Helping Haiti's Children

Many have expressed an interest in knowing what they can do to continue helping. These links give specific information. Please forward this information to others who may be interested.

http://www.foyerdesion.org/

http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/100209protecting.html

http://www.lds.org/humanitarianservices/0,19749,6208,00.html

Phone Call Sunday Night

(We know that guy in the red shirt!)

Aaron called Sunday night. We were able to talk for quite a while. In the background a few cheers occasional were heard. Someone had figured out a way to show the Super Bowl. Reliable electricity sources were available for cell phones, etc. now.

He explained that many of the group had gotten sick for a few days from the food. He said he had started getting it but had quickly started on medication before it got bad. Most are starting to feel better. They will be eating only MRE's until they return home.

Sunday they spent with the Members of the LDS Church there in worship services and relaxing. He said it had been a good day. He has taken many pictures he is anxious to share with us.

The last few days before his return the construction crew planned to complete as much work as possible at the Mardy Orphanage. He told an exciting story about a giant size tarantula that had come to see him while he was up on top of the roof they were building. He said he had never seen anything that large during all his time in Brazil. It was at least 6-7" in diameter.

He also said there are very large rats here. I'm sure he'll be anxious to tell a few stories about them.

The additional teams that were coming to replace them will not be coming. For many reasons (outlined in the UHTF blog link posted at the left,) additional groups from UHTF will not be able to replace them when they are flown out by the U.S. Military Wednesday evening.

Though I personally will sleep a little easier. My heart will continue to pray for the struggling people they leave behind. We will continue to do what we can to support humanitarian work there.

They plan to arrive Thursday evening. We are thankful for their courageous service and will be very happy to have them safely home. This has been an adventure and great learning experience for all of us. We are proud of you, Aaron, and all the rest of the UHTF members! Thank You!

Hopefully all we have to worry about for a while will be Aaron riding his motorcycle again.

Notes from Haiti

Latest update from Meridan magazine blog is posted  here.  About 20 people are still sick.  Aaron left a message on our phone last night saying he was fine.  We hope to hear from him again soon.  It appears something many of them ate may have been the cause of the “Haitian Curse” as they call it.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Temporary Internet Connection at the U.N. Building - Haiti

I noted a brief message from Aaron on facebook made about 4:00 p.m. yesterday, “

am currently in a UN building with temp internet access in Haiti!It is an adventure here! Be very thankful for the comforts we take for granted and please donate to help this suffering people!!

Sickness in the Utah Hospital Task Force Camp

An update article from Erin McBride posted late Friday, February 5th, says 22 members of the 125 members of the task force have been hit with a severe illness. The fortunate thing is that they have excellent medical care and the love of each other and Heaven to be with them. As I read this post and tried to swallow my anxiety for them. The scripture from the New Testament, John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?tab=cy#stream/user%2F16545456741304483044%2Fstate%2Fcom.google%2Fstarred

Phone Call #2 from Haiti

Tonight Aaron called us again. He said he was doing fine, [but sounded very tired.]

His construction group for the past couple of days has been at the main medical site clearing roadways of concrete debris with shovels and wheel barrows.

He said the roads are very narrow and are blocked with rubble in most areas.

He said they would probably be going back out to the orphanage soon too finish up their work so the children could be moved.

It will take about 5 months to complete work on the inside of the building. When the construction crew leaves, the children will get their tents as temporary shelter.

LDS Church members in the area came into the orphanage compound and cooked beans and rice for them. It was a great blessing.

Most people sleep in the streets. They are afraid to go to sleep inside their damaged homes. Another aftershock could cause complete collapse to structures that are still standing.

Many people died in their medical areas today. One baby was delivered C-section. Tomorrow medical teams are again going into new areas where no medical help has been available.

He may not be able to call again before he returns since there is no way to charge the cell phone. He has taken many pictures.

In one more week another group of volunteers is scheduled to arrive. He will probably have to leave to come home then. They now have option of staying 4 weeks from the time they arrived or going home next Wednesday, (February 10th.) He had only cleared 3 weeks of work off.

He again expressed love for everyone and said to tell you all, “Thank You for the financial donations, the volunteers and the prayers. We have seen many miracles.”

Phone Call from Haiti

We got a phone call from Aaron Saturday night. I was able to talk with him for about 20 minutes. I was with Grandma Joan at the time his call came. We put the phone on loud speaker and afterwards she helped me make notes of the things he said so we could relay them to all of you.

He said he is in a safe place and everyone is okay. He wanted to know if everything is alright here and said to tell you all how much he loves you all. Over and over he said, “We are so blessed at home. Pray for the children here.”

For him the hardest physical difficulty so far is that the UHTF Team has decided to ration their own food, [probably so they can stay 3 weeks instead of the 2 weeks that were planned as they left Utah.] The first week they get 2 granola bars and 1 MRE meal each day. The second and third week they will have 2 meals a day. Some of the medical groups and Creole speaking returned missionaries have had additional food, (rice & beans,) given to them from the Haitians there as they have been helping and talking to people on the streets.

Aaron said his group of 16 construction workers would get a lunch meal of rice and beans on Sunday provided by the Haitian members of the LDS Church in the immediate area. He said they were really looking forward to it. He saves his granola bars until he absolutely has to eat them. They aren’t very good. They have water that has been trucked in. They can take bucket showers which he is very thankful for. He is drinking lots of water to prevent dehydration. They were given a water purifier, a crank flashlight, a medicine kit with antibiotics, a 1” air mattress, a blanket and a small tent before they left Utah. They could only bring 25 lbs of their own supplies on the flight because they had to bring extra fuel and water they had not planned on.

Shortly they will have a generator available. A few men in the group have international cell phones which they generously share. He will be able to call again.

The first night they had very little sleep. The area where their tents are is very noisy. He especially mentioned all the chickens. [Pictures are on the UHTF blog link.]

Aaron said his construction group has moved to an area a little outside of Port-au-Prince where they are preparing an empty building structure with a cement wall around it to be a safe orphanage. This particular structure and the surrounding compound were miraculously left undamaged in the earthquake.

A Haitian LDS Bishop there is running an orphanage in Port-au-Prince that was partially damaged. An aftershock could cause it to completely fall. Children are still living there. Aaron’s group is constructing a lean-to kitchen and a latrine to make it habitable.

They are pouring cement, digging an 8 foot deep trench, etc.

This Bishop was standing on the wall of the compound when the earthquake hit. He said the ground moved up, then to the right, then to the left, and then settled back down. The construction team could find no cracks in the foundation or anywhere in the structure. The main building material here is cement. Few of the cement buildings are reinforced with rebar. This building was.

This same Bishop lost a sister, brother-in-law and mother-in-law in the earthquake. His wife had her legs crushed but he was able to pull her from the rubble. A few days before the earthquake his little son had been kidnapped by people they believe are involved in human trafficking. They are still searching for him. Even so, this good man has been at the site with them continuously, dressed in his white shirt and tie, displaying a great spirit of love and enthusiasm for the work they are doing. He has been helping any way he can.

Aaron said the way the people live and build their homes, the living conditions, the climate, the poverty etc., is exactly like where he served his LDS Mission in Recife, Brazil; except the people speak a different language and the houses and buildings are all crumbled. It is very hot and humid. [It is has been between 87 F high, 66 low with about 60% humidity. The time zone is 2 hours ahead of us.]

The city is starting to clean up. Bulldozers and other heavy equipment are starting to move the rubble. People are starting to sell things again on the streets. Food drops are helping to alleviate the hunger. Though he has not seen anything morbid at this point, the smell of death is in the air.

Some Haitian adults hoard the food from the food drops and try to sell it rather than share with those in need. The little children suffer the worst. Many are unattended to. Again he said, “Pray for the children.”

In the immediate area around the military base where many of the tents are set up, the worst medical cases were already attended to before their arrival. On Sunday the medical teams and Creole speaking members of the Utah Hospital Task Force will be going into areas where medical help has not yet been available.

He has seen Dr. Bell often. He is doing alright.

President Studdert thanked Aaron for coming and expressed his love for our family. Aaron mentioned Steven Studdert’s amazing personal relations skills as he talked army officials into allowing the charter flight they took to remain in the airport area long enough to get the papers cleared for the 66 orphans to be able to fly back to the U.S.

It was great to talk to him. Thank you all for your love, donations and prayers.