can begin to help. Please see the letter I posted yesterday for more info.

The mood in Haut Limbe yesterday was noticeably different. The reality of what has happened is beginning to sink in here as people hear eyewitness reports of the state of Port au Prince. Please pray for all those who have seen with their own eyes - that they may have some sort of peace and rest. Pray for comfort for the families who have lost loved ones. Pray for the safety of all those going to Port au Prince to give aid. Dr. Steve James and a group from the community are currently there and are trying to make their way through a traffic jam to a clinic. They have a satellite phone, so we have been able to receive some communication with them. Pray for Dr. Manno and the staff of the clinic as we begin to make a plan and gather supplies to respond.