100th Day of School

Yesterday, was the 100th day of school. In commemoration, Jack's class was given the chance to draw a picture of what they thought they would look like in 100 years. Apparently, Jack is going to look like Mr. Miyagi with a beard.

Pictures from Haiti

Here are some of the pictures I took. I have been sick with a bad cold since I came back. Being up for 48 hours with very little sleep will do that. My thoughts are still bumping into each other in my head. It was an amazing trip that is hard to put into words. I am so thankful for everyones prayer and kind words sent. Look for a longer note coming soon. In the meantime if you have the time, means, or desire... Do SOMETHING to help Haiti. As one of my friends put it on his blog, "Put Haiti in a permanent place on your prayer list." They are going to need much help and they won't be in the headlines for much longer. Thank you again and enjoy the pictures. Love Janice

Click here to see the pictures: http://s896.photobucket.com/albums/ac166/julesahidalgo/Haiti%20Trip%202010/?albumview=slideshow&track=share_email_album_view_click

Video from Haiti

One of the team members Janice was with in Haiti kept a video journal. He's shared it with the rest of the team, and now we share it with you. This will give you a deeper look into what Janice experienced in Haiti...

One More Update

Hey all:

Thought I'd post one more update so you can have an idea of what Sunday and Monday were like for Janice.

First, here's another message from my friend Nate:

Sunday we attended to about 120 patients before we had to leave. A truck resembling a paddy wagon complete with a cage bounced us back over rough roads to Port Au Prince. We were happy to be back at our base to shower and eat a good meal. The Special Ops guys set up a 10 x 10 foot screen so we could all watch the Superbowl on the small soccer field. I ended up sitting next to the commander of the company and talking with him. It was not only an honor, but also a very fun way to watch the Superbowl! Afterwards we piled back into our paddy wagon for our ride to the airport. We put our names on a waiting list to see if we could hitch a ride back to the USA on an empty Air Force cargo plane. Then we laid out on the Tarmac to sleep until we were called. It's hard to call it sleep when C5-As, C-130s and other large aircrafts are taxiing past you with engines screaming. But finally at 6am we caught a ride on a large cargo plane that was flying to Charleston SC. We made it and are now waiting for our plane back to DFW. The team did an awesome job. We treated and prayed for just over 1000 people. At our debrief many on the team talked about this being one of their best trips ever. Praise God! We are glad to be home.

Janice flew from SC to Newark, then arrived in Grand Rapids at 6:00 PM. The kids were more than thrilled to see her. She got home, showered, ate and as I write this, snuggling with Maggie.
I leave you with a thought, a request and some more photos...

• A thought: Thank you all for praying. Please continue to do so for the people of Haiti, for Janice and our family. Our prayer is that this is the beginning of something bigger than ourselves for the Kingdom

• A request: As unbelieveable as this trip has been, she's drained. She'll need a few days to process, pray, sleep and sleep some more. She can't wait to thank and hug so many of you...and wants to do so on her time. So, like I told the kids before we picked her up, please give her the time she needs.

• Photos...
  

PATIENT CARE

Our friend, and team leader, Nate Bobbett

Inside the Airforce Cargo Plane

HOME!!!!

Haiti Update Feb 7

Sorry I didn't get an update yesterday. However, below is one from my friend Nate that I received this morning a little before 8:00 this morning:


Saturday started out calmly. By 3 pm we had seen about 275 people. Several cases had to be evacuated to a hospital 3 hours away. We all showered and sat down for dinner around 5. Then it started. Multiple motorcycle accidents came rushing in, anxious and angry family members followed. Dust was everywhere as our team worked outside 30 feet from a dirt driveway. 2 pregnant ladies showed up, one in need of an ICU. 2 seperate burn victims came in ferried in on motorcycles or cars. We were at capacity. Doctors and nurses treated patients under the glow of their camping head lamps. Family members and curious onlookers pressed in. One guy exploded in anger and lunged at a patient. I body slammed him and then made sure he wouldn't be a problem. The Marines next door caught wind of our dilema and showed up to provide a semblance of order. That's a good feeling! The night ended with the Spanish military showing up in a chopper to evac one of the patients. 6 of the wounded stayed all night as the team took shifts watching them. We are trying to find hospitals that are functioning and will accept them. After a 17 hour day we fell onto our mats and slept soundly, except for another big aftershock at 1:30 that woke us up. Thanks for praying!


To add to that, Janice called and told me that the people are all afraid to sleep inside after the earthquake, and the aftershocks are keeping that fear alive. She said that last night (Saturday night), she was up till 2:00 then slept til 4:00 helping the patients that needed to be watched over.


Janice and I emailed back and forth during the Superbowl (she was able to watch it with the Army). Earlier this afternoon, emailed to ask for prayer for the 5 critical patients she and some team members escorted today from Petit Goave back to Port-au-Prince. The emailed me a few hours later, telling me that they had arrived safely. And just now, another message: They are at the airport, looking to get a flight back to the states. So, please pray that the travel back is safe.


Her email tells us much about who she is:


Subject: Leaving Haiti :(
We r @ the airport right now (had to wait until the game was over). We r waiting for a military flight of sorts. That is all I know. I don't even know where we r going in the states. I am thankful to be coming home but very sad to leave Haiti. There is so much need here.


Also, a picture Nate sent last night, with the message: "It might be dark but she's still going"

Janice Just Called

Janice just called, and said to tell everyone they need prayer. The local hospital has been diverting patients to the field hospital that she’s working at. She said they are being overwhelmed with all sorts of patients: burn victims, mothers in labor, etc. She called just to tell me that so I could let you all know, then she had to go.

Thanks all…please pray.

Haiti Update Feb 5th

Here are a few updates from Janice's team in Haiti. The first one if from their team leader, my friend Nate. He gives a good overview of what Friday was like. Then, Janice's email...giving her perspective. A few more pictures too.

From Nate:

Today started at 6:30 with the birth of a baby girl and ended at 8:30pm with a baby boy born right during another aftershock. We saw almost 400 patients today. A couple times things started getting rowdy with crowd control but the Marines would walk through and everyone straightened up real fast. They finished building us a wooden shed for an OR (operating room). Go Marines! The hardest part of the day was a little 8 year old girl. Her leg was broken in the earthquake. Her dad died years ago and her mom abandoned her and left the country. I spent 1/2 the day with her as she waited for an evac. I wanted to adopt her right there. She was in pain but was sweet all day. I think half the team fell in love with her. The team continues to do great! Time to hit the sack, or ground as is the case out here!

From Janice

It was a typical day here for the mere fact the craziness is typical. Everyone is great to work with. This compound (in Petite Gouave) was set up and run thru the Weslyan Church. People are here from St. Louis, Canada, South Carolina and our group from Texas. We had to amputate a guys finger today. It was really gross. It smelled so bad. I was OK until the Dr was pulling out the worms. Yuck. Speaking of smells. I have never smelled this bad in my whole life. No shower for me tonight because I was helping w/ a mom. When we were done the showers stopped working. Trust me they weren't that great when they DID work. It is really not that bad. I feel like I can just keep working long hours. That is what I am here to do. I don't have to worry about meals. I don't have to worry about the kids. I get to go home and not have this as my permanent situation. So why not just work? Just a fair warning. If I don't get a good shower before I get home, "El Stinko Mama" will be getting off the plane. We were talking about food today and I said my first drink will be a Grande Iced Latte and then an ice cold beer. Well, I am tired. I have to go.

space

4 month old baby. Janice said the picture

doesn't show how really sick this baby was.

One of hundreds of buildings she said she has seen

Section of a village. See the flattened buildings in the back.

Our translators...all filled with the love of Jesus.

And if you're worried if she's safe? That building in the back
is the OR the Marines built.

Haiti - February 4th, 2010

Yesterday, I started out the blog post by writing "If you could, please pray that God gets her cell phone working. She has a Blackberry but they can't figure out how to get it working. You'll see in the email messages below, she's a little frustrated that she has to keep borrowing phones from everyone else." Tonight, the phone rang around 10:00 pm. It was Janice. She said, "Guess whose phone I'm calling from? MINE!!!!!". They figured out how to get it to work, so we have phone communication now. AND...Sprint has announced that they are waiving all charges on calls from Haiti until the end of March...so it's FREE!!!! Thank you Jesus!


As you can imagine, she had lots to tell me, and of course, wanted to know how the kids were doing, so I spent a lot of time letting her know how things were going here. She said that many of the patients they have been seeing have chronic issues and it's been good to help them provide medical care. For those of you who have asked about her safety, it seems that they are hanging out with the Marines while in this village, so security is not an issue. They are staying in military tents, and sleeping on military cots. The heat is tough to work in by day, and she told me to tell Michelle Hansma "good call on the scrubs". I guess some of her co-workers are in jeans, and struggling with the heat. Pray for the team. The 24 hour bug is being passed around...not good.

Below is a message I got tonight from Nate:

Today we drove thru a lot of destruction to a town 3 hours away. In some places the road was cracked in 2. About 20 of us crammed ourselves and 2500 pounds of gear into a beat up rejected US school bus. I think each wheel had about 3 lug nuts. We arrived at the town and immediately began seeing patients. These docs and nurses are amazing. Fixing ugly wounds, sowing hands back together often in 85 degree heat and no electricity. I've been using my French all day helping to translate. The US marines are building us an OR so they are here. The Navy corpsmen have pitched in too. We are sleeping outside in tents while here, but we are comfortable. Thanks for praying.

And finally, a picture he texted of me at Janice at work. This was yesterday.



Thanks for all your messages, and encouragement. I told her she was having quite an impact here based on the comments I've received from people. Her response was "Really?!?!" Typical Janice, showing kindness and not thinking anything of it. Blessings to all of you!

Haiti - Wednesday, Feb 3

Got these two email from Janice today. If you could, please pray that God gets her cell phone working. She has a Blackberry but they can't figure out how to get it working. You'll see in the email messages below, she's a little frustrated that she has to keep borrowing phones from everyone else.

This first message was sent last night (Feb 3) but didn't get here until today:

It really was a good day. I am so thankful that I am feeling better. I am thankful that I am here. Tomorrow we go back to the same place. In a few days we will be going to a village and things there I think will be much worse. I love u all. Tell Jack and Joey the army is setting up a big inflatable screen to watch the Superbowl.

This one came earlier this evening:

OK I have time to write and not be rushed...I hope.

I have been sleeping well except that I am really hot at night. That is a yucky feeling. In the morning it is actually cool. At night I just get hot in my bag. I get up, wash up and eat a granola bar or 2. We pack the bins, the truck and cram into a tiny pickup truck and drive an hour to our spot, set up then we see the patients. Most have chronic issues, a few related to the earthquake. One case was so so sad today. A mom brought in twins. Nowhere the same size. One was about max 12lbs and the other one was max 5 lbs. They were 4 months old. The tiny one looked like one of Molly's dolls. We paid her way to take a cab to a local hospital. I don't think she was understanding the urgency. She was very sad. The baby most likely has a heart defect from birth. That was the worst today.

The other half of our team just arrived today. It will take a bit to adjust to the new folks, but I am sure it will be fine.

I am a bit jealous the I can't text all the time. Tomorrow we will be going 3 hours away and staying there a few days. We will be leaving our "Ritz Carlton" place and tenting it. I love and miss u all. Tons of stuff in my head and swirling around but hard to put it down. Love you.

And this note was texted to me from my friend Nate who is leading the trip. It was his reply to a text I sent him:

She is doing awesome bro. She knows her stuff, works hard without complaining, and is joyful!

Keep praying!

Haiti Update - Feb 2

I spoke to Janice tonight...well, sort of. I could hear her perfectly, but she could hardly hear me. So, she told me about her day today and said she'd follow up with an email later. She's using borrowed phones. AT&T is providing free service, so even though the communications are short and infrequent, they're free.

Today, the traveled an hour to a local pastor's house. There was a makeshift clinic in his front yard. She said they saw 180 patients today. Most of them had more chronic issues, and not necessarily issues related to the earthquake. She said lots of babies and children came through. She had a real tough time describing the conditions these people live in. She said it was like spending the day in a burning garbage dump. They burn all their trash right near where they live. And not just a few people here and there, but thousands. 2 or 3 times she said, "I can't even begin to describe it". Nevertheless, she said that the people are sweet, they smile and they are patient as they wait for medical care. The have a couple of young men not much older than 20. One of them was with two friends when the earthquake hit. They ran, he went one way and survived. His went the other way and died. Then this young man ran into a pregant woman who went into labor. He helped her deliver the baby. And he's not even 20 years old.

They are staying at a Christian school. She said the walls are concrete, they have electricity (though it went out for an hour today), and they are well protected. The school is back in session, using rooms that weren't damaged. She said in one of the rooms, the following was written on the board: Verse of the day, January 12, 2010: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil 4:13. The earthquake hit the next day.

Below is a picture of her getting ready, testing out equipment before they left.

Keep praying...

A couple of messages...

Got this email from Janice today...

Hi...I hope u get this email. Melissa was my bunkmate last night, letting me use her phone. We r in a very safe school the US army special forces r camped here also. There r relief teams here from Germany Hungary Korea and England. It took an hour to drive the most ten miles from the airport. Sleeping arrangments r wonderful truly indoors with mats. Plenty of food and clean water. It is truly amazing to see the body of Christ and Jesus presence here. We r still figuring out the blackberries. The only signal is digicel and for emergancies only. Maybe u can look into that at the store. I love u tons give the kids a big hug. I know u all did well today. U can respond to this address Melisa said ok

Also, this text message and photo from my friend Nate:

"This place is in huge need. We can make a difference. Snapped this picture from the back of a truck as we drove through town. Just one of 1000's of collapsed buildings.

Haiti Update - Feb 1

Hey all. Thought I’d give you the latest update on Janice’s travels. Yesterday, Sunday she flew with half the team in a private Jet from Waco, TX to Miami, then stayed in a hotel. She wasn’t feeling to well, and spent much of the night sick. I spoke to her this morning and she seemed to be doing a little better. The plan was to fly another private jet to Haiti today. Both jets were donated by local businessmen who wanted to help out. Just got a text from my friend Nate’s phone (he’s the group leader) that they arrived safely in Haiti, and they are currently waiting for the rest of the team.

One thing to pray about is phone service. There are networks working there, but not all the Blackberry’s are working. So pray that she can get on a network; it will be easier for her to communicate that way. That’s all I know for now.

Thanks for your prayers…keep ‘em coming.

PS: Below are some pictures that she's texted along the way...

Our friend Nate, and his wife Jamie. Nate is leading the trip.

One of the private jets. They flew this one to Haiti.

Loading up in Haiti