SGWM Newsblog

Haiti Update #2

Dear Family and Friends,

What a day! After arriving at the compound last night and getting everything set up we finally got to bed at about 2 a.m. We all got a good night’s rest and woke up refreshed and ready to go. The truck arrived here at about 10a.m. to take us over to Marcel’s church. We quickly packed up all our medical boxes and jumped into the back of the truck (and yes the jokes were flying about how long it was going to take to get there… (if you don’t get that, refer to the previous update) and headed off to the church. Once we got to the church we were all a little overwhelmed. There were probably 350-400 people waiting to see the doctors. We unloaded and scrambled to get the supplies organized and the rooms set up so that the doctors can start treating patents.

It was an amazing sight to see; our team just jumped right in and everyone did their part to make sure everything ran smoothly. In one room we had our “pharmacy” (that’s where we stored all the supplies), the next room is where the doctors were seeing the patients, and in the third room we set up a prayer room. We wanted to make sure that everyone that came through today received medical attention and spiritual attention.

I was able and excited to head up the prayer room at the beginning. It didn’t take long to start to see the suffering as a result of the earthquake. There was a lot of post traumatic stress disorder and various injuries people were suffering from as a result from the quake. The first person we prayed for was a nine month old boy. His mother was killed in the earthquake and as his father explained what happened through a translator, my heart just ached for this man and his son. What a loss they are going through. Please keep them in your prayers. The boy’s name was Nathanael and his father’s name was Joseph. The second person we saw was another boy who was probably about 2 years old. His father was outside while the earthquake hit and his son was sleeping inside. He explained the horror as he watched the house collapse before his eyes knowing that his son was inside. He said that it took him hours to find and dig out his son and praise God he was still alive. The boy suffered from a head injury and needed stitches (which he received right after the earthquake) as well as under his right eye where he got hit by something which caused a lot of swelling. The third person was a man probably in his 40’s who came limping in on a cane. During the earthquake a brick wall fell on him and pinned his leg. Praise God he survived. You can imagine… those were just the first three people we saw and prayed for and by the end of the day we treated and prayed for around 350-400 people. That’s a LOT of stories! God truly did some great things today. One of the biggest highlights was that as a team we were able to lead about 2-3 people in the “sinners prayer,” pray for a demon possessed girl, and preach the gospel to a “loose”lady (that’s how she was described to us and her reputation in the community). After all the patients were gone we packed up and headed back for home.

Tonight we were able to debrief as a team for a little while. These times are always a highlight for me while on a short term trip. We always say, “Short term missions don’t change the world… but they do create world changers.” That is what I saw tonight. After only one day God did so much that as we went around the circle sharing our stories tears and brokenness were flowing from the whole team. We all agreed that if we went home today this trip was a success beyond what we could have ever  imagined. After we each shared our stories I was able to lead the group in a short devotion on Matt 5 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven.” And now we are all taking MUCH needed showers and getting ready for bed. We don’t know what tomorrow holds for us… but the good thing is that we know Who holds tomorrow.

Please keep us in your prayers. We have a long way to go and a whole lot of ministry to do. I am uploading pictures to our sgwm.com/newsblog for you all to check out. Also, please help us spread the word about what God is doing down here by reposting our updates and pictures to your facebook, myspace, twitter, blog, e-mail list, etc…

May God richly bless you,

Mike