On the 19^th of February around 9pm, I received a last minute phone call from the president and founder, Jim Seidel asking if I could escort and assist in Yoldy’s return to Haiti early the next morning. After a brief discussion with my wife, I agreed to the one day trip leaving Miami Saturday, February 20, at 8:30AM and returning that evening around around 10:00PM.

Upon touching down in Haiti, we were escorted  to a bus that took us to another part of the terminal that was being used for arrivals, as most the main terminal building was deemed unsafe to use. We went through Immigration, then through customs.  Pastor Henri and the mob of Haitians that are always there to help (and earn a dollar) with luggage met us there. We quickly loaded  everything up in the back of the truck and headed out to examine the damage in Port au Prince.

Seeing the damage first hand gave me a whole new perspective as to just how pervasive it really was. Until you see it, you cannot really understand or grasp the amount of devastation and it’s affects on everyday life for those living there, and the increasing number of problems that are arising as a result of what has happened.  The one thing that hindered our assessment, however was the large amount of free standing border walls which made it harder to gauge the destruction on the other side. Our guess is a lot more damage beyond the walls due to the amount of people living in the streets. People have literally taken over some streets with their makeshift tents of tarps and plastic sheets attempting to protect whatever property they have left and shelter themselves from the elements. Most of the businesses have been destroyed, schools are still not open, and the children still have not gotten back to any type of normalcy in their life.

Our next stop was a bite to eat at one of the few open restaurants. One thing that really stuck out was the amount of customers that were foreign aid workers rather than Haitian customers.

After our meal we headed for Canaan. Because of all the destruction in Port au Prince the traffic moved slow, but once we reached the countryside the pace picked up quite a bit. North of Port-au-Prince we saw tent cities starting up on the sides of the hills where many are beginning to rebuild away from the big city.

Once we arrived at Canaan Yoldy began to smile uncontrollably. Several of the children spotted her in the truck, and their faces lit up with smiles as they rushed over to greet her. Yoldy was ONE HAPPY GIRL! They quickly whisked her away to talk with her and share each other’s life details of the last four months. Pastor Henri introduced me to several of the people there while Pastor Joel rushed over to great me. From there he showed me the new school buildings and what they were doing with the old boys’ dorm. The new school areas were very nice and had much more space than what I was used to seeing eight years ago. After a tour of the school, he took me over to the boys dorm, where they are assisting some families who got hurt by the quake. Several of the family members had lost everything. Almost everyone there who was injured had on a cast. One in particular had a body cast that covered her lower chest, left full leg and right leg to her knee. They were very thankful for the work of Canaan and those supporting Canaan because without their support, they would be living in a makeshift tent out on the street of Port-au-Prince with no special assistance .

Canaan hopes to expand the medical services they provide. Prior to the earthquake they had an area that was being leveled for a future soccer field, but it is now being earmarked for a medical treatment center. Their hope is in the Lord’s provision to continue the services they provide and for  the opportunity to share the Gospel with all those that they serve.

It was now time to head back to the airport in Port au Prince and fly home. One day wasn’t enough, and I wish I could have taken an additional day to stay and take in more. Because of the short notice for the trip it just wasn’t possible to plan as such. I am thankful though, that I had this opportunity and was able to assist in Yoldy’s return to Canaan. It was nice to also be able to see the progress that Canaan has made and their effort to be the light to others as they continue to be that light on the hill for Christ.

Here are some of the photos taken during the trip…

As well as cash donations. Diesel fuel and other items can be bought in Haiti, but the only currency accepted by many right now is U.S. dollars, and the price of fuel and other items is very expensive currently.

Anyone willing to open a drop off location, please let us know.

Anyone willing to help transport the items to our storage area from drop-off locations, please let us know.

Your help with any an all these items are greatly appreciated by everyone that will receive them.

Story from Sun-Sentinel

Vindy.com

KTHV-DT

Miami Herald

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDl51ncEBlY

NBC 6 Miami (they have not yet posted video)

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/miami-man–82201052.html