The Last Two Weeks!

It’s been two weeks now since the ground of Haiti shook violently for many consecutive seconds. During that time, many houses, schools, businesses, and even the government buildings such as the National Palace came tumbling down to the ground. It was and still is a horrible nightmare for the Haitian people who have been living in desperate conditions for years.
While in the DR we got this message from the family in whose house we spent the night before the quake and the place where we left our truck, “Hey Ricot…. I’m just writing because my parents are in Jackson Memorial in Miami… I wasn’t sure if you had heard the news or went by the house to find your truck- which, unfortunately isn’t really there anymore…Mom is worried about you and Mandy and wants to make sure you guys are okay. Mom had a leg amputated right under the knee and dad is still in the ICU with an amputated right arm and kidney failure, under heavy sedation. We do expect him to recover though. Mom has asked about you and Mandy, and I just wanted to pass along that message. I hope you and all your loved ones are safe.” Although we watched the news but it was hard to really understand the impact until we saw the pictures of the house we were in.

Ricot and Mandy's Truck

Since our house and vehicle in Port-au-Prince got totally destroyed, and most of our friends were afraid to sleep inside their own homes, we decided to play it by ear before returning to Haiti. After four days of waiting for our next move, we ended up connecting with a missionary team who have been working in the DR since the early 1990′s. They had plans to drive to Haiti to take some medicine to one of the World Vision’s camps who helping with the relief effort so we decided to ride with them and would have a friend waiting for us on the Haiti side to take us to our destination.
We made it to the border around 5pm and by then it was too late and too risky to continue the journey across Port-au-Prince, so the World Vision Team invited us to join and help them take the medicine to one of the nearest Haitian communities by the name of Fond Parisien, we ended up crossing the border without any immigration delay. To God Be The Glory.
The border was sad and emotional it was like an exodus; scores of people were walking in one direction toward the border with there bags on their heads. They were trying to escape the catastrophe of Haiti to enter the land of the Dominican but to their disappointment had to be denied entrance by the border patrol. We made it to the camp where we were suppose to drop the medicine and once again our hearts started to ache as we saw the amount of sick and injured laying in tents and under tarps on foams mats on the green grass.

Medical Camp at Fond Parisien

While there I decided to call some friends and family and was told that our niece, who had a broken femur, was at the exact location we were at. After a few minutes of searching I was able to locate her and her mom in one of the tents. She was in extreme pain but since there we so many sick people laying there, it was impossible for her to get a one on one attention. We helped them out with some money to get food and water, they were very happy as I reminded them that God was in control. I was also relieved to hear many who were there singing loudly in Creole, My God can do everything, He is Alpha, Omega, Beginning and the End, so my God can do anything for me.
After a long and emotional two weeks, we decided that it would be best for Mandy to go to Canada for a while and I would return to Haiti to help out in whichever way I can. Please pray for us for this is a hard time both of us but we know and trust that God is in control. Continue to keep us in your prayers.

Traveling Team