From Port-au-Prince

Wow!  I thought it had been such a long time since I posted, surely nobody was following me anymore.  Glad to see I still have at least one faithful reader.  Thank God for sisters!

I arrived in Port three days ago.  My internet connection is unreliable and slow so this will be a short blog!  I drove around the city with my camera two days ago.  At first, I was asking Dadou to stop every few minutes so I could capture an image.  But after a while, it started to seem senseless!  There is so much devastation and it doesn't take long before it all starts to look the same!  How many pictures can you take of crumbled houses and still have something different to say with each image?  Some buildings have disintegrated into nothing more than a pile of dusty rubble.  And even though these buildings have been completely destroyed, the image isn't as powerful as a house that still retains some of its structure but is in a crumbled state.  To see a huge building or house sitting at an angle with walls missing and the cement roof caved in........  it's an awesome sight.  I wish I could post a few pictures, but don't have the capacity to do that so will have to wait until I get home.

I was able to visit many of our friends and Eddy's family yesterday.  Their situations are amazing.  It's true that there is a resilient spirit in this country.  Life goes on despite the loss and devastation.  People have already adjusted to their new situations.  Yesterday marked one month since the quake and all the churches, Protestant and Catholic, are holding three days of fasting and services.  As I drove around the streets, the church doors were open and the streets were PACKED with people who could not find entrance.  Everybody praising God and blessing the miracle of another day. ....

I've been sleeping under the stars and there is something very natural about it.  To sleep on the ground among a bunch of strangers who feel like friends with the moon and the stars looking down......  I don't know how to describe it other than to say, my sleep is deep and peaceful.

My boxes have arrived at the depot in Port-au-Prince and I'm waiting on Thomas to come get me so I can begin the process of dividing the provisions up and delivering them to folks in need.  My brother-in-law will be arriving from Jeremie on Tuesday and he will be taking supplies of food and money back to people in Jeremie.  It's hard to make a plan for the future as everything continues to be so unreliable.  But we are taking our days minute by minute and things are managing, somehow, to get done!