Haiti Crisis Updates
02/09/10 Word From Dr. Mark Fulton
The group of German doctors has returned to Germany and a new medical team from Indianapolis and Florida has arrived. With this team is a much-needed orthopedic surgeon and nurse anesthetist who speaks Creole. The few days between groups, our new German friends arranged for another German doctor to travel where she was stationed in Port Au Prince to work at the Saintard hospital for a day. Also during that interim time, a dentist/EMT and missionary Phyllis Newby were flown by German helicopter to a remote mountain village to provide medical care there.
Thirty military personnel from the United Nations, all hailing from Jamaica, are residing at the Saintard compound for several days. During the day, they travel to nearby villages to distribute food. There are many refugees throughout the area. The public buses are now free to the Haitians and many are being bussed out of Port Au Prince. Once they are out of Port Au Prince, many have nowhere to go, as their house and all of their belongings were destroyed in the earthquake. Local churches are helping these refugees, as they are able.
Missionaries and groups throughout Haiti are working together to share and distribute medicine, medical supplies, and food. People of various nationalities are working together to bring aid to the people of Haiti.
Please continue to pray for weary relief workers, safe travel, efficient distribution of relief supplies, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ will be spread during this relief effort. The needs will continue for a very long time.
02/04/10 The Lord Continues to Provide
The Saintard Mission Center continues to minister daily to people through food supplies and providing medical assistance. They received 20 sacks of rice from the pilots that have been flying the helicopter to the property. Fifteen sacks of rice were carried in a net underneath the helicopter. This had to be a new sight for many of the Haitians to see. The Jamaican Army has provided food and water to distribute to the community. Gasoline has been made available to the Center upon request from an unidentified source. This allows them to run the generators for electricity and vehicles for transportation. We have another audio clip from Sister Phyllis that can be found on our Plow Website. Also there is an interview with Dr. Sugar, who is an orthopedic surgeon here in Sarasota, concerning his recent experience in Haiti. Please continue to pray for the Haitian people and Sister Phyllis as she needs the Lord’s strength and wisdom to navigate the many situations.
01/28/10 Good News From the Mission Center!
A helicopter landed on Wednesday in Saintard with the German medical team plus two from Canada (Chuck Kerr & Steve Omand). Dr. Mark Fulton and Randall Grey also arrived on Wednesday from Indiana. They were told that the helicopter would return on Thursday with food supplies from the Dominican Republic.
The United Nations provided diesel for the mission center which will help to run the generators and vehicles. Also, a technician from a company in PAP will be on the property on Friday to repair the generators.
01/26/2010
Jamaican soldiers, including doctors, nurses, and military police, arrived at the Saintard Mission Center today (January 26.) They brought and distributed 500 packages of food and water to the Haitian people. However, Phyllis estimates that there were closer to 1,000 people waiting for assistance. She was thankful for the presence of the military police and their supervision of the crowd.
The Jamaican soldiers also brought an engineer whoinspected all the buildings at the mission center. The engineer found nothing structurally damaged and he said that the cracks were only cosmetic in nature. Praise the Lord!
The German medical group is to arrive this evening (January 26.) Dr. Mark Fulton, who oversees the mission center hospital, will be flying in tomorrow.
Phyllis’ words were, “We are okay. The Lord is blessing. Don’t worry about us – just pray for us!”
Newsflash from Haiti
Sister Phyllis and the people around her continue to be doing okay considering the circumstances. Her first response yesterday was that “The Lord is good.” Supplies are needed and we are looking into the different avenues for getting things to them.
This Tuesday – A medical team from Germany will be going in to work at the hospital in Saintard, Haiti, located on Phyllis Newby’s compound. Please pray for their helicopter flight from the Dominican Republic into Saintard. Also, please pray that they will have the needed medical supplies.
01/16/2010
Sister Phyllis Newby made contact with us today, (January 16th, Saturday.) Phyllis shares that they are well and working through the many difficulties of providing for so many in need. Here are some of her words: “We give thanks to God for His goodness! Where we are here in Saintard there hasn’t been much damage, but now we are getting news from the outlying areas of Port-au-Prince and the news is not good. Again, God has been good to us here in Saintard, we know that it is His goodness toward us. We are so thankful for those who have been praying for us and have blessed us with everything. The stories that we are hearing from people coming to us are overwhelming. We are grateful for the goodness of God. I wonder what people will do who do not know the Lord.”
She also said that they recently went toward Port-au-Prince looking for gasoline without success. On the way, she said they saw “piles and piles and piles of dead bodies.” One of the locations where she usually gets food was totally destroyed. She is very thankful to have good relationships with several other storeowners and they are willing to give her food on credit. The banks are not functioning and there is no money. Rice is now selling for 620 Haitian dollars for a 100-pound sack, which is almost $73. Keep in mind that the average Haitian makes less than $2 a day.
There was concern for the doctors that work at the hospital on the Saintard compound but they have now received word from them and they are all alive. They are planning to reopen the clinic on Monday.
Phyllis is asking that groups not go into Haiti at this time. The streets are very unsafe. You may have heard that the prisoners in PAP were out on the streets and some of them went to the Arcahaie jail and set those prisoners free, too. These criminals are carrying machetes and other tools to rob from whomever they can.
Sister Phyllis is considering cutting down some of the trees on the property to allow the wood to dry. They would then have it in case they are unable to get charcoal for cooking purposes. For those of you who don’t know Sister Phyllis too well – for her to cut down a tree would mean they are truly suffering.
Phyllis is planning to update us on a regular basis and we will keep you posted on her needs and on the current situation in Haiti. She would prefer you to call our offices for any communication needs rather than calling her in Haiti. We’ll be able to give you any up-to-date necessities that Phyllis may have.
When asked what she needs, her response was “Funds and more funds…”
Thank you for your love and prayers for Haiti!
You can also send a check to us at: Hand to the Plow Ministries, 16221 Rawls Road, Sarasota, FL 34240-9147. Please mark your check for “Haiti Restoration”.
