Wow.  Where to start?

Today was such a hectic day for me and the rest of our team left here in the States.  I can’t imagine what our team in Haiti is feeling right now.  Troopers; that’s what they are.  To give you a clear picture of what happened today, let’s look at a time line…

8 AM: I received the email from Jeff Brown that was posted earlier.

8: 30 AM: As the team in the Dominican scrambled to find another plan to travel to Haiti, the HSM Director (Lou Hoekstra) and I worked on getting facilities for our team to use when they arrived in Jacmel.  We always assumed they would arrive; we just didn’t know when!

Throughout this process, we were able to foster a friendship with some missionaries serving with The Haitian Children’s Home in Jacmel.  They’ve been in Jacmel and have served as our eyes and ears.  Without them we wouldn’t have known the whereabouts of Jean Claude or any connections to set up our medical people.  In short, these guys and girls have been an incredible blessing to us.

8-10:30 AM: We kept in contact with our team as the pursued other means of travel.  At 10:30 AM, they were able to get access to a plane that would fly them into Jacmel.  Though it was going to be a hefty (and unexpected) expense, we knew that every minute was important and keeping our doctors in the DR would not, in any way, help our friends in Jacmel.

12 PM: The team boarded the plane for Jacmel.

1: 45 PM: After an event-less flight, the team arrived in Jacmel.  Immediately, they met one of our partner missionaries (Danny Pye) and were briefed about the situation in Jacmel.  A text came through to us from Erin Mungia saying, “Where is Jean Claude?  He’s not here!”.  As you probably could guess, cellphone service in Haiti right now is spotty.  Actually, it’s always spotty.  Now, at least there’s a reason!

3 PM: After multiple attempts at contacting Jean Claude from the US, the team decided to find a ride to Jean Claude’s house outside of Jacmel.

The team broke up into three parts.  The doctors went to a location to start facilitating medical care.  The nurses and soome of the team went to the orphanage.  Jay and Erin Mungia waited at Jean Claude’s house for JC to arrive.

5:30 PM:  The team at the orphanage brought Watson to Erin for what was surely an emotional reunion of mother and son.

Tomorrow: Our team will get an early start on assessing the situation in Jacmel and working at the hospital.  As I hear more, I’ll update you.

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Just in case you’ve missed these articles, here are some publicity HSM has received lately.  Remember, you can donate to HSM online.

- LaPorte Volunteers Headed to Haiti (WSBT) and (SB Tribune)

- Haiti Earthquake: Heartbreak and Joy in Jacmel (Examiner.com)

- Haiti Earthquake: Jacmel, One Week Later (Examiner.com)

- Area Man Uses Facebook to Connect With Loved Ones (Herald-Argus)

- LP County Physicians Off to Haiti (Herald-Argus)