prior email updates...

Saturday, January 23, 2010


Hello all. I'm writing to give the most current update I have concerning the Haiti Fund Inc/CODEP project and my future departure from the USA. This week, the Carlin family (with whom I will be traveling to and working with in Haiti) arrived in Pittsburgh. They arrived on Thursday (a day ahead of schedule) in order to get Mike (the husband/father) on a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, FL where he connected with Scott Britton (a close friend). On Friday, Mike and Scott flew into Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Saturday morning they were helicoptered into Leogane near the compound in Haiti. Saturday afternoon, Mike and his wife, Nicole, were able to chat over the internet about the status of the beach compound where they have been living since September. Parts of the wall surrounding the compound had fallen and crushed portions of the garden. The buildings on the compound showed some cracks, but visually appeared to be stable. When Nicole spoke with him, Mike had only been on the compound for an hour. In that hour, they experienced two aftershocks. During these aftershocks, the buildings responded to the earth shake, but did not appear to be unstable. Obviously, there are still questions about the structural stability of the buildings. In the meanttime, they are making plans to be able to access the computers and internet so that no one will have to be inside the concrete buildings to do so. Generally people are doing all they can to get outside during the aftershocks, which makes sense considering the number of buildings that have collapsed.


Some of the other details Mike shared are as follows. Everything on shelves in the buildings fell off, but Mike reported that the staff had cleaned the rooms prior to his arrival. The stoves, refrigerator, and freezer moved away from the walls, but did not fall down. The water heater for both the directors' quarters and the guest house fell and damaged everything in the way on their way down. In the directors' quarters, they believe this only affected some construction materials. In the guest house, the water filtration system was damaged. Mike also reported damage in the piping from the well to the buildings. Some of the concrete ponds for the tilatpia also broke and lost all their water. None of the beach children who are involved with the project died. Praise God. Mike and Scott were planning to spend the majority of today trekking into the mountain to assess damage and need throughout the rest of the project area.


They will also be present for the first distribution of supplies that is scheduled to arrive tomorrow or Monday. At this point we don't have any specific information on how the supplies will actually make it to the area, but Mike is going to work with the Haitians involved with the project to apply the system and skills they have been using for years to distribute fertilizer to now distribute whatever supplies arrive. Mike and Scott are hoping to return to the States in the next couple of days, but again we don't have details on exactly how that will happen. Nicole and I have been processing the situation as time and information allows. There are a few scenarios we are considering for the short-term as we await more specifics to help us determine the longer-term plan. My last day at my current job is Friday, January 29th. After that, we are planning to move as a team wherever that may be.


I wish I had more answers for the numerous questions being asked, but I don't. I do know that HFI/CODEP is incorporating the obvious need for immediate relief into their established long-term development projects. Please feel free to continue looking for additional information and updates on the website at http://www.haitifundinc.org/. We are all working to give information as we receive it, while recognizing that is has been changing regularly.


Thank you to all who have already supported the people of Haiti whether it was through a financial donation to some organization or whether it is through your prayers. There is still much work to be done, but Haitians are no strangers to hardwork. They are accustomed to making the most of the available resources and have faith and hope that things will get better.








Sunday, January 24, 2010


Hi again. I realized last night after sending off yesterday's update that I had forgotten a few details. First and foremost, I wanted to say that if you have any questions that I am not answering, please let me know. Because I am not sending out daily updates, I sometimes forget that certain details may not have been communicated. I apologize for that and hope that you will let me know if I have assumed you know something that indeed I didn't manage to mention.


As far as Mike Carlin returning to Haiti, his presence there has two main purposes. The first is to set up reliable communication. He is delivering a rented satelliete phone and then working to make using the internet and computer accessible to the staff at the project. The second purpose is to assess the situation currently. Having communication established should help to continue assessing matters once he returns to the states.


As far as I know, we will not be returning to Haiti as a group until there is food, water, and fuel accessible to us so that we are not taking from the relief efforts/supplies that are currently in place. But as I said yesterday, as this point we don't have a clear sense of how long it will be before we will have those available.








Monday, February 1, 2010


Greetings! I am currently procrastinating from the final stages of packing and decided that if I managed to actually get out another update that I could at least count the time as mildly productive :) I will therefore get down to business and probably keep it fairly short.


I finished my last day of work on Friday, spent some time with friends and co-workers, and then traveled to western New York to see family on Saturday. It was relaxing once I got on the road and put thoughts of packing out of my mind. I had some really great conversations while I was there and enjoyed every minute of that mini-getaway. I was also able to connect with a few people who will soon by following my adventures in Haiti. I returned to Pittsburgh this evening.


The Carlin family left Pittsburgh this morning and flew to Miami to meet up with some friends before Mike hopefully travels on to Haiti later this week. As I said already, I am packing up the remainder of my belongings. I will be heading out tomorrow morning if all goes as desired. Over the next 4-7 days I will be traversing the countryside to see some of you who are supporting me. Then I will be flying to meet Nicole and the children wherever they are stationed at the time. As a team we have discussed all returning to Haiti as early as next week, although to my knowledge there are no definite plans at this point.


As you may be able to infer, I am taking it one day at a time. I will update you more as the details reach me. In the meantime, my specific prayer requests are the ability to finish organizing my things. The drive tomorrow is 3.5-4 hours to New Straitsville, OH where I will be staying with a good friend. I will be sharing with Hemlock Community Church in the evening. Wednesday I will likely be continuing on to Smiths Grove, Kentucky 6 hours away. I hope to attend Lifeway Community Church that eveninig. I am looking forward to some down time with family and friends after that.







Saturday, February 6, 2010


This week I was supposed to leave for Haiti. Instead I have spent the last few days meeting new people and giving updates about my trip, which has been interesting when the answer is so frequently "we don't know yet." Regardless, I do know that God is fully aware of the situation we are facing. He has known our travel plans well in advance and is taking care of all the details.

Mike Carlin, John Winings (executive director of HFI/CODEP), a couple of board members, and an additional couple of men left on Thursday, February 4th to prepare for the entire Carlin family and myself to return next week. They plan to assess the project more fully and begin developing a plan on how we will proceed in our efforts at this time.

I believe Mike and his companions will be returning on the 10th. If all goes according to plan, there is a good possibility that the Carlin family and I will then be flying to Port-au-Prince on February 14th. In the meantime, Nicole and the children are still in Florida. I will be joining them prior to our departure, but I do not yet know exactly when I will do so. My goal this weekend is (hopefully) to developo a more concrete plan :)




Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Many of you have been asking for details on when I am leaving the country. It finally dawned on me yesterday afternoon that the reason for so many asking in the last couple of days was that at one point just over a week ago, that was the information I had been sharing with you all. In fact, I have not left the country. I am currently still in Kentucky with family and friends and addressing last minute details. I am however flying from Nashville, TN to Ft. Myers, FL tomorrow morning to meet the Carlins. Mike is supposed to be returning to the states today, which will allow us to have 3 days together as a team for planning and preparation before we leave for Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Sunday morning. Yes, I do mean this Sunday, which is February 14th.

The follow-up question people ask when they hear when I'm leaving is how am I doing. So I will answer that one now as well. I am at times feeling the anxiety I would expect knowing that I'm making such a big change in my life. The anxiety is not overwhelming, but is occasionally present when some of the specifics are "finalized" for this trip. I am also frequently feeling as if I can't get everything accomplished that I need/want to, but I know God is in control and am therefore comforted that the details will be handled. I am a little sad to be leaving my friends and family, but I am definitely excited to see what God has in store for me. The excitement is generally more prominent than any of the anxiety.




Saturday, February 13, 2010

Greetings all!
I am currently sitting in the Carlins' hotel room typing this quick update as we finish our lunch cleanup and have a couple short minutes of downtime. We have spent the morning making some last minute purchases, which will continue this afternoon as well. In the morning, we will be taking ourselves and our belongings in two vehicels to the airport to catch a private flight out of Fort Myers and into Port-au-Prince. I believe the flight is scheduled to leave around 9am. We should arrive in Haiti before noon and then will be meeting Clement (one of the staff there) who hopefully will bring the big truck to make transportation back to the compound somewhat easier. Once we arrive in L'acul we are planning to have a day to unpack, do laundry, and ideally unwind just a bit before the week starts.




Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day. Friends of mine said to me a few days ago, "we are so happy that your dream/adventure is about to take off and how appropriate that it be Valentine's Day... sharing your heart and love!" Their words of encouragement put a new spin on this beginning.

I had begun to type this email once already tonight. It was more detailed then, but I accidentally erased it and am now too tired to spend the same amount of time clearly describing what the day was like. Instead I will say that we arrived safely in Haiti, made it through customes (not at all what I would have expected), drove to L'acul, past some seriously devastated areas, and spent the remainder of the day unpacking/organizing. It has been a long, full day. I am sunburnt and ready for bed. Therefore I will say goodnight and promise to fill you in more in depth soon.

Thank you to those who are faithfully supporting me in prayer. Over the next week, I ask specifically for strength and wisdom in self-care as well as being open/available to those around me as I readjust to my new home and life. The transitions certainly have not stopped. I also need to make time for God and practicing/adding to my Creole knowledge.