Ok, ok, so it’s not as bad here as it is say in Port-au-Prince where co-workers are dealing with a refugee camp of 4000 people sleeping in their front yard.
Yet we’ve had a hectic week. I even told dad over the phone that I’d like to re-join him on the truck (just kidding; dad has now been cleared by the doctor and is back to work).
Last Sunday night I spoke on post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). I had good eye contact with the 60-plus people, mostly Haitian university students. I think that they were really paying attention, and I'm hoping that what I shared will help them.
Judy spoke about her brother committing suicide years ago. She admitted that since she didn't properly deal with it by stuffing her emotions and pretending that everything was ok, she became depressed about 3 years after his death. The PTSS doc stated that rejecting the emotions, and refusing to deal with the event head-on at some point results in a loss of emotions and feelings which leads to a depression.
God used His Word to lift Judy out of her depression. This all happened before I met her in Haiti.
Orly, the La Yaguita Children's center posterchild had to evacuate his home last Saturday night. His 16-year old uncle stabbed a guy after a drug deal. The victim's family retaliated by destroying Orly's house and all its possessions although the house was leaning on a neighbor's house for support. Orly and Lenny escaped the carnage by only a few minutes. Orly's aunt took them to another aunt's house where they are now sleeping.
Pastor Ramon Jorge continues to house and feed the boys during the day; the last time I was there, I pitched softball with Orly and became his donkey—I took him on my back and walked him around.
After I told dad all that, he said, “Be sure to take care of those little boys.”
Judy continues to help our pastor’s terminally ill father-in-law even though she was fighting a cold this week.
Oh, and did we mention that the plumber had to come this week to fix a leak in a couple pipes. He had to break the floor in the hall to discover the four leaks that were getting through to the downstairs’ neighbors ceiling.
Yet that gave me the opportunity to share Christ with two of the guys who were working here.
Thanks again for praying for us.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
We are staying busy with our regular ministries, plus reaching out to Haitian university students—helping a few pay their university tuition and rent, but mostly helping students buy food. Some of them have lost their homes and their parents, so there is a lot of need even here in Santiago. Many of the students’ surviving relatives and friends have come over from Haiti. So an apartment formerly shared by five students, now houses 11 or 12. As well as feeding those who are here in the Dominican Republic, many of the students are trying to send food back to their family members in Haiti.
Elva is a Haitian friend who teaches French at Santiago Christian School. Since she has a good job, she's sending everything she can back to her family who lives in Port-au-Prince—their house was flattened, but they survived. Their neighbor’s house also collapsed, killing a man and three pets. Since they couldn't get the corpses out, Elva’s family is putting toothpaste under their noses to try to tolerate the smell. Elva is trying to buy plywood and roofing materials to build a temporary shelter for her family before the rains come. We sent boxes of food to her family in Haiti. They haven’t received any help from international aid organizations.
We also took food to Valerie—a fine, young Christian lady who just received her degree in Marketing at the university here. When we gave her an $80 gift that Judy's mom had given us to give to our Haitian friends, Val was so grateful she cried. Her mom, a successful business lady in the USA, had recently returned to Haiti to care for her husband, Val's dad, who suffered a stroke a couple years ago. He is partially paralyzed, but able to walk slowly with a cane. Their house in Port-au-Prince collapsed during the quake. Valerie’s mom was killed. They pulled her dad out of the rubble a couple hours later—being next to the house column saved his life. Valerie then brought her dad to Santiago. We have asked some of our Dominican friends who are doctors to help provide the medical care he needs.
Do pray for Val. She doesn’t have a job now because the quake destroyed the family business in Port-au-Prince. She is grieving for her mother and caring for her father, but at the same time, she is ministering to others. She asked for copies of the study NEW LIFE IN CHRIST so that she could share Christ with two of her friends.
David is a medical student/church leader who lost his brother in the quake. Many of the students are grieving the loss of family and friends, as well as experiencing post-traumatic stress. They are not sleeping well and find it hard to concentrate on their studies. Thanks to fellow CrossWorld missionaries who serve in France, we have gathered some materials in French on recognizing and dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and will be presenting this to the students in the coming weeks.
Elva is a Haitian friend who teaches French at Santiago Christian School. Since she has a good job, she's sending everything she can back to her family who lives in Port-au-Prince—their house was flattened, but they survived. Their neighbor’s house also collapsed, killing a man and three pets. Since they couldn't get the corpses out, Elva’s family is putting toothpaste under their noses to try to tolerate the smell. Elva is trying to buy plywood and roofing materials to build a temporary shelter for her family before the rains come. We sent boxes of food to her family in Haiti. They haven’t received any help from international aid organizations.
We also took food to Valerie—a fine, young Christian lady who just received her degree in Marketing at the university here. When we gave her an $80 gift that Judy's mom had given us to give to our Haitian friends, Val was so grateful she cried. Her mom, a successful business lady in the USA, had recently returned to Haiti to care for her husband, Val's dad, who suffered a stroke a couple years ago. He is partially paralyzed, but able to walk slowly with a cane. Their house in Port-au-Prince collapsed during the quake. Valerie’s mom was killed. They pulled her dad out of the rubble a couple hours later—being next to the house column saved his life. Valerie then brought her dad to Santiago. We have asked some of our Dominican friends who are doctors to help provide the medical care he needs.
Do pray for Val. She doesn’t have a job now because the quake destroyed the family business in Port-au-Prince. She is grieving for her mother and caring for her father, but at the same time, she is ministering to others. She asked for copies of the study NEW LIFE IN CHRIST so that she could share Christ with two of her friends.
David is a medical student/church leader who lost his brother in the quake. Many of the students are grieving the loss of family and friends, as well as experiencing post-traumatic stress. They are not sleeping well and find it hard to concentrate on their studies. Thanks to fellow CrossWorld missionaries who serve in France, we have gathered some materials in French on recognizing and dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and will be presenting this to the students in the coming weeks.
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