HATS Haiti Mission Team 2010

Changing of the Blogs

2010-01-22T15:42:00.000-04:00

We want to thank everyone who has followed, supported, and especially prayed for us over the past weeks.

This blog was originally set up to track our short term mission project, especially as a way to keep in touch with family and friends of the team members. HATS has run a separate blog site for some time that tracks a lot of the overall mission activities. Rather than duplicating efforts, we're going to wrap this blog up and defer to Karen's existing blog for ongoing news and developments with the HATS mission. You'll find that Karen and her family have already posted several articles there since our team returned, describing the conclusion of the construction project, updates on Serlande's condition, and Karen's experiences with the aftershocks, repairs, and ongoing life in Haiti outside Port-au-Prince.

The site is at http://hatshaiti.blogspot.com, or you can click on this link: HATS Blog Site.

As we close things off, we wanted to highlight some upcoming events the mission team is involved with:

Saturday, Jan 23, at 6:00 pm, Yarmouth Wesleyan Church will be hosting a welcome home celebration for the team and fundraiser for HATS.
Sunday, Jan 24, at 8:30 am Atlantic, CBC Radio is scheduled to broadcast an interview with Karen and Gerry
Sunday, Jan 31, at 10:00 am in Dartmouth, Tim and Heidi will be sharing their experiences during the morning service at Regal Road Baptist Church

Once again, thank you all for your love and support. We urge you to continue to follow the ongoing situation in Haiti through the main HATS blog site, and to do all that you can to help the Haitian people during and following this crisis.

Thank You from Karen

2010-01-21T15:26:00.001-04:00

I saw the team safely unto the Embassy grounds on Monday.   It was very hard to say goodbye but I was so very thankful to know they were safe and sound.

I want to say a huge thank you to all fourteen members of the team. I speak on behalf of the HATS family, HATS employees, and the community that HATS serves.

You were a great group. You came with servant hearts and you served well.   I appreciated every minute I had with you - working, talking, laughing.

Tim, Heidi, Kate, Aiden, and Erin.   You are a lovely family. You all became involved in the day to day aspect of HATS, the work and the lives of the HATS children and HATS employees. You accepted everyone and blessed them all by your friendliness and helpfulness. I would like to have you return again, as a family next time, instead of part of a large group. The HATS family and your family would be able to do many things together.   Tim, the Chief Computer geek, could of course, clean up all my computer messes and get me straightened out again. It seems to me that you did that for me last year too, Tim.   Thanks to all of you.

Brian # 1.   It is always good to have you here. You work hard at whatever task is needed and you are a constant support for me, no matter what is going on around us.   Thank you for everything.

Brian # 2. This was your first time with us at HATS but hopefully not your last. Thanks for all the hard work and willing spirit to do whatever was needed. Thank you for accepting Alex (Ti Luc) as Ti Brian. He asks about Papa Brian and tells people his name is Ti Brian.

Bob. What can I say??   This was your fourth time with us, I think. Thanks for being such a big and important part of HATS.   Everyone knows and loves you now.

Leonard.    This was your first time here. I hope you were blessed by it as you blessed others. Thanks for being willing to do whatever was needed. It was cute hearing you speak Acadian French and people who know very little English, saying Speak English please.

Peter - pastor and friend.   You were with us for one week, instead of two. It was a good week. I liked having you around and found it easy to talk with you. Thank you for being willing to work wherever you were needed and for continuing to do what you could even when not feeling well. You were uneasy about something to do with Haiti but did not know what. You felt to go home early and told me you needed to be praying for the rest of us from Canada. The day we took you to the airport, the same day as the earthquake, we took you to see the palace. I could sense being there made you uncomfortable. (You had good reasons but at that time we did not understand them.) You wanted to get to the airport. A few hours after you saw the palace, it was no more. Many people inside lost their lives.

Colton.   It was your first time. Thank you for coming and doing, and being.   Your mother did a great job of bringing you up!   You are a very respectful, caring and considerate young man. Continue to follow the Lord and let Him direct your life.   You can go a long way and touch the lives of many.

Ben. Thanks for everything. It was great to have you back for a second time. I have no doubt you will come again. You have a great sense of humour and at the same time you are sensitive to the hurts of those around you.   A good combination.

Jim. My wonderful silly cousin. (Does sillyness run in our family?) It was your first time at HATS but I know that you will be returning and hopefully Irene can join you. Thank you for everything. It was great having two computer geeks here this time. Two of you! And I still ended up not knowing what I needed to before I lost you guys. Guess I can't blame it on you and Tim.

Gerry. Last, but most certainly not least. Gerry, it is difficult to put anything into words for you. My heart is filled with thankfulness. Filled!!!   You were my earthly rock of strength while here. God knows, and you and I know, how valuable your time here was. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I will be waiting for your return. Bring my Newfie buddy, Heather, okay!

All fourteen of you were a tremendous blessing to all my kids. Thank you for all the love and attention you gave them all. A special thank you for all your patience, understanding and help with my special Alex (Ti Brian).

My God bless each and every one of you and your families. I love you all.
Karen

Final Posting

2010-01-21T08:06:00.004-04:00

Dear Friends,

Over the past 2 weeks you have followed our experince in Haiti. You have sent us messages of encouragement and your prayers . I want to say thank you to one and all at this time. We had a wonderful group of people sharing this experince and we have given each other encouragement when it was needed. I believe we all have grown closer to God during this time . We are not done with Haiti. Some of us will be going back soon. Please continue pray for these wonderful people and do what you can to help. I have had reports of so many people that are going above and beyond to bless this poor nation!

God Bless You All
Gerry Rhyno

Update re: new Aftershocks

2010-01-20T10:57:00.003-04:00

Many have probably heard about the new aftershocks earlier this morning. Thankfully we've just had an email from Karen confirming she's still okay, though the tremor was "not small" and she hasn't had a chance to reassess the buildings for any new damage.

Please continue to pray!

Home Safe

2010-01-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update that both NS contingents have arrived safely in Halifax now, after nice smooth flights. We were overwhelmed with all the people who came out (a number all the way from Yarmouth) to welcome us - thank you so much!

Description of Monday's Voyage

2010-01-19T15:31:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe we crammed so much into just one day yesterday - late in the day we were talking about things that happened in the morning and wondering if they had occurred the week before or not!

The day started before dawn with a 4:00 wake-up. We hit the road by 5:30, initially in two pickups. Stopped in Pont du Sundae just as the sun was rising to pick up our armed-and-uniformed police escort. In St Marc we met up with the minibus we had hired and transferred over to it. After dropping the pickups off at the police compound for safekeeping, we hit the road again about 7:00 or so. The main road out of St Marc was blocked by something that was going on, so we took the back road out of town - a different side of the city from what we'd seen before.

As we got close to Port we began to see more and more signs of the earthquake. There had been damage to walls, cracks in buildings, etc., before, but now we began to see collapsed houses and buildings. As we got close enough to begin to see the city, all that was visible was a fog or haze from dust and smoke, despite the bright sunny day.

On the road into Port, we found ourselves right behind a UN patrol convoy of Brazilian troops. Were we glad to be going in with them! Along the road were piles of rubble, obviously where the dump trucks had been depositing debris. People were climbing all over the piles, scavenging. Damaged buildings or walls, some collapsed entirely, became more frequent.

Our "escort" turned in at the airport grounds. US Blackhawk and other helicopters were everywhere. A large military cargo plane flew low over the road on final approach just as we drove by the runway. UN vehicles, Haitian police, and troops were everywhere. Thankfully the aid program was rapidly kicking into high gear. (A solider escorting us to the airport later in the day commented that the Canadian representation was looking likely to be on the scale of our involvement in Afghanistan, but with one to two weeks instead of six months! Our hearts go out to the troops and their families who will be bearing the stress of being stretched so much by two major and difficult missions.)

As we reached the main roads of PAP traffic became quite intense. People lined the grounds outside the airport, and small tent cities could be seen. Crowds lined up outside the entrance to an industrial park, where dump trucks and vehicles were also queued two lanes wide for quite a distance. This was apparently a distribution site for food and/or water. A pillar of dark smoke rose from somewhere in the distance.

Damage wasn't as immediately apparent - the streets and sidewalks were busy, and many buildings appeared fine from a distance, or with relatively minor cracks. There were buildings that had been flattened and that we cringed to think about very much, but even on the main road (DelMas) they weren't as uniformly destroyed as we had feared from rumours and TV coverage. As we moved further in, destroyed buildings became more frequent, but a lot of debris had been removed to allow traffic to proceed already, and thankfully we didn't see as many obvious horrors as we had feared that the kids might be exposed to.

Lineups for food, water, and gasoline were blocks long in places. The need there is immediate and great, and people are afraid of the looming supply shortage with the normal infrastructure destroyed. Very simply, Port-au-Prince was the center of the country in nearly every sense. The destruction of basic utilities and infrastructure, not to mention shipping and logistics, government, health care, education, commerce, etc., leaves those you speak to simply stunned or in tears.

As we climbed DelMas into the hills around PAP, we saw another large crowd on the left side of the street. "Wow, another food lineup. I feel bad for the people there," I thought. Then we found out that was the Canadian Embassy!

Karen and one of our police escort hopped out once we got turned back around to find out how to get in. Unfortunately, we had to work our way through the crowd on foot (with the kids) and present ourselves with passports at the gate. Further, no baggage except a carry-on (not a big deal, but we had "loaner" suitcases and such that we wanted to be able to return). We quickly organized ourselves, grabbed a couple things from our bags, and worked our way through the crowds to the lineup. We found that there wasn't much of a line for Canadian citizens - most were Haitians looking for a way out of their country and situation, but who unfortunately were mostly bound for disappointment. As citizens, we were able to proceed through relatively quickly. People were packed against one another, but were amazingly accommodating to having a bunch of nervous Blancs jostle through them, backpacks bouncing against them. "Pardon", "Merci", and smiles of sympathy and understanding for the kids and their anxious parents were common.

Once we got to the gate, the sight of Canadian Forces troops and embassy staff was such a welcome sight! Members of what we believe were the DART team, Royal Canadian Dragoons, RCHA (?), and/or other units were on guard at the gates. Military Police and Haitian security staff were on duty to process those requesting access. We were so thrilled with the reception we received - calm, professional, good humour, friendly, efficient, are all words that describe it. We were quickly processed through the gates and directed to a spot in the shade by several very friendly and confident staff.

Karen was able to accompany us inside after leading and coordinating our trip through the crowd. We were so thankful for her help, and the chance to see everyone safely inside and say proper good byes. We have all become so close as a team and to Karen over the past weeks.

Did we mention that Karen is something of a force of nature? As soon as she had seen us in safely, she went back to the gates to negotiate with the staff there to see if we could bring at least some of our bags through. She disappeared back out the gates, and in a few minutes the truck was seen backing up to right next to the gate. Next thing we knew, Karen and then Luckner were lugging our suitcases (some weighed awfully close to as much as Karen does herself!) up to and through the gates one at a time! She had gotten the okay for us to bring one suitcase apeice through. That was more than we needed, since much of the team had given away most of what they brought either for the PAP mercy mission or to be left with Karen for local distribution, so we were able to bring all of our bags through.

The staff at the embassy were excellent. We were proud to be Canadian. They had a system nailed down and knew what they were doing. Despite days of exhausting hours and demands, they were friendly and joking. They updated us regularly and told us what to expect, ensuring our needs were taken care of. We arrived there about 10:30 or so and after a short wait, dropped off our suitcases for shipment back to Canada in a few weeks (we couldn't take them with us, but they should get back eventually, which was wonderful), presented our passports for processing, and progressed to a waiting area. We were told they were going to try to get us out on an afternoon flight, which we were amazed by - we had expected to camp on the grounds for a day or two at least!

We had been a bit frustrated at not being able to get through to the Embassy or get much information before arriving, but once we got there and saw how many people they were managing, and what a wonderful job they were doing, we immediately understood. We can't say enough about how good they were to deal with, looking out for everyone's well being. We're grateful for their speed and efficiency - we know that having the kids with our group made our evacuation a higher priority than if we had just been a group of adults, but we are so thankful.

We hadn't been at the waiting area more than an hour or two when we were taking to a staging area for those being prepared to convoy to the airport. Four or five small buses had been hired, along with several SUV's. A squad or two of Canadian troops and a number of Haitian security staff accompanied the convoy and each bus, and these were being filled and taken to the airport as quickly as the logistics allowed.

We were only in the staging area another hour or two when our names were called and we boarded the buses. After a false start or two and some delays while things were coordinated, we were taken the short distance to the aiport where we entered the grounds directly. The tarmac was crowded with planes of all shapes and sizes from many different countries and organizations. US troops were everywhere, as well as UN troops and police. Canadian flags were seen on stacks of aid packages, and soon Canadian Forces troops were also seen. Aid agencies, rescue organizations, etc., from all over North America and Europe were everywhere.

Soon we approached the biggest Canadian Air Force jet most of us had seen (A C-17 Globemaster). We waited while a Forces Rescue helicoper was offloaded from it (!) and while we waited the Flight Surgeon came aboard each bus to give us a quick briefing on what to expect. (We'd go through security, go up the ramp, and be seated on the floor - just like Air Canada he joked.) After a bit we were taken right to the ramp at the rear of the plane, went through a security search, and boarded the plane.

Our seats were quite literally on the floor of the cargo area. Cargo straps were run across, and five people on each side of every row were strapped down together. There was a stretcher rack near the front where three or four elderly people with medical needs had been placed, right next to the two flight nurses and the flight surgeon. Our bags were strapped down on the cargo ramp, along with the last bus load of people. Water was handed out to everyone, with instructions from the doctor to make sure we all drank to prevent dehydration and fainting. The ramp (and those on it) was raised as we prepared for takeoff.

The flight was excellent. We were so thankful for the treatment we received. The crew were efficient, yet compassionate and caring, joking and doing their best to keep things light. They were so humane and friendly! For many of us it was something of an adventure to travel this way, and we were so grateful to live in a country blessed with such resources and capabilities. As soon as possible once we reached altitude, boxed lunches were distributed to everyone, with a small feast in each.

Once we arrived, Red Cross blankets were distributed to those dressed in shorts and +40 in Haiti instead of -3 in Montreal. We were were fast-tracked through Customs and Immigration and greeted with coffee, juice, cookies, and snacks. A few fast phone calls ensured, and then on to waiting buses for the ride to the hotel.

At the hotel, the Red Cross, Quebec Government, and aid organizations had a welcome center set up. More food and drinks, clothing, travel arrangement, hotels, meal vouchers, toiletries, social works, crisis counsellors, free cell phone calls - anything we might need was there waiting and even being pressed upon us to ensure all of our needs were taken care of. Staff were there to direct and assist us all. It was amazing - we were overwhelmed and felt so unworthy of all the attention and treatment, especially compared to what so many of the others with us (and even more so those who were still in the midst of Port-au-Prince) had been through.

We were exhausted by this point - here are a couple of photos showing the condition of the kids by that point (around 11:00 pm or so Eastern):

The hotel, breakfast buffet in the morning, etc., were wonderful yet also overwhelming in many respects. We can't say how thankful we are to all those who helped us yesterday, amazed at how quickly and efficiently we sped through everything, and grateful to our Lord and all those who supported us in prayer. What we experienced was nothing compared to what those of Haiti continue to experience, and we pray that people here will focus on the suffering of those in Port-au-Prince and the rest of Haiti, and do all that they can to help aid and support them in this time!

Flight Clarifications/Updates and TV Interview

2010-01-19T14:03:00.000-04:00

Hi all - here are a few updates to our flight information.

As well, please note that CBC TV is doing a live interview from Halifax Airport with Ben Churchill who will represent the team. The interview will be at 6:22 pm Atlantic.

We've wound up dividing the NS contingent between two flights. Ben, Brian (Deux / Bowers), Colton, and Leonard are on AC 160, leaving Montreal at 2:00pm Eastern and arriving in Halifax 4:28 pm Atlantic.

The second NS group will be on AC 686 leaving Montreal 5:10 pm Eastern and arriving in Halifax 7:39 pm Atlantic. This includes Gerry, Brian (Un / Roberts), Bob, Heidi, Tim, and the kids.

Jim will be leaving Montreal for Vancouver via WestJet 505, leaving 6:20 pm Eastern and arriving 8:54 pm Pacific.

Last leg home...

2010-01-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

We've had a good night in Montreal and been very well cared for by the Embassy in Port-au-Prince, the military flight crew, and the government and Red Cross when we arrived here. (Embarrasingly well treated.)

They've already scheduled our new flights home. Jim will be flying to Vancouver tonight around 6:20 pm Eastern, we believe via WestJet flight 683 or Air Canada 195. (We don't have exact flight numbers yet, but those look to be the likely candidates.)

The Nova Scotia crew departs Montreal at 14:00 (2:00 pm) Eastern, we think via Air Canada flight 160. (It's extremely strange, and very sad, for us to be going our separate ways now!!)

Safe and Sound

2010-01-18T23:20:00.000-04:00

Everyone is now safe in Montreal.

In the Air

2010-01-18T20:11:00.003-04:00

Great news- I just recieved a call from Foreign Affairs and everyone is in the air now and will be arriving in Montreal at 9:30pm local time (10:30 pm here). The Red Cross will be providing them accomodation at the Windham Hotel in Montreal. Their flights home to Halifax will be arranged after that.

On Board

2010-01-18T17:38:00.001-04:00

The team is now buckled in and ready for take off :)

On their way home!

2010-01-18T17:20:00.001-04:00

Hi again,

Just had another text come in that they are boarding a Canadian Military Flight (a Hercules) on their way to Montreal! :)

At the Embassy

2010-01-18T17:11:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I just had a text message come through from Brian Bowers and he said they have arrived at the Embassy and are okay, awaiting a flight out now.

Thank you,
Lisa

Prayer Vigil for Haiti

2010-01-18T05:09:00.000-04:00

There will be a prayer vigil held at Regal Road Baptist Church in Dartmouth, NS this Thursday, January 21st, between 7 and 8 pm. All are welcome to attend.

The hospital

2010-01-17T22:10:00.001-04:00

Update - it appears that the source of the problems was that Serlande's sugar levels had reached a very high point and that she hadn't been monitoring her levels properly. She was in a great deal of pain, and is still in hospital, but it appears that things are beginning to come under control and that she should be okay. Thank you all for the tremendous response and prayers on her behalf!

During the day, various team members spent time assisting with watching over her in the hospital. The following post describes some of Brian Bowers observations which paint a bit of a picture of what that means in Haiti versus in Canada...

----------
As Serlande, the oldest orphan in the orphanage, was admitted to the hospital at 5:30 this morning, we decided that we would do rotations sitting in the hospital with her and the house mother, Cecile.

These are notes from Brian Bowers:

It was my turn this morning to go and sit with Serlande at the hospital. Karen brought me at about 7:45 am for the first couple of hours. I am trying to process the terrible conditions I was seeing, but I just couldn't fathom it. The only word that describes it is HORRIFIC. It reminded me of the show M*A*S*H when the triage rooms would be overrun with casualities, but this is real life. The 300 foot hallway was lined with injured people as far as you could see. People laying on makeshift beds of blankets with a family member trying to look after them the best they could (doctors and nurses won't- they only give treatment, nothing else). There wasn't a doctor or nurse to be seen at first, but eventually an American doctor came down the hall and I suppose because I was White, I stood out a bit. He stopped and talked for a minute. He said that he had been up almost non-stop for 5 straight days now and that there was at least 40 surgeries that HAD to happen today, but that he also knew that thery wouldn't. There aren't enough doctors to do them. "We treated over 600 people yesterday. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We will do what we can for your loved one when we can get to her." That was all he could say. Be thankful for our healthcare system. Unfortunately, I was there when a lone nurse, pushing a little cart, started at one end of the hallway and started cleaning the wounded people's cuts. There were major head injuries, cuts, broken limbs everywhere and when she started her duties, the screaming started. The odd thing was that before she started cleaning the wounds, I didn't hear a peep. No complaints, nothing. I was told by the doctor that the Haitian people were the toughst people he had ever seen. They never complain about pain- so you know they were in agony when the screaming started. There was a young girl next to me who had no family member with her, who had a badly injured hand and as they worked on her, she cried.
I couldn't help but think of my own little gitl, Kaitlyn, and wonder what this poor girl was thinking. She was all alone, trying to make sense of all that had happened. We are all trying to do the same thing, I guess. Trying to make sense of it all.

Heading for Port Au Prince

2010-01-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

We just heard that our Tuesday flight is cancelled. So we have decided, as a team, to go to the Embassy tomorrow morning for evacuation. We leave at 5 am, should be there by 9. Once we are there, we have no idea when we'll be evacuated, but hopefully within two days. We are not sure where we will be evacuated to, so we may have to work out travel arrangements at that time. Keep us all in your prayers. It has been a very interesting two weeks to say the least. God bless you all.

Sunday

2010-01-17T07:26:00.000-04:00

Serlande. the eldest orphan, lives with diabetes, and has not been feeling well most of our trip. Yesterday, she was taken to the hospital and the doctor thought she had a stomach parasite and she was given antibiotics. We did lay hands and pray for her, but she has gotten worse during the night so she was taken back to the hospital at 5:30 am. There are no beds left in the hospital, and ill people everywhere so Karen is returning with a mattress and a pillow for her. We are going to go on one hour rotations to the hospital to hold her IV bag as there are no IV stands. Please pray for her this morning.

Saturday, January 16th

2010-01-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

Today we wrapped up some of our remaining projects. The hut / shelter for the security guard was completed, the generator room closed off, and then we spent a while working on what was the storage depot and preparing it for use as a new boys' dormitory. This involved a lot of cleanup, sorting out the storage room, and also replacing the old windows with something more durable.

Our false alarm threw things into a bit of confusion this afternoon, so it was a bit of a shorter day than most. :) The roof of the new apartment is progressing slowly, but the Haitian work crew will finish that up an pour it in the coming days after we return (though we wish we were going to be here to see it).

We thought we'd give you a bit of a photo gallery tonight, highlighting some of our recent activities and different members of the team...

Brian Roberts is on his third tour here at HATS. He's a hard worker who loves the kids and is one of those really handy people who can help with almost every kind of project we do.

(Did we mention he's a member in good standing of the Chia Pets club? :)

Robert (Bob) Comeau is on his fourth trip, having just been down before Christmas with his wife Linda, to help provide a special Christmas dinner at the school. Bob helps to lead a lot of our project work and is a core member of the work team.

Kate has been spending a lot of time with the kids at their dormitory during the day, and playing soccer with her Dad and the older kids at the end of the day recently. It's hard to get a photo where she lets us see her face most of the time these days, but we were finally successful today:

Erin has loved playing with the other kids, especially craft time. Twice over the past two weeks she has hosted "recess", sharing snacks with the other kids. Today she decided that granola bars were on the menu, and that it needed to be extended to include the security guard and Haitian work team as well. Here she is divvying up the goods:

Finally, here are some photos from our work on the depot / boys' dorm and security hut, as well as an assortment of others highlighting others on the team:

Reflections

2010-01-16T20:26:00.001-04:00

Today has been a time of reflection and finishing small projects. As team leader, I have been watching each team member as they go about their daily work and play time here at the compound. I have no doubt that God has placed us all together here at this time and in this place. I am so proud of how each person has been reacting to all the different situations. From the earthquake and the aftershocks, (which continued for the next three days) to all the minor inconveniences which everyone has had to endure. Everyone here has been calm and focussed, even during the stressful moments. I have no idea what each person is really feeling. But from what I witnessed, and heard, I have to say that I am so proud to be with these people at this time- each and every one of them. I really think that that they are proud to be here representing so many people and churches in Canada. All believe that they were meant to be here and I think so too. The laughter and jokes that are taking place here continually may not be what you are expecting from us, but we have a wonderful CRAZY CRAZY group of people. I do think that it is your prayers that has given us the strength to carry on each day. Thank you so much from all of us.

Tomorrow we will be having church. We will be spending time fellowshipping with the Haitians, praising God and hearing His Word. There will also be a time of quiet when we reflect on what has taken place in all of our lives this past week and how it has changed us forever. No one can be part of something of this magnitude and not be changed in some way and be a little closer to God.

Tomorrow in your churches, I know that you will be having a time of prayer for us, Karen, the children and the staff of HATS-Haiti. We covet those prayers. Please pray for the people of Haiti. We have heard of so many reports firsthand from people who have lost family and friends. They come to the compound - sometimes crying, sometimes with just a look of shock on their faces- showing no emotion at all. Today a man came. He had just gone to Port Au Prince to pick up his 37 year old dead brother. He is also missing a 25 year old brother and believes him to be dead also. At home, his house has fallen down and he has no place for himself and his family. We gave him a tarp for shelter, some money and 20 pre-packaged meals that he can cook over the next week or two to feed his family. It really feels like so little when he has lost so much.

Finally, you are no doubt are as confused as we are about when the team is leaving. As the last blog stated, we thought we had a chance to leave today. But when we realized the amount of time needed in order to make the flight and all that we would need to accomplish, we realized it was not possible. So the plan is this: Monday morning at 5 am we leave the compound and go to the airport. There I will leave the team, and if it is necessary, I will go to report to the Embassy. I will tell them that we are at the airport, waiting for the Tuesday flight (which at this date is still on.)

Pray for us on our trip out of the country. God Bless you all, Gerry

False Alarm

2010-01-16T17:08:00.001-04:00

FYI - we had a false alarm this afternoon where we were going to make a run for the airport to try to catch the return leg of a Canadian aid flight. Some people may have gotten word about this, but we ARE NOT GOING RIGHT NOW. We didn't have enough time to physically get there before the flight back.

For now, we're sitting tight til Monday morning. Monday we'll go to the Port-au-Prince to the airport, send a couple of people to the embassy to check in with them physically (if we can't reach them first - still trying), and wait at the airport for a flight Tuesday.

Stay tuned, we'll let you know as information develops. For now, we're not going anywhere.

Good News re: Donations!

2010-01-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

We've finally been able to set ourselves up to accept online donations via PayPal. Anyone interested in donating to support HATS-Haiti and our work (especially damage repair and local relief ministries in the current situation) can now donate online via the following link:
HATS-Haiti PayPal Donations

Friday Evening

2010-01-15T22:33:00.000-04:00

The support and individual messages we've been receiving are amazing. Thank you so much to everyone who has written. We're really sorry we haven't always had a chance to respond to everyone individually, but please know that we are encouraged by each and every comment and email!

We are finding that we are all dealing with the devastation in Port Au Prince in different ways and times over the last few days. The trip in yesterday and the photos that the team brought back really drove things home for a lot of us. Some of us had an immediate emotional response. Many were more worried about what loved ones at home would experience when they heard about the quake. Many of us each had "our time" to cry, pray, or think. For some, we have simply kept busy and will face our time upon our return home. During our devotional time together this morning, many expressed how glad they were that they came, that there was a reason for to have been here during this time, were having no regrets and looking forward to a chance to come back in the future.

We have been more grateful than ever to have had a consistent link to home through email, Facebook, Skype and the blog. It has helped everyone on both ends. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have had no contact?

Bob noted that it was "hard to get re-focussed after something like this has happened. We are still picking away at some of the smaller projects. We would like to be more directly involved in the rescue effort, but we still have to work on the project that we came here to do and that will have a direct impact on the 200 kids that attend the school."

The team worked on the four walls of the security hut and hope to finish the roof tomorrow. The footings at the base of the stairs of the new apartment were poured and they finished repairing a portion of the school wall. There is still about a hundred feet of the wall to tear down and fix. Tomorrow, the plan is build rebar frames which will reinforce the roof of the new apartment.

Jim and Tim have been busy upgrading and replacing much of the computer equipment for HATS in between helping with some of the projects.

Especially since the pace of work has slowed in the past few days, one positive result has been that there has been more time and attention for the children. They have been able to enjoy times to cuddle, swing, bake, have wheelbarrow rides, or play games. Alex is loving all the extra attention he is receiving. Heidi taught him "Boom, Boom Ain't Great To Be Crazy?" He chimes in with `crazy`at the end of each line. He also enjoys the ``Itsy Bitsy Spider`and `Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.` Many times, at the end of each song, he grins and says clearly, ``Again.``

We are troubled to report that the Chia Pet fan club is beginning to spread to the children - here is Mirlande attempting to join in (using hair she pulled off Leonards chest):

We are still sleeping outside of the main house due to the cracks in the columns.

We intended to meet and pass out the gifts and school supplies that were brought down for sponsored children. Since the earthquake occurred, we realize that this will not happen as school is closed and Karen will distribute them at a later date.

In one of last posts, we quoted Haitian radio as saying the death toll could go as high as 600,000 people. CNN just reported a much lower estimate of 45,000 to 50,000. We realize we cannot always rely on the estimates given, In any case, the numbers are horrific.

Our plan is still to return to Canada via Montreal on Tuesday, if possible, and after overnighting, continue to our individual homes on Wednesday. We do realize that our plan may change and is subject to regular flights being able to get in by then, but we're in touch with Air Canada and Foreign Affairs daily to check on progress in that area.

Friday, January 15th

2010-01-15T08:44:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

We have been asked to conserve all resources, including power, so we will not be in as much contact as before. A nightly blog will still be done and individual team members may email once a day, but we are trying to save diesel for the generator.

God bless you today!

Heidi

Mercy Mission to Port-au-Prince

2010-01-14T23:06:00.000-04:00

Our team is now back from their mercy mission to deliver relief supplies to Port-au-Prince (PAP). The following post comes from our team leader's notes resulting from the trip.

----------------------

Today was one of the days which I will remember for the rest of my life. I've seen disasters on television, and heard reports of terrible events in our world. Although it impacted me, none of it compares with what I saw today.

This morning we decided to take food, clothing, and water into PAP to help whoever we could. We ended up taking about 150 meals that would feed approximately 300 people, plus 660 small pouches of water and 100 bags of clothing (shoes, tops, shorts, hats of varying sizes).

Karen, Luckner, and I along with six Haitians (three of whom were Haitian police officers) travelled into the city to distribute what we had, and to get a real idea of the extent of the disaster that had taken place in this country.

On the way in, the Haitian radio was on. The announcer said that the estimates at this time could be as high as 600,000 dead, which is a quarter of the city's population. But, with disease this could well jump to 1,000,000 people. I know this is a huge figure, and I can't even believe it when I say it, but I saw some of the reason behind these reports today.

Going into the city, we were about half way there when we started to see buildings that had collapsed. Just before we reached PAP we started coming across places where the road had heaved and cracked, so we had to drive very carefully across those sections. Our intention was to go to Del Mass, one of the main streets in PAP, where a lot of the commerce and retail takes place. It's also a section where the mother of one of the people with us lived - we wanted to see if she was safe. (Thankfully she was.)

Our first stop was at a school that had 1050 students and teachers. It had collapsed, with almost all inside. The death toll was almost 100% there. We talked to one young man who escaped, but his brother (a teacher there) did not. They were still hauling bodies out when we arrived, and I believe they will be for many days.

The stench in the city is beyond belief. There is the smell of death everywhere. We knew we would see a lot of death, but it was more than we ever could have planned for. Bodies stacked on the side of the road, some covered with sheets, and some not.

We next travelled to the hospital, where the nurses` residence had collapsed. There too machinery and men were at work trying to save people still trapped. At another site, there were cries from a young woman who asked for people to save her, but we`re not sure what happened.

Down in the center of the city, we went to the President`s Palace, the Justice Building, and other government buildings. All were either partially or totally destroyed. I don`t see how there can be any real government in this country for many years to come. They just do not have the facilities or the people at this time to do it.

Our distributions were planned to be very methodical, where we would give out single amounts of food, water, and clothing to individuals as we came across them. But each of the five times we stopped to distribute, small riots occurred, with people running from all directions, screaming, yelling, and grabbing. We had to drive off as fast as we could and look for another site to try again. But it was the same thing every time. People are so desperate. Where there is water, there were huge lineups. But really there is no water, no food, and no shelter in PAP right now. People are living in fields, out on lawns, wherever they can find a spot where there are no buildings near them which might still collapse.

We saw military planes flying in and out bringing supplies, so I know help has started to arrive. But I can`t see how a few planes can bring enough food, water, and shelter for so many people.

I also saw a lot of looting going on, where people were digging into collapsed stores and taking whatever they could find there and running away with it. The UN forces and the police are everywhere doing their best to keep the city under control, but it`s a massive job with so many displaced people.

As far as the buildings of Port-au-Prince are concerned, the center of that city is completely devastated and destroyed. It will take many years to rebuild.

I know this is a very grim report. But the reality is, that this nation is an absolute disaster at this time, and needs our thoughts and our prayers. It is also going to need a lot of funds to rebuild.

My hope and prayer is that the world will listen to its heart and help these people.

Thursday Afternoon Update

2010-01-14T19:31:00.000-04:00

Well, this morning everyone was kept busy organizing and loading a pickup truck with relief supplies for Port-au-Prince. We had a lot of clothes and shoes that had been donated from Canada, as well as food aid supplies used for the meal program at the school. We were able to prepare packaged meals for approximately 200 people, as well as at least 100 individual packages with clothing or shoes and many plastic water packets. Luckner, Karen, a police officer, and a couple of others loaded Luckner's pickup and departed at about noon time to distribute the aid to those in need. Please pray for their safe return late tonight, and that the aid will reach those who need it.

We've been in touch with Canadian Foreign Affairs as well as Air Canada and are checking in regularly. At this point we've been advised to just sit tight for at least the new few days while things are organized. For now our flight is still scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, provided the airport is reopened to commercial traffic.

Work continues on the new apartment. The Haitian work crew is doing most of that work at the moment, and making good progress. The walls are complete and much of the basic form for pouring the roof (framework and plywood sheeting) is taking shape.

While that is going on, we've started working on some of the repairs to the school. The newest part of the school had one wall crack significantly, so we've knocked one section down and started rebuilding and reinforcing it.

We're thankful that the compound escaped major damage. The main residence, however, has sustained a number of cracks in the walls and/or supports. The water supply for much of the compound, 4 large 500+ gallon storage tanks, is on the roof of the building. As a result, although we use the building during the day, at night we've relocated our tents and mattresses to a single storey dining hall and some of the grounds just to play it safe:

Reflections from Ben

2010-01-14T07:37:00.000-04:00

As I lay here awake
Under the Haitian stars
With a group of good friends
Who have come so far
To do a deed for the greater good
For Haitians in need, our brotherhood

The orphans at HATS
Were born with so little
And we have so much
Yet they make us feel so humble

We've given to them
Only two short weeks
What they have given to us
Makes our hearts feel so weak

As we make our plans
To leave Haiti again
We must prepare ourselves
To see such suffering and pain

We are the lucky ones
And we will survive
Many thousands of others
Have lost their own lives
In a tragedy of such scale
It's hard to conceive
Such death and destruction
One can barely believe

Our thoughts and prayers will be with Karen,
all the orphans and staff
And as ambassadors we must go
To speak on their behalf
We must raise attention
To the Haitian plight
And do the best we can
To set things right.

- Ben Churchill

January 14th, 2010

Quick Update Wednesday Evening

2010-01-13T22:21:00.000-04:00

Just a fairly brief update this evening. Thank you all for your continued prayers and words of encouragement. We all continue to be fine here. There have been a few more relatively minor aftershocks, but nothing major compared to yesterday.

We've been in touch with the Canadian Embassy and with Air Canada. For the moment the airport is operating but only for aid / military flights. We're not scheduled to depart until Tuesday though. At this point, the flight for Tuesday is considered "on" and we're staying in touch with the airline and Embassy in case anything changes or other opportunities open up. We're all set for supplies, etc., here so that is no problem.

We had to spend another $1500 to buy blocks for repairs to the school today, so money is becoming an issue. We are putting the new project on hold temporarily to prioritize workers and resources on getting the school repaired and able to reopen.

We've found major cracks in the columns of the house so will have to do repairs to the house. The walls around the compound also have many cracks, so will also have to be repaired. This will be a considerable unanticipated expense.

Mid-morning Wednesday

2010-01-13T11:29:00.000-04:00

We've spent some time at the school checking for damage. People have asked what they can do. From what we can see, we are going to need about $10,000 to do repairs to the school just to make it safe enough that children can come back to school. We've just sent the children home for at least one week, just to be safe. If you would like to help, this is one way that you can.

Cheques can be made out to Hands Across the Sea Association and sent to:
    Hands Across the Sea
    Box 101
    Yarmouth, NS B5A 4B1

Information continues to trickle in. Phone service (mostly cellular here) has been down since the earthquake. Thankfully we have satellite-based Internet as well as television so are able to stay in touch and receive information.

Luckner drove to PAP last night to evaluate the situation. The road to the capital was open. Once he reached PAP it appeared that virtually all the buildings were damaged, and there appeared to be many casualties.

We've received several confirmations that the airport is operational. The UN web sites are indicating that aid is beginning to arrive.

Locally, we have been successful in securing more diesel for the generator as well as fresh bottles of water, so we are in excellent condition ourselves. There appears to be little damage to homes in the immediate area. Southeast from here, we've had reports from a man who runs another orphanage that the poor area there has been quite badly damaged however. Everyone here is worried about friends and family in PAP - no one is unaffected. With phone service down people are trying to make their way to the city to try to find their loved ones. Some reports are beginning to come in, unfortunately some of them tragic. One woman reported her aunt and three children were killed when their house collapsed. The man who runs the nearby orphanage spent the night leading his congregation in prayer and lost his own house, and is now going to PAP to find his brother and bring him home one way or another.

Please continue to pray, and for those who are called, to gather and send funds. For now, those seeking to get disaster relief funds through quickly should contact one of the major aid agencies such as the Red Cross, as they are better positioned to deliver effective emergency aid.

Update from our Team Lead

2010-01-13T08:21:00.000-04:00

I want to thank everyone for your prayers. It has been a very restless night. There have been at least two aftershocks around midnight and possibly more. It is very difficult to sleep when you're waiting for the next tremor to come, and wondering how it will affect us.

I do feel a terrible responsibility at this time for the team. Although we plan to make the day as normal as possible, what could be normal? We have staff who have family in Port-au-Prince, and they have no information as to whether they are safe or not. I have many friends in Port-au-Prince, people I love dearly, and I don't know their condition. It's going to be a sad day.

We're going to try to get fuel for the generator this morning. Our stock is relatively low, so we're going to try to get 2 barrels of diesel if possible. Fuel will become very difficult to get as the days progress, so we must do it while we can.

We've heard rumours that bridges are down, but we're not sure whether they are between us and Port-au-Prince, and how this might affect us and our ability to get to the airport when the time comes. There are so many unknowns at this time.
Because of the grieving and uncertainty, we've decided to call off our planned staff meeting for today.

The reality of this is that many people have died or been injured in Haiti. Lives have been changed forever. Haiti, that has suffered so much, suffers again.

What can you do at home?

First, we need lots of prayer. We need God's covering at this time. Not only for ourselves, but for so many mission groups that are here at this time, as well as the Haitian people.

I have been wondering about the impact of this situation on Katie, Aidan, and Erin. They are very quiet - what are they thinking about? It will have a huge impact on their lives.

I have a feeling that riots will happen in the next few days, as fear and uncertainty turn to anger.

So what can you do?

Yes, pray.
If you feel called, start trying to raise funds which will become so necessary and which will be put to good use. Seek your heart, and listen to what God says to you.

Thank you,
Gerry Rhyno

Wednesday Morning Update

2010-01-13T07:49:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone.

Thank you all for your prayers, emails, and comments. It's amazing how many people are involved in supporting and watching what we have been doing here. Thank you all for your concern - we are very touched.

We don't have a lot of news to report yet. We had a relatively quiet night - a couple more aftershocks a bit after midnight, but not too bad. Things are starting to sink in a bit more for some of the team after busyness of relocating our sleeping quarters and doing immediate tasks last night. We're very thankful that we're here with Karen at this time, as she is of course terribly upset and very worried about many of her friends and the people here whom she has such a passion for.

Please continue to focus your prayers on those affected in and around Port-au-Prince in the coming days.

We hope more information will begin to come in today. We're going to focus on doing detailed inspections of the buildings and walls here and at the school to check for damage this morning.

Earthquake Update

2010-01-12T18:33:00.004-04:00

Update 9:48 pm Eastern

Things continue to be quiet. Some of the guys are watching CNN - they're starting to get a few pictures and details through now.

We're going to sit tight and continue our work for the next couple days while we wait for information. We're also keeping our ears open for any opportunities or ways we can help, but for the moment the best thing for us to do is simply sit tight. We've contacted the Canadian Embassy and are going to check in with Air Canada tomorrow. We're scheduled to fly home a week from today at this point.

Going to sign off for the night now and get some rest. Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement and concern, and especially for your prayers. Please continue to pray for those directly affected by the quake.

------------
Update 8:53 Eastern

All is well. Minor aftershocks continue. We're settling in for the night. Please continue to pray for those directly affected.

We're sitting tight for now, have notified the Embassy of our status and contacting Air Canada in the next day or so to try to get more info. Reports so far seem to indicate that the airport is okay, though we don't know what the roads are like down near Port-au-Prince.

------------
Update 7:43 Eastern
Some details about damage in PaP are starting to get through - we've been watching CNN here as well to keep up to date (Satellite TV and Internet here).

Things continue to be quiet overall - we just had a minor aftershock as we started to type this, but it seems very minor now.

We're moving out of the main building to the single-story dining hall - we'll have our mosquito tents and mattresses so will be quite comfortable as well as safe there.

--------

Update 5:38 Eastern
We've had verbal indications from Luckner that the Palace and Justice building in PaP have collapsed.
New reports are indicating a hospital has collapsed in or near the capital.

Karen and Luckner were both in PaP today dropping Peter off and stayed several hours running errands. We're all tremendously happy that they arrived home not too long before the quake hit.
---------

Many of you may have heard by now but a few minutes ago there was a magnitude 7 earthquake with an epicenter just outside Port-au-Prince. Thankfully it was an hour or two after Pastor Peter's flight departed.

Please know that we are all safe and sound. We felt the quake quite strongly and everyone cleared out of the house where we were relaxing after a day's work. The house shook very visibly. Some of the walls around the compound appeared to move about 2 feet or so back and forth. There are a few minor cracks in the walls and such but the building appears sound. Even the new construction was not affected that we've seen so far.

We've had 3-4 minor aftershocks but nothing serious. We're taking things very cautiously and are prepared to clear out of the building in a hurry if needed. The worst appears to be over for us, but we fear for many of the rough huts in this area and most especially near and outside Port-au-Prince. Please keep the poor of this country in your prayers tonight.

We'll post further information later tonight, but for now we wanted to ensure you know we're all safe.

FYI: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rja6.php

In Him,
HATS Mission Team

Day 8 - Odd Job Day

2010-01-11T20:46:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday, Major Peter Rowe (Salvation Army), who had hoped to be with us for two weeks, will be heading home for health reasons. Thank you Peter for ALL you have done to help us accomplish the project. God bless you and have a safe journey home!

We all want to take a moment to thank those of you at home for your prayers, comments, and personal emails. Our trip and our work are going very well thanks to God's blessing on the work and your prayers for safety and support. Please continue your prayers, especially for:

Spiritual strength and protection for the mission team and HATS mission staff
Continued personal health and safety for all involved here, both Canadians and Haitians
Successful completion of our projects
Blessing upon the overall mission project and its efforts
Unity of purpose and spirit for all

Please also continue your comments and emails. Nothing gets team members excited like hearing of a comment or email for them, and your words are a tremendous encouragement.

We actually had a bit of rain overnight last night, and a couple of very light showers during the day. That combined with the cloud cover made the temperatures very moderate and quite comfortable to work in, which we are very grateful for. We're at a relatively quiet point in the construction cycle, with the Haitian workers doing most of the work preparing the apartment. They've been finishing off the posts and started pouring the headers (beams) by working late (after dark) tonight. There are a few more beams to frame up and pour tomorrow. We've been able to fill in some gaps and chinks with mortar, but otherwise the work has to take its own time at this point.

In the meantime, we've been dividing up into small workgroups of two to four people and rapidly knocking off a whole list of smaller projects. Some of the projects we've completed or worked on today include:

New table (picnic-style) for the orphanage dorm
Rennovating a small storage room to be a new laundry room with running water and drain for the wash ladies (currently they haul water from the tap to a large wash basin outside)
Blocking in the generator room (almost complete)
Digging out and pouring a cement pad for a new shelter/hut for the security guards
Repairs to the screens in the gallery (porch)

We'll be wrapping these projects up within the next day or so we hope, which will be just in time to start framing the roof of the new apartment.

Today was the first day back to school here after the Christmas / New Year's holidays. The kids from the orphanage as well as the other community children all looked very sharp in their school uniforms. Unfortunately, the normal start-of-day routine at the school was thrown off a bit due to a rain shower and the usual confusion of a new term. Here are a couple of photos for now - we'll have some more probably tomorrow when things start to get back into their normal school rhythm.

Part of the school program includes providing a very nutritious lunch made from a rice/soy/flavoring mixture obtained through the US Aid organization. Several ladies come to the school each day to cook the rice over some cookfires in the porch of the kitchen area:

With school back in, things were pretty quiet around here, especially during the morning. The Newell kids spent some time catching up on homework and journals, as well as a bit of down time. Heidi unpacked what she thought was "really the last" suitcase of donations (until we found another one later...), helped with Alex, and took care of some of the laundry in addition to helping with homework and supervising the kids.

Although Gerry didn't appreciate them all that much (grin), Erin is loving the mini-mosquito-tents Dickie sent down. She's taken over one and set it up right next to Grampie (Gerry) and is loving being out there. Aidan has one of the regular tents right next to them. They both love organizing them and "customizing" them by adding towels or sheets for shelter from the sun:

Being right next to Gerry works out well - both Aidan and Erin are definitely early-risers. This morning Erin surprised Gerry by getting up so quietly at about 5:30 a.m. that when he woke up and went downstairs to the kitchen she was sitting there by the door (Marta, our cook, was already there) looking expectant and waiting for him!

Day Of Rest

2010-01-10T21:59:00.000-04:00

It was another 40 plus day as we enjoyed fellowship with our Haitian brothers and sisters in both Creole and English. We enjoyed hearing them sing for us and they applauded politely when we sang for them. Pastor Peter delivered the sermon with Luckner translating into Creole. The message was about the importance of having the Word, peace and the Holy Spirit hidden in your heart at all times. He also talked about the spiritual battles that need to be fought on the mission field, especially in Haiti where vodoo is commonly practiced. We have noticed as we try to sleep that the voodoo drums sometimes go on for hours.

As many rested in the early afternoon heat, a young man named Yvody visited the mission to meet the Newell family. When Heidi began working last year she felt that she wanted her tithes to go towards medical equipment for those that have orthopedic needs in Haiti. She felt blessed because where she lived she had all the advantages that are not available to the average Haitian. Yvody lost a lot of the use of his legs because of a fever he contracted when he was 13. He needed new crutches and we were able to purchase them for him. He was proud to show us he could take a few steps now without the crutches as he regains some strength in his legs.

Each year the team takes a group photo with the orphanage kids. We kept on our Sunday go to meeting clothes even though by now it was about 40 degrees and we were melting.

Here's a candid of Leonard and Bob with Tifi, Aidan, and Dieunel:

Late in the afternoon we met to celebrate Josie's 4th birthday with singing, juice, cookies and gifts. It was cute when Leica piped up to announce that tomorrow was her birthday ;-}

After the celebration we enjoyed an afternoon stroll along the canal. There was a refreshing breeze as we walked. Some of the little ones found the trip a little long but found a comfortable spot for the return trip. Dieunel fell asleep on Colton's head.

School opens tomorrow after Christmas break and as a new term begins the desks are prepared for the returning students. All 220 students share two bathrooms as shown below.

Aidan has been taking many photographs hoping to contribute to the blog. Here is an example of his work.

As another day ends we prepare ouselves for a chorus of snores and other associated noises that have been described as so loud that even the roosters are complaining. A methane cloud sometimes forms that has prompted a no open flame policy.

Saturday - Day 6

2010-01-09T22:26:00.001-04:00

Well, we'd been pleased and amazed at how mild (relatively) the temperatures had been, and how much the cloud cover helped. Then Mr Murphy found us today... :)

Now, this was in the sun... we think it was really more like 41 or so in the shade ... like that makes a lot of difference though.. :) The breeze coming in through the window mid-afternoon literally felt like the blast of dry heat you get when you open the door of a hot oven... It has cooled down a bit now, but as you can tell from our Chia Pet Convention photo, even at 9:00 pm it's still warm:

Despite the heat, it was back to work day. We started the day off with a dawn walk along the canal. There is a lot that happens around here at that time of day. Men line up on the bridge near the compound before light with their tool(s) to wait and hope to be picked up for a day's work in the fields or brush as laborers. Some get picked up for the day, others don't. They all go back and do the same thing the next day. We also got to walk along the canal and see farmers at work in the fields, people making their way to or from work, or walking horses or donkeys laden with produce. We ran into three boys (maybe in their teens) carrying their hoes to work today... what was really odd was that one of them was listening to an MP3 music player as they walked...

A lot of the work focused on trying to finish the walls for the apartment and get the remaining posts poured. We ran short on cement blocks (we've already used 2000 or so) and didn't quite finish off the walls, and there are a couple of large posts remaining, but we're getting close. A lot of the prep work for the headers that support the roof was accomplished as well. Jim and Peter spent the morning digging (chipping may be a better description - the ground here is super hard!) for new footings and eventually a floor where the stairs were added. This will also support one of the main new posts that we need to finish preparing on Monday.

We also received a large truckload of building materials at the end of the day - 500 more blocks, and a large collections of 4x4 supports and steel jack posts we'll be using when we get ready to pour the roof. As Bob noted, we are lucky to be getting a steady flow of material - especially here in Haiti.

There are a lot of smaller projects all happening in parallel too. Often there isn't room or need for the entire team to work on the apartment, but there are always multiple other projects going on. The other day Bob, Jim, and Brian Bowers took apart and cleaned all the connections and terminals for the array of car batteries that the house runs on when the generator and local power aren't running/available:

(Jim's starting to wonder how we always manage to get his best side in these shots... better ones below...)
There have been many repairs going on (showers, cabinets, etc.) and new projects like rerouting the exhaust for the diesel generator, removal of the old generator to allow us to block the generator room in and further reduce the noise, working on school benches, and assembling wheelbarrows. Here are a few shots of Brian Roberts, Leonard, and Peter on some of these projects - what's really nice is that some of the older boys (Vladimy - 14, and JJ - 8) were able to lend a hand with some of the projects too:

Vladimy spent some time with Jim and his camera a bit today and loved it. Here's a shot Jim took of Vladimy, and one Vladimy took of Jim with Dieunel:

Most of the kids are happy to have their photo taken, but they love to see the results:

Alex (or Ti Luck) is thriving on all the playing and attention he's been able to enjoy lately. He's really taken to Deux (as in Brian 2 - Brian Bowers):

Today we also finished organizing a lot of the donations and distributed them to the kids here at the orphanage. Kate helped to lead a lot of this, measuring the kids' feet (by tracing them on paper) and gathering potential fits, along with Heidi.

Beach Day

2010-01-08T21:09:00.002-04:00

Today was a bit of an early-in-the-trip break for the team. We were getting ready to frame in and pour some of the vertical support posts / pillars and weren't particularly needed. Usually the team takes a day and goes to a local beach resort for a day to swim, relax, and enjoy a restaurant meal about the mid-point of the trip, but we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and do so today while there was a lull in the work. We had a nice day for it and an enjoyable time; everyone is feeling relaxed and refreshed for the upcoming work now.

As always, having a chance to drive anywhere in Haiti and see some of the homes, streets, and general scenes of life is an eye-opening experience. Today was no exception. A lot of the guys noted a guy on the roof of the gas station we filled up at armed with a gun - apparently they have a strong policy about paying for the gas you get... We had a tire leaking air and had to stop at one of the roadside garages or stands - it was basically a pile of tires with a small hut behind, and a number of Haitians standing around. It was a little intimidating, especially for those of the men sitting in the back of the trucks and attracting a LOT of looks. The trip was pretty smooth overall (though dusty, and it put what we complain about as potholes back home in a whole new kind of context!). Brian Bowers is certain that Gerry managed to hit every single pothole while he had his turn in the back during the drive home though!

Here are a couple of photos from our drive, showing our miniature convoy during a short break on the way, and passing through the streets of St Marc on the way home:

The water and the chance to relax together and get to know one another better were wonderful. Just about everyone enjoyed a swim (the kids spent a lot of time swimming and snorkelling with Tim) and some time in the sun. Here`s Leonard relaxing during lunch and then chatting with Bob, Colton, and Brian Deux (Brian Bowers - Brian Un being Brian Roberts):

Aidan did a school project on coral reefs this year and loved getting to see some for real. We have some old-fashioned film pictures from a waterproof camera we`ll get developed when we get back, but no digitals unfortunately. He liked a big brain coral he saw that was as big as Erin, as well as some pretty blue and purple fan corals. Erin and Grampie had a bit of a treasure hunt along the water line for shells, rocks, and a pretty red (but dead) fish. :)

The local Haitian crew made a lot of progress under Luckner`s direction while we were gone today! The back walls are nearly at full height, and probably half of the posts have been framed up and poured. We`re hoping to finish the walls and remaining posts tomorrow (Saturday) then when we resume work on Monday we`ll work on getting the headers (horizontal beams at the top of the wall that help support the roof) done. Then it`ll be time to do the framing and rebar for the big roof pour at the end. We`re also planning to work on several other projects while we`re here - some walls for the generator building to cut down the noise, fixing the clothesline, building a new table for the dormitory, and maybe a new laundry washing area for the dorm. Here are a couple shots of the progress today:

Mercenaries or Missionaries - You Decide!

And here are two out of three of Karen`s Chia Pets:

Finally, here are a few other quick pictures we wanted to include:

Dominoes is one of our main night-time activities:

Peter hard at work:

Our main sleeping area:

Germaine, one of the mission support staff, with Dieunel:

Gerry and Vladimy during morning devotions:

Karen and Dieunel during devotions:

Second Full Day

2010-01-07T20:52:00.006-04:00

Our second full day on site continued to go well. Most of the team focused on continuing construction of the apartment - the walls (external and internal) are taking shape and the layout is much clearer to everyone now. Bob and Karen drove in to St Marc to buy supplies to build a new table for the orphanage. Some of the guys worked on adapting some of the desks for the kindergarden class to better fit the children. Erin ran craft time for the kids, while Aidan continued to work with Grampie on some of the mortar work then played with the boys (JJ and Moise). Kate went back and forth to the orphanage visiting the kids. Heidi spent some time on email updates, organizing donations, and spent time with the kids and Karen. Tim and Jim worked on the computers (thankfully we received an upgrade for our Internet access late today, allowing the new laptops to be set up and generally making things work much better).

Here's a shot of the apartment at the end of the day - you can see the rooms taking shape and the walls rising. Tomorrow the missions team will take a day off to visit the beach while the local workers pour the various support posts/pillars and let them set.

We've been thankful for a bit of an overcast yesterday and today. That's kept us out of the full force of the sun which, combined with much more moderate temperatures than we had last year (low thirties), has made the work much more bearable.

The new tire swing was a huge hit - the kids were lining up to have turns and generally piling as many on at a time as possible:
Dieunel is very comfortable with the Blancs on the team (and especially the camera!):

Tifi is one of the special needs children at the orphanage. She often doesn't let a lot show, but was actively enjoying craft time and getting to color:

Heidi has been spending a lot of time getting to know the kids. All of them are quite used to digital cameras, and love to have their picture taken (then look at the results) and play with photography themselves:

Around lunch time everyone tends to run down a bit anyway. Colton decided he was tired enough that he struck a "Take me now, Lord" pose:

Our newest addition to the orphanage arrived late yesterday. He cried for the first while - we think it was the first time he had seen a Blanc, and look what he walked into! By this morning, though, he had already relaxed enough that he lit up when Ben went to visit him, and allowed his picture to be taken. Later he went to Karen and gave her kisses, too. A note from Ben: "This is Ben and his new grandson Judel, a foster child for Ryan and Natalie." While Judel was crying yesterday, Ben noted, "Judel is one of the lucky ones, he just doesn't know it yet."

Everyone is raving about the food. Marta and Germaine, our cooks, do a wonderful job. We've enjoyed home made pancakes for breakfast today, mac and cheese, rice with sauce, fried chicken with salad, wonderful bread, and exceptional chicken noodle soup. (So much for the Haitian diet plan we were counting on as we indulged over the holidays!) Kate has been raving about the food in general and the bread in particular - she wanted to order some from Kijiji when we got home... ;)

Karen has expressed her thankfulness that the work is going so quickly and smoothly. We're all very pleased with that. Gerry asks that everyone continue to pray for health and protection - we've had no real mishaps thankfully, but a couple of the guys have fought some minor stomach upsets and/or head colds that have slowed them down a bit.

Gerry does have a bit of a bone to pick with Dickie though (Karen's brother-in-law, who along with her sister Sandra work year-round to support the mission from Canada). Dickie obtained some new mosquito tents for the team to bring down, and Gerry was the first to use one:

Construction Begins...

2010-01-06T19:32:00.004-04:00

We've all settled in quickly to the compound here today. After a long but fairly uneventful trip here yesterday we were all pretty beat, but hit the ground running this morning. After morning devotions (a chance to meet the kids and staff for the new folks, and to reconnect for the "experienced" ones), we quickly set to work scoping out the new addition.

The floor plans were reviewed, revised, and finalized, then the outline of the walls laid out. It was amazing how quickly things came together - tree branches that were in the way were cleared almost before we started, stacks of blocks lugged upstairs to the work area, mortar mixed, and people beginning to lay blocks by late morning. By supper time, some of the walls were nearing the half-way point, and most of the rest had at least a couple of layers laid. Everyone's really thrilled with how much progress we made on the first day!

We also had a chance to visit the school compound and see the finished extension many of us helped to add last January - it's a lot neater and cleaned up from the last time we saw it (the day we finished pouring the roof). A new tire swing was set up for the kids and was an immediate hit. We also started setting up the new computer equipment we brought down, organizing all the donations to distribute, and spending time with the kids. (A new 3 year old boy has just joined the orphanage as of supper time tonight, as well!)

Here are a few comments from the team:

Brian Bowers reports that his arms are now at least 10 inches longer after lugging so many blocks...

Peter said it was great to work side by side with the hard-working Haitians. He's thrilled that he made up his mind to come, and says "Hi" to Janice and the kids.

Ben said that sleeping last night was "intense" (in tents... groan... )

Colton plans to go home and put his uncle out of business.

Tim thought it was great to see how quickly Heidi and our kids fit into the orphanage crew. Kate worked hard sorting out donations and working with the kids. Erin and Aidan played a bit, and shared a bunch of crafts with the other kids, but then started in as part of the construction crew! Aidan is now devising a pulley system for lifting blocks and mortar. Erin is applying for the foreman position. :)

Erin says her favorite part is doing crafts with the kids.

We've arrived safely

2010-01-05T21:55:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone - sorry it's getting late tonight but wanted to post a short note to let you know that we've all arrived safely after a nice, smooth trip here. All our bags made it too!!

We'll post some pictures and updates tomorrow, but we're just having a quick meal and getting settled in for now.

Thanks again for your prayers - it was wonderful how smoothly everything went!

First full day

2010-01-05T06:42:00.003-04:00

Well, we all made it okay to Montreal - there were about 4 hours of delays from both Halifax and BC yesterday, so a bit later / more tired than planned, but a good day to have delays overall since it didn't really impact us at all. We've had a good night at the hotel in Montreal and are getting ready to head back to the airport and get checked in. Will update tonight once we arrive safely!

Thanks for all your prayers!

We're off...

2010-01-04T07:44:00.003-04:00

Well, today's the big day! :)

Bags are packed (so far the zippers haven't burst, but they're close) and we're heading to the airport shortly. The crew from Yarmouth should be leaving any time, and we'll connect with them at Halifax airport late this morning for the flight to Montreal. We'll link up with Jim there and all fly to Port-au-Prince Haiti tomorrow morning.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. Thank you to all those who have helped make this trip possible - through prayer, financial contribution, donations of shoes and clothing, support to take the time off from work, and best wishes or encouragement. All have been appreciated!

We'll be sure to let you know as soon as we arrive safely - likely late Tuesday evening.

anxious to start the work

2009-12-28T14:36:00.004-04:00

Dear Friends and Family, The time is getting close for our team to fly to Haiti as Christmas is over and the new year is almost here. Our team, families, fund raisers and churches have been extremely busy raising the funds for this project which will see a residence built to house a missionary-minded couple needed to help Karen with the work of HATS HAITI orphanage and school. Over the years, the work has grown and there is definitely a need for people that God has called to go and help in this ministry. Our team is numbered at 14 - some with past experince in Haiti and some on their first trip. We have Jim Steer, Karen's cousin from British Columbia, Tim and Heidi Newell and their 3 children, Kate, Aidan and Erin (from Dartmouth N.S.), Brian Roberts, Brian Bowers, Robert Comeau, Ben Churchill, Colton Colquhoun, Leonard Cottreau , Major Peter Rowe -Salvation Army, and team leader Gerry Rhyno (all from the Yarmouth area.) At this time Haiti seems to be fairly peaceful and we pray that it will remain so , but we do ask that you pray for our team during our stay in Deschappelle and that you always keep the work there in your prayers as Haiti can be a very dark place spiritually. I am sure that Karen will covet your prayers. Our plans are to fly to Montreal from Halifax and Vancouver on January 4th , then fly on to Port Au Prince the next morning , arriving about 2:30 in the afternoon. Karen plans to meet us there with transportation to take us to the orphanage compound which is usually about a 3 to 4 hour trip, so we should arrive around 7 pm . The children at the orphanage are always there to welcome us and it makes a wonderful finish to a very long day. Over this last year a Board has been setup in Canada to over see this work in Haiti and we have people from all across Canada on the Board. We have applied for charitable status from the Canadian Government and are in the final stages of that being granted so all future checks to the HATS HAITI mission can be written directly to HATS HAITI and we will send you your tax receipt. We really want to thank the Yarmouth Wesleyan Church who have helped us is this area for the last few years. Finally, I again ask for your prayers , God Bless You All- Gerry.

So Thankful...

2009-12-23T21:15:00.007-04:00

Well, we've all been busy getting things ready for the past few weeks. Shots and checkups are behind us now. We've been busy fundraising, and are thrilled to report that we've been blessed with almost 75% of our financial goal so far. We have a bit more to raise still, but we trust that God will provide what is needed. Thank you so much to all those who have helped with this cause!

We want to say a special thank you to the students and staff of Sunnyside Elementary School in Bedford, NS - especially Mrs. Dart's Grade 3/4 class, and to Rod and Heather Laybolt who helped to organize things and put us in touch. Each time a team goes down to Haiti, we try to max out our baggage allowance with donations - clothing, shoes, etc. Our family (the Newells) wanted to make a point of bringing shoes down - especially dress shoes. The school system in Haiti requires uniforms, including dress shoes, for all the children. There are many occasions where the cost of uniforms, or even shoes, is too much for some of the families. While Tim was in Haiti last January there was an example of an absent little boy at the start of the new term. When his absence was checked into, it turned out he had no shoes to wear. The mission quickly provided some for him and he returned to school.

That one story struck a chord with many people, and we've been overwhelmed with the response. We had received fifty or sixty pairs of shoes, sneakers, sandals, etc., through our friends and local church. Mrs. Dart's class decided to adopt this as their Christmas project, and did they ever deliver! We received a carload of between 200 and 250 pairs of footwear - most in mint condition, and many were good children's dress shoes.

Here are some photos of us sorting and organizing the shoes. An extra thank you to those who loaned us duffel bags and suitcases, or came to help sort!

Our children are aged 12, 9, and 6. It's been a lot of fun to see how they are preparing for the trip (especially now that needles are done with - though they did fine). They've seen many photos and heard stories about Haiti from their Dad and grandfather over the years, and it's amazing how much they absorb. Our youngest has decided that she wants to take a watering can, so they can collect water when it rains and then help the crops grow. She ends her prayers many nights with, "Thank you that we've been blessed, and let the Haiti people get blessed." They want to save apple seeds and take them to plant, to help with reforestation and food. By taking a French-English dictionary, they're hoping to be able to share a few words of English with the kids there and learn a bit of Creole themselves.

Well, it's less than two weeks now until we leave. We pray you'll enjoy a wonderful and blessed Christmas over the next few days.

Please check back soon as we'll be posting more about the team in the remaining days before we leave!

Welcome

2009-11-28T17:11:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the HATS Haiti Mission Team 2010 Blog.

This site has been created to share information about a missions project being undertaken in Deschappelles, Haiti in January 2010. Our team from Canada will be travelling to Haiti to work on a project with HATS-Haiti from January 5 - 19. A second team from Texas will be following up on the project in February to complete it.

We'll be posting information over the coming weeks as we prepare to leave for the trip. While in Haiti during January, watch for daily updates on what we're seeing, doing, and experiencing.

Mission Project
The primary project we'll be undertaking is the construction of a new residence apartment for additional staff at the HATS Haiti mission. We'll be building a second storey above the orphanage dormitory. This will be set up as an apartment for a missions couple whom we hope will be called to serve with the mission soon.

As well, we'll be working with the children at the orphanage and community school that are parts of HATS (especially the younger members of our team).

Team
Our team comes primarily from the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia area. It is comprised of people from a variety of churches and backgrounds. There are fourteen in the group overall, including a family of five. Some of the group have been to Haiti before, while for others this will be their first visit.

Most of the group will be working on construction of the new staff apartment. Others will help with general maintenance around the compound as well as administrative work. The children who are going will spend time helping with the orphanage, visiting the school, and generally learning about and experiencing Haiti.

HATS
Hands Across the Sea is a ministry run by Karen Huxter in Deschappelles, Haiti and supported by an association and board of directors from Canada. Various churches and individuals across Canada and the US help to support the work done by HATS.

The work of HATS focuses around ministry to the needs of children in particular. HATS operates a small orphanage, as well as a respected local primary school which offers sponsored seats to the poor of the community and a food program for the students. Additionally, HATS provides community development and relief support to the broader community.

For more information about HATS, please visit http://hatshaiti.blogspot.com, and http://www.hats-haiti.com.

Requests and Support
We would appreciate everyone's prayers both as we prepare for our trip and especially during the time we are there - for safety and health in particular, but also for wisdom, peace and fellowship among the team and those we'll be working with, and for the success of the project.

For those who are so inclined, we are striving to raise funds for the cost of the construction project before we go. The estimated construction cost is $25,000 USD. We are able to provide charitable donation tax receipts for those who would like to give. Donations may be made (up until December 31, 2009) to:

Hands Across The Sea
P.O Box 101
Yarmouth, NS B5A 4B1
cheques payable to
Yarmouth Wesleyan Church designated for HATS-Haiti