Children Evacuated from Cazeau Orphanage, Port au Prince

It's been a long couple days... not much sleep, but that's ok, morning can't come fast enough. Every moment taken to wait on this, wait on that... though reasonable & understandable considering the amount of work and the amount of people doing it in Port au Prince... feels like an eternity. Antsy, ready, hyper to go-go-go and get things done emotions have to be balanced with concrete, calculated decisions... because a bad decision means time wasted. Oh well-- at least we can think & talk & brainstorm at 100 miles an hour and scratch off the thoughts and plans about how to do the most with what we have to help the most people... and the right, most people... in the wake of this larger than life tragic earthquake.

Received a txt from Joe K. yesterday... Suzie contacted him that the children's home in Cazeau had to be evacuated; walls had fallen down, supplies had run out, and the already bad neighborhood was getting worse. Way worse. Bands of guys roaming the streets with machetes, looking & looting worse.

Courageously they transported 150 or so kids, most with mental & physical disabilities one hour north of the city to a new facility that is in the process of being finished. Not finished yet, but an oasis away from the chaos and concerns of the capital.

We hoped to leave base around noon with and truck rice, beans, water, & diesel fuel up to the kids' new home. Never been there before, but with Joe K.'s simple directions scratched on a notepad, "Go through Archiae about 8 miles and make a right down the gravel road at the Texaco station", we couldn't miss :-)

On the way north on National #1, lo and behold a small pickup ahead with a load of praising ladies in the trailer... right behind a white delivery truck with half its roof ripped off, loaded with kids, wheelchairs, & iv's. It was them! Thank God for people who get in there and get it done... even if you have to turn a busted up delivery truck into a special kids mobile!

We joined the convoy & bumped up the gravel road to Williamson... and oh what singing, shouting, and dancing there was when the last truckload arrived.

Didn't have too much time to sit & soak it all in-- darkness was coming and the troops have a curfew over the city-- we had to make it through and get back to base or it may have been a long night sleeping in the back of our delivery truck.

Our little friends-- Martin was fine (I could barely hold the tears back when he came around the corner with his little hospital shirt on-- he's the dude up top this post); Eduard was fine... and smiling ear to ear like usual; Henri was fine... and wouldn't stop hugging anyone he could for as long as he could, as usual. And Xanthus was fine and looking better than ever, literally.

And they were all so happy to be in a new place called "Home". Nothing like 150 rejoicing kids and caregivers to lift your spirits.

Hoped to upload more photos, but night is almost spent and the mosquitoes aren't giving up.

FTH team leaving for PauP in the morning

A lot of expectation, anticipation, prayer. Wishing we were there already. But much is in motion; latest news is that 6,000 gallons of water will cross border into Haiti at 0700 Sunday.

Today we assembled about 450 lbs. of medicines, wound management, and casting supplies to hand carry to the clinic. Two orthopedic doctors arrive on Monday morning... so far people with the severest breaks & injuries have been taken across the border for care in the Dominican.

Morning can't come fast enough.

Help Haitian Earthquake Survivors!!

By now you may have heard about the tragic earthquake that hit the capitol city of Port au Prince, Haiti; 7.0 magnitude, only 9 miles offshore, and only 6 miles below the earth’s surface.

In the morning the imagery and the extent of the devastation will reveal just how destructive this earthquake was. Potentially tens of thousands of people perished in a matter of minutes.

The earthquake struck just before 5 p.m. EST time; Joe Krabacher from Mercy & Sharing contacted Feed The Hungry at 5:10 p.m. With phone lines and cell towers down, it took quite some time to actually connect with personnel in Port au Prince, but finally got through to Madame Chenet. She reported that the orphanage, school, and three-story medical clinic were spared; but she could not report on the Abandoned Baby Unit… which is housed at the General Hospital in Port au Prince. News reports have stated that the General Hospital collapsed, but those reports are yet to be confirmed. We can only hope that the children at the ABU were spared as well.

Feed The Hungry is in full response mode… ministry partners on the ground in Haiti are assessing the damage and ready to respond with emergency supplies.

Your help is urgently needed. Your generous support today will help provide emergency food and relief supplies to survivors. Survival Kits will include items like the following:

Emergency food

Blankets

Drinkable water

Cooking supplies

Plastic sheeting for shelter

In addition to immediate life-saving aid, your gift will also provide for the long-term needs of children and families, rebuilding communities and restoring hope.

For over 20 years, Feed The Hungry has provided emergency assistance to help people in need all around the world.

If you'd like to help the children and families in Haiti who have lost everything because of this tragic earthquake, please visit http://www.feedthehungry.org/ and help today.

Thank you!!!

Meet Stanley in Yei, Sudan

New video at http://www.youtube.com/feedthehungryUSA

Crises Hit Pacific Islands

Philippines Flood Disaster
- 73,892 people rescued
- 2,254,915 people affected
- 389,616 located in 561 evacuation shelters
- 736,197 displaced people
- 3,374 homes affected




Padang, Indonesia Earthquake
- 7.6 Magnitude
- Devastates Padang
- Current Death Toll: 529 people (number of casualties are expected to increase rapidly as search efforts continue)

Samoa Tsunami Disaster
- 8.0 Magnitude Earthquake devastates Samoa @ 6.48am local time
- Deadly Tsunami strikes islands at 07:00am

Historic and devastating floods in the Philippines, a killer tsunami in Samoa, and deadly earthquakes in Indonesia... its been a horrific week for literally millions of people in these Pacific islands. In the Philippines alone, more than 2 million homes have been destroyed.

Pete Sumrall, President of Feed The Hungry received an emergency e-mail from David & Beverly Sumrall. They pastor Cathedral of Praise in Manila, Philippines, a vibrant church started by Dr. Lester Sumrall more than 50 years ago. Beverly shared these gripping words:

"Flooding was horrific all over the city-- what had been knee high rose to neck high in a matter of seconds-- areas that were neck high rose to 15 feet. Thousands of people spent day and night on the roof of their houses without food or drinkable water. Areas of the city which had never flooded before were inundated with water. The floods rose so suddenly. Entire families grabbed their children by the hands and ran for their lives, only to have their little ones swept away by the raging torrents. They were too weak to hang on, and too little to survive. Many children are among the dead. In the Marikina Jail, prisoners were not allowed to go out to seek higher ground, they drowned in their cells."
The need is enormous and the situation is desperate. Feed The Hungry is responding immediately to help displaced families in Manila, Samoa, and Indonesia by purchasing tons of staple food items and water for the church to serve the suffering.




If you'd like to help families who have lost homes and belongings because of these natural disasters, please visit http://www.feedthehungry.org/ and help today. Thank you.

Managua, Nicaragua

We have been in Nicaragua for 6 days now, enjoying a wonderful ministry experience with a team of 11 wonderful people from Cornerstone Family Church of North Carolina. Under the caring leadership of Troy Doudy (who serves as a missionary in Nicaragua along with his wife, Ginnette and son, Aaron) we provided food paks and conducted evangelistic services in Nueva Guinea, Calderon, Santa Rita and Bluefields. It is the peak of rainy season here, and we battle the rain and mud...lots of mud... each day. However, the weather conditions cannot dampen the excitement of the team as we see God's hand work in mighty ways!

We have seen people respond to salvation, be filled with the Spirit, and receive miracles. One miracle that stands out to me took place in Nueva Guinea - a mother and father brought their young son up for prayer. There were many people lined up to receive healing and we did not even know they were there. Suddenly the father began to weep uncontrollably. When asked through the interpreter what was happening, he told us that their son was scheduled for major surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on his neck. The tumor was clearly visible as a large lump. When Pastor Jonathan Morgan from Cornerstone began to pray, they closed their eyes to agree for a miracle for their son. When they opened their eyes the lump on the side of his neck was completely gone! As I looked at it, I could see a couple of lines but it was perfectly smooth and flat. Praise the Lord! There were many more miracles throughout the trip just like this one!

It was an honour to meet Pastor Angel Gahona in Bluefields. He is in the process of planting 20 churches in Nicaragua, pastors a large church in Bluefields, and is starting a major feeding center to minister to the large number of people in extreme poverty in Bluefields. Lamar, Kandesa, and I traveled with him to one of the poorest areas, which is called "July 19". It's funny that it has a name, since it's actually the city garbage dump. However, it is home to the very poorest who try to survive each day by scavenging in the waste along with the pigs. It is in this very area that Feed the Hungry will partner with Pastor Gahona to begin a feeding center that will feed people each day - in body, soul, and spirit. Pastor Gahona will also use his cell group leaders to target other families imprisoned by poverty in Bluefields and bring the hope of Christ through the Word of God and food provided by Feed the Hungry.

Once we returned to Managua we were able to visit the feeding center where Feed the Hungry is feeding over 250 children. When the bus with our team pulled into the center we were immediately surrounded by children who were laughing and screaming in their excitement to see us. They knew we were bringing food! We held a children's service, where the US team presented their salvation skit, and a clown talked about Jesus using tricks like sticking a needle through a balloon without having it pop. Then we helped to serve the children as they ate their meal. It was heartbreaking to see that many of the children were sick due to improper sanitary conditions, and a number had the tell-tale signs of malnutrion (such as orange hair).

I am so glad that Feed the Hungry is able to make a difference to these children, and hope to be able to increase our ability to help even more children in Nicaragua. I have left a piece of my heart in Nicaragua, with the beautiful children who are so gracious and determined and who need Jesus with all their hearts!

Doreen Sparman

International FTH Director

Canada

Blog by Proxy

Lamar Austin (FTH US) and Doreen Sparman (FTH Canada) are leading a group of 15 down the Escondido River in Nicaragua. The group arrived in Managua last Friday and they've been visiting villages all along the river on the way to Bluefields-- a great little port city on the Atlantic Coast.

Lamar's called in a couple times & Doreen has been able to send a few photos, but web access has been a little sparse, as you could imagine. It's the rainy season (the REALLY rainy season) and the team's been holding up well.

Here's a neat story-- the guys ran into a village farmer who received help from Feed The Hungry on a previous mission, for several years he's harvested a crop from the seeds that we sent to Nicaragua several years ago and used the surplus to benefit others in the village. Pay it forward brother!

Hopefully Lamar or Doreen can connect soon and post a first-person update. Today they are at a feeding center that FTH helped resurrect in Bluefields; two hundred children or so are coming to the center daily for lunch and school tutoring.