Haiti Updates: MAF Aiding Relief Effort

Click "Read more", below, and scroll down for earlier news and pictures of MAF's part in the Haiti earthquake relief and recovery effort. We will update this page as more reports come in.

11:29 (MST), Tuesday, 2 March 2010

John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager:

First of all it has been a pleasure serving with you. I leave tomorrow on a break and Tim Vennell will fill in for me in my absence.

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• The MAF hangar was blessed last evening. A soldier (called “Too tall” – you will see in the picture) walked into our hangar and asked if we could help baptize his friend Sgt. Scott Black. After talking with Scott we discussed where he would like to be baptized – in a local church, in a few days after we set up a service? No. He asked if he could be baptized that night. Kinda like the Ethiopian eunuch. So at around 8:30pm with those staying overnight at the hangar, we had a service with song, scripture, testimony and baptism. God gave the words – I have never done this before. God was working in a man’s life and various circumstances that led him to the MAF hangar.
• MAF has hired a driver so staff can now fly to Port au Prince on American Airlines & be picked up at the international terminal. Missionary Flights International continues to unload their passengers at our MAF hangar.
• Check out MAF’s new porta-potties. Becky is happy that there is one just for her.
• Avgas is now available again at the airport after 3 days without. We are flying in 6 more empty drums so we can have 20 on standby when this happens again.
• MAF has now hired two (and will hire a third) night guards so over the next week no staff will have to sleep at the hangar.
• Larry, Ken and Jeff (MAF) have helped install new lights in the hangar and also started on some vehicle repair projects. Nice to see some capacity to do these needed projects.
• WFP (World Food Program) has approved us for another 20 tons of relief food for us distribute to our mission partners.
• International passenger and cargo estimates are 3500 pax and 1,000,000 pounds of cargo and baggage (much of it was medical supplies) flown. To date we have done over 300 international flights (that is coming and going) in partnership with MFI.

Great story from Samaritan’s Purse, February 23, 2010
A Wind of Heaven

"Three nights ago, one of the young nurses and her friend, a surgeon from Quebec, began a sing-along in her Haitian hospital ward. It took about 15 minutes for every mobile person in the hospital to find their way to the music ... people in wheelchairs, on crutches, with broken arms and broken bodies. Other staff began to carry people in."

"The nurse began to pray and then to cry and it was like a wind of heaven moved across the room.

"Every night since then, the whole hospital has gathered in a different ward for those who can't get out of their beds. They sing and they pray and it is like an old-fashioned revival is happening. You "have to see it to believe it.

"It lasted for almost two hours tonight. Little ladies with broken arms were praying at the top of their lungs. A little boy carried in by a nurse was singing at the top of his lungs. A young man depressed because his leg was amputated was laughing and singing and high-fiving everyone he could reach.

"You should hear them pray ... and of course sing. This is really an amazing story. The whole hospital is singing and praying. There is incredible harmony with the staff, and the new team from America. We are all up there singing along as best we can. And the tall young nurse and surgeon from Quebec pray and cry and pray again—in French. I’ve never seen anything like it. All these battered and broken and hurt people … brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

"Best of all, several have made decisions to accept Jesus as Savior. Nobody has prayed or asked them, they just smile up at you and say I asked Jesus into my heart while you were singing.

"Brilliant."

 

08:22 (MST), Sunday, 21 Feb 2010

John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager:

Becky Lee, MAF Volunteer Coordinator on temp duty in Port Au Prince, Haiti: At 530 am on Friday Feb 19th, the C130 arrived at PAP carrying the 45,000 pounds of relief supplies donated by the individuals, churches, schools, and Businesses of the Treasure Valley in Idaho. After being off loaded, the representatives of World Concern arrived and loaded their trucks to begin the distribution process. It has been exciting to see the supplies get from Idaho to Haiti and into the hands of the people. See photos below.

MAF President and former MAF Haiti pilot, John Boyd, arrived to visit the Haiti operation. He has been on food delivery flights etc. I’m sure he will update later.

The MAF hangar VSAT is now up and running. This means the VOIP phone works again. There is also good speed at the office and we are working on getting it to the reservation office in the GA building.

 

08:18 (MST), Sunday, 21 Feb 2010

John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager:

Here is an awesome story on MAF, from our ministry Partner Operation Blessing.

"With a whopping 29 shipping containers arriving at the Operation Blessing warehouse on Monday, we will be working flat out next week. Each container is packed with essential relief supplies to serve the network of camps, churches and orphanages OBI is supporting.

"The U.S. Navy is delivering the containers fast and our warehouse will be overflowing with aid, but not for long. As they have for the past few weeks, the supplies will get out to the people who need them fast, but with so much volume we need more room. So I toured Port-Au-Prince this morning looking for warehouse space with a Haitian friend, Ralph.

"We met Ralph while looking for a forklift. His glass company was literally smashed into millions of pieces during the earthquake. Ralph had just left his office and was driving home when the quake hit. He said the car bounced in the air and that he thought he had driven over a big hole. As he looked in the mirror, he saw a building fall behind him. Ralph realized it was a quake, and by then buildings were falling all around him.

"Ralph took me to see a warehouse nestled deep in the heart of a neighborhood called Cite Militaire. When we arrived at the compound where the warehouse stood, the whole place was a tent city. Over 2,000 people are living under temporary shelters in the camp, but none of them were there. They were all in one corner of the compound under an unfinished factory that had been turned into a church.

"Today was the second of three official days of mourning. All over Port-au-Prince, people have been dressing in white and converging on churches and national monuments to pray and remember those killed in the quake. The impromptu church I visited in the camp was jammed full and the crowd was singing worship songs to a Caribbean tune. Between songs, most would go to their knees and pray. At one point, they were praying and chanting in unison and my colleague leaned over and said, “They are asking for God to bless Haiti.”

"We left the service to survey the needs in the camp and found that water was needed urgently. Some of the camp’s elected leaders showed us an empty cistern on the compound. We immediately called for a water truck to make several deliveries to fill the cistern and promised the leaders that we would return in the morning to install a purification unit.

"In the afternoon, I was invited to fly to a remote airstrip with our longtime aviation partner Mission Aviation Fellowship. Operation Blessing has been supporting MAF to make food drops all over Haiti in places where there are large, hungry groups of displaced families. On this particular route, we flew two Kodiak aircraft capable of short take-offs and landings on dirt or grass airstrips. The Kodiaks are new state-of-the-art planes and perfect tools for this type of work.

"We took off from Port-au-Prince and climbed to where the tent cities looked like patchwork quilts below. Our cargo on this run was boxes of ready-to-eat meals, destined for a mission group supporting over 1,500 people. We landed on a grass strip and had only just stopped the engine when the plane was approached by a large group of men eager to see what our cargo was. A group of American missionaries met us and pulled their truck up to the plane.

"We formed a tight human chain and began to unload the boxes of meals. Hardly any supplies had reached this area despite a huge displaced population. As we unloaded the second plane, the men in the crowd motioned to their mouths and bellies to say they were hungry, but these MREs were destined for families already identified as in urgent need. To get supplies to this place by road would take a long time and be dangerous; in times like these, the Kodiak is an amazing tool.

"With a completely empty plane, the pilot wanted to demonstrate the short take-off capabilities of the Kodiak. We taxied down the bumpy grass strip, opened up the throttle, and were in the air in a time that seemed to truly defy gravity.

"Descending back into Port-au-Prince, I saw a valley full of rubble where there were once homes. In the streets, streams of people dressed in white walked home from their all-day church services."

 

09:26 (MST), Thursday, 11 Feb 2010

John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager:

Staff information: Most of you might not be aware that the team size has grown to 31 total people needing security badges to get on and off the airport. There are 17 of us who are new to the program on the team right now. New arrivals are Kenny & Peggy Hausler, Keith Parker, & Larry Whiting. Tim Vennell and Steve Owens left yesterday. Thanks to David Carwell’s hard work we all have airport badges and the 4 vehicles have passes to drive on the airport.

From Dave Carwell on the spiritual reflection aspect: This Friday the 12th, one month after the earthquake, people are calling for businesses to close for prayer and fasting. That’s a beautiful response. Also of significance.. the town of Jacmel is famous for it’s mardi gras celebrations. This year it is cancelled, and the mayor has granted an evangelical church the same space to conduct revival meetings. Wow! In the midst of all of this God is at work.

The cargo support operations are going well. And tomorrow (2-11) we will receive a large cargo load for about 18 different missions serving the people in Haiti.

Good pics attached show how 4 mechanics figure out how to refuel the Kodiak when the fuel truck does not show up!

 

 

Awesome prayer story shared by John Munsell: Sarah Williams shared with me, John, the story behind Noah’s email - (He's the boy from Awana who wrote to say he was praying for us here in Haiti.)

Noah had been praying for us since we spoke at Awana last fall. Come to find out he had been praying specifically that God would protect us from disasters and things like that. So much so that his mom was trying to steer his prayers toward more "practical" things. She felt he was kind of obsessed with that whole idea. Two days before the earthquake he prayed about what his mother asked, but then went right back to keeping us safe from some big things (I don't know the words he used). The mom soon found out that the Holy Spirit was really speaking to Noah and that his prayers were for a specific reason. Amazing - the heart and prayers of a 7 year old! 

15:10 (MST), Thursday, 4 Feb 2010

John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we did another flight for Danita. Danita owns an orphanage in Ouanaminthe and churches are asking her to take care of children that are brought to them. Some of these kids are badly injured and cannot make a 9 hour trip by road, so she approached MAF if we could fly some of the most serious ones to her orphanage. The other day we flew a child in a complete body cast and another with a broken upper leg which was hurting immensely. Today she had more kids that need to go by air. We are happy to help her! (See attached photos.)

We also flew food to two stations. One load included clothes donated from the States. We took this to Port au Paix, where a Nazarene church will take care of it. This village is far away from where the earthquake happened, but it has many refugees from Port au Prince. These clothes and food will go to the refugees. We delivered another shipment of supplies to La Gonave, where missionaries from WISH will take care of it.

 

 

Below is a thank you letter from the Cheshire Medical Center. We flew one of their medical teams.

I cannot express my appreciation, and that of our team, often enough or more sincerely. Will and Mark are incredible. Not only did they deliver us from a place where there were very few exit options, during a national disaster of gigantic proportions, but their assistance once we reached the airport in Port Au Prince was amazing. Through the maze of roadblocks, caravans, check points, tent cities and helicopter landings, they handled our passport / exit documents, found where our plane had arrived and got us and our baggage to the waiting jet. Will and Mark are two great guys, who knew exactly what they were doing and went the extra mile for eight strangers. They have our undying gratitude and will be the subjects of "escape from earthquake devastated Haiti" stories forever.

Thank you, Will. Thank you, Mark. Thank you, MAF.

 

20:28 (MST), Tuesday, 2 Feb 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

There are many stories of what happened during the quake… ‘We had just gone up to the second level of the building when the quake hit. The roof collapsed and we were trapped in a two foot space. The shaking stopped and then started again and the roof came down to one foot. It took us forty five minutes to move and crawl thru the debris to get out.”

Also many stories of opportunities to help… ‘We had a truck load of food and went to the church. The food was divided into family parcels and given out. People did try and crowd around us and “take” the food. We kept some of the snack bars and gave them out to kids as we drove thru the neighborhood. They were so excited!’

Most of all are stories of needy people… ‘Please sir, we are trying to take care of two hundred orphans. Can you give us some food?’ ‘Give me a tent. All I need is a tent for my small child.’ ‘I am very thirsty. Can you give me some water to drink.’ And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42

20:38 (MST), Monday, 1 Feb 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

Yes, it hurts when I can’t fix all the hurt around me. I wanted the 80,000 pounds of food and cargo sent thru our makeshift cargo yard to be multiplied to feed and care for a hungry population. I wanted to fix the hurt of people who come up to me and tell me of losing their whole family and just need a tent or some food to get by a little while longer. I have heard the pleading in voices that are wanting to work to have a little money to buy some food if they can find it. I want this baby to have a good life. Pray we can make a difference!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

20:01 (MST), Sunday, 31 Jan 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

I did have a great Sabbath. A French church service so didn’t understand much but was blessed by a few words of translation about testimonies that people shared of their lives during the earthquake and God’s provision of safety. The sermon was based on Lamentations 3:16-26. God still makes all the difference in a world out of control.

We are beginning to look beyond the knee jerk response to the earthquake. Please pray that we can balance the demands that are still on us from the emergency and the day to day normal mission needs that are still needed for the long term works in progress here in Haiti.

A 5:30 am start in the morning and 40,000 pounds of cargo on a military transport C130 to be moved.

16:30 (MST), Saturday, 30 Jan 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

This could be short tonight. Got the brackets ready for the antenna mount. Finished assembling the oxygen regulator and leak tested it. Whew, no leaks. A pallet of drinking cup very welcome at the hospital behind the hangar. Talking with two gals waiting for a load of food from a plane (a 747) that is a week late. Bottles of water for thirsty people. A pickup…three small children…pieces missing…tears.

I am looking forward to a Sabbath tomorrow but, tonight several tons of cargo to unload from a DC-6 that will arrive sometime after 7 PM.

14:58 (MST), Saturday, 30 Jan 2010

Phyllis Schmid of MAF-LT Partner ministry, STEP

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING. We had 4 Haitian policemen who came in uniform and helped keep things calm. The men were able to unload the truck taking rice, beans and oil to each of 7 "zones" on campus. There the zone leaders were to disburse the food. God answered prayer and things went much better than expected. There were a few snags.

The worst thing is that some thieves from down in the valley had made their way into the crowds. When the rice, beans and oil had been distributed to the zone including our upper front yard I suddenly heard a commotion and looked out to see 2 men with boxes and a few others running off the end of the patio. I ran outside and when I looked over the wall they were escaping with the beans and oil for this zone. The people got rice but not the beans and oil. I was so upset and wanted to just shake those that stole it. People were unhappy but resigned to it. It never ceases to amaze me how people are so used to disappointment that they can overcome it. I wished I'd been quicker to get out and stop them but more than likely I'd have been pushed off the patio edge or whatever. So things are quiet on campus and people are grateful for what they received.

09:48 (MST), Saturday, 30 Jan 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

Today has been a great day! Long, hot, dusty, busy, noisy…no wait that was yesterday, or was that the day before? Oh well, it was today too. Had a couple of more firsts today. The initial one was trying to find our forklift driver. He eventually showed up but not before I did a self checkout on the forklift and moved some pallets around. I did get the parts for the antenna mount I am making so got a good start on fabricating the brackets to support the pipe it is mounted on. Today the hacksaw tomorrow the welder.

How do you feed a hungry man? That used to be a commercial but here it means I sit down at lunch and have an MRE or meal ready to eat. Thanks to the US military we have plenty. A few treats show up occasionally from the international flight crews. Yes, I had a Krispy Kreme donut today. The aircraft have been donated and crewed for shuttles between Florida and Haiti and are owned by a couple of Nascar racing teams. Too bad the racing season resumes next week and we lose their valuable help.

The second first was to ride across town in a vehicle. Devastation, crushed cars, bad roads, congested traffic, temporary shelters, tents, bandaged people and hopeless faces with hollow eyes. But even amidst the chaos a young father swings his son around in his arms, laughing and enjoying each other and in a small corner with playground equipment and kids enjoying a moment of contentment and joy swinging high in the sky on their swing.

Almost had a riot by the hangar last night. I am sure your prayer for our safety were answered as the people finally quieted and dispersed.

18:45 (MST), Thursday, 28 Jan 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

What a day! Questions by the dozen. Do you have work for me? Has the 747 arrived with our cargo? Where do I check in for the flights out to the states? Do you want a Wendy’s hamburger? Do you want a ride in the Kodiak? Can I have some water? Why does the little boy grab the food like that? Do you have any food for my family? Why can’t I download 700 MBs? How many more pallets of boxes can we put on that truck? What is all the noise about behind the hangar? Is the riot going to happen or not? Where can I find toilet paper? Better yet where can I find a toilet?

I enjoyed the day! It was rewarding to give a little boy some apple sauce. He didn’t really respond much. Have you ever been at a place in your life where you had no hope? He’s been there. How often do you wonder where your next meal or is that bite of food is coming from? He’s been there. Is your stomach full? He’s never been there.

 

 

19:05 (MST), Wednesday, 27 Jan 2010

Bob Dontje, career MAF missionary pilot, volunteering for duty in Haiti

This is day two in Haiti. I have been mostly right here at the MAF hangar. My feet hit the ground about 2 o’clock (after I helped unload the airplane I arrived in) walked into the terminal and started helping book flights out of Haiti for a huge crowd of people. I finished about 5:30. Sights, I haven’t seen much of the destruction other than from the air as I arrived. Sounds, hurting people seen a bunch. Stories by the dozen. People desperate to get out. There is a hospital tent camp set up behind the hangar.

 

 

12:32 (MST), Monday, 25 Jan 2010

Will White, re: a flight that Program Manager, Mark Williams, completed recently

This morning MAF had been scheduled to take a team of doctors to Pignon. The night before, someone called and cancelled the flight, so we were not expecting to do it and did not go in early.

The doctors showed up about 9am and I told them they would have to wait until after a flight that was previously scheduled.

We had arranged for a film crew to fly to the island of La Gonave. We were dropping off food supplies and picking up a team that was inspecting the Wesleyan hospital for damage from the earthquake.

When we arrived at La Gonave, Dan Irvine, the director of the mission, said he had a 9-year-old girl whose feet had BOTH been crushed in the earthquake. The hospital on the island had done all they could and they needed to find an orthopedic doctor in PAP for surgery. According to Dan her feet looked like "ground beef" and if infection set in would be fatal quickly. I agreed to wait for her to show up at the plane.

On the flight back, Dan was sitting next to me. Knowing the huge strain on the field hospitals in PAP, I was not hopeful of the girl finding an ortho unit to perform surgery. I asked Dan about it and he said he thought he had a contact that might help.

As I was flying back I started to think about the doctors that were waiting for me in PAP. I seemed sure they had said they were orthopedic surgeons.

When we arrived in PAP, I taxied to my parking place and ALL of the doctors were standing right next to the plane with all their supplies. I told Dan I thought that they were an ortho team and introduced them to each other.

 

In no time the team was examining the girl and making plans to take her directly to the Pignon hospital. We removed the girl from the plane to fuel it, and they were able to start an IV and examine her more thoroughly.

 

 

After loading the plane I was able to fly 3 doctors, the girl and her mother to Pignon. I asked the doctors to let me know how the surgery went and to follow up about her.

 

It was so exciting to see how God worked the events of the day to bring these two groups together. I was humbled to be a part of it.

16:13 (MST), Friday, 22 Jan 2010

MAF Prayer Team

Please, do not send email directly to our response team in Haiti or Florida unless it is absolutely necessary.

The word this morning was that the Kodiak was delayed in Fort Pierce, FL for an additional day. The plan now is for them to depart about 7:00 AM local on Saturday, and arrive in Port-au-Prince about noon. There will be two pilots and two mechanics on board.

Here are a couple of items from John’s report last night:

• At 7 am, we unloaded our first DC-4 with around 30,000 pounds of medicines, food, and relief cargo. As I write this at 11:00 PM, our forklift is busy bringing Medical cargo into field in front of our MAF hangar. The pace of rapid relief continues.
• [That field is a] hive of activity – receiving and coordinating delivery to a number missions and aid organizations. At the end of the day, it’s almost empty. The cargo from a C130, DC4, and Caravan has all been delivered to orphanages, hospitals, and mission station that have run out of supplies…people desperate for help.
• 16 flights and around 130 passengers and 30,000 lbs of cargo delivered.

A note handed to Will White by one of the missionaries we serve said in part: “…We were only able to purchase 2 bags of rice on the street. And cannot find more. Thanks for those who have sent food. We were able to get supplies (from MAF/MFI) and gave them out to the hungry Haitians.”

The GATR V-Sat was to be moved from the UN headquarters back to the MAF hangar today. Plans are being made to bring in a second unit.

In Nampa, the local effort to put together containers of Medical supplies, food, and other items took a leap forward today. So far, the response had been tremendous! There are now five collection sites in Boise, Meridian, and Nampa. Public Service Announcements about the project were recorded today by Nampa mayor Tom Dale, and local sports caster Joe Hughes. Those should start airing on Monday.

Please Pray:

• Pray for the Haitian National staff. Pray for their families in this time when all have known loss.
• Pray again for rest for the men sleeping in the hangar at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
• Pray that the Kodiak will arrive safely on Saturday.
• Ask God’s blessing on the collection efforts in Nampa, and around the world.

16:35, (MST), Thursday, 21 Jan 2010

John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager:

• Today is a good day. I had my first shower in 3 days.
• The day started early with MAF facilitating its first C130 flight at the general aviation ramp. Our crew arrived early, but we could not use the forklift because of a bad battery and leaking tire, unloaded 46,000 pounds of urgent cargo in one hour by hand.
• Food, medicines wheel chairs, etc. are right outside our hangar. MAF has been asked to make sure the cargo goes where is it is needed. A doctor/surgeon team we flew out a few days ago came by as their hospital had run out of supplies. We were able to help them load up a couple trucks to go to the hospital. An orphanage with 140 children living outside was able to get tents and food.
• Great to have Dave Jacobssen helping at MFI with the overload of bookings.
• Two interviews done - Dutch reformed daily and Moody radio
• Airport issues: Our schedule helping with 13 flights went well but there are always issues. A government official most likely upset the US Air force has taken control did not allow passengers to enter the airport via the general aviation entrance. A new way was found – the flights all happened, and many meetings attended. For now, it is sorted out. What will tomorrow bring?
• From the IT side: We received an urgent appeal last night to move our GATR equipment over to the UN base to help out the MapAction team. They create various maps during emergencies and have massive amounts of hi-res imagery that they need to download. Their current VSAT setup is too slow to do this efficiently so they requested our extra bandwidth to help bring these images down. They create maps to help with the coordination of the relief efforts. Some maps show where the SAR teams have already cleared buildings, some show where the field medical hospitals are located, where bridges have collapsed or roads obstructed. These maps are handed out to the various groups working with the relief effort daily.

From the Crisis Management Team in Nampa today:

• The Kodiak is expected to overnight in Fort Pierce tonight, and continue on to Port-au-Prince with the two pilots and two mechanics in the morning.
• It is gratifying to see how our staff, alumni, and friends have stepped forward and offered to help. Thank You! Just a reminder, if you want to be considered for the rotation, check with your manager first, then contact Denis Haglund.
• MFI may send 10 drums of AvGas over on a DC-4 flight.

Please Pray for:

• The staff families that are separated as dads serve in Haiti
• A safe operation as crisis becomes the norm
• Wisdom and God’s leading as the team makes decisions on rotating staff out of Port-au-Prince, and who to rotate in.
• Security, as desperate Haitians try to find food, water, and ways to move forward
• Government relations

11:20 (MST), Thursday, 21 Jan 2010

Phyllis Schmid of MAF-LT Partner ministry, STEP

I am finding it difficult to do daily or even every other day updates. There is much to do to just function. One of these days things may slow down a little. Please do not worry about us.

We did have the other quake yesterday morning but no additional damage here. Cindy had convinced me to sleep in our bedroom the night before the 6.1 quake and we definitely slept better BUT then I was in the back of the house when the other quake hit. David was already up and yelled for me to leave. Imagine being in a waterbed and trying to get out in a hurry. Glad there were no cameras. Have had 2 aftershocks this morning.

16:50 (MST), Wednesday, 20 Jan 09

MAF Prayer Team

Although our piston fleet has been doing a number of flights to outlying areas, the supply of AvGas is a concern. This morning there was a three-day supply on hand. Denis Haglund will be working with MFI to try to find a solution.

A Kodiak was dedicated in Nampa at noon today, and departed shortly after. This Kodiak will later go to Papua, but for now is meeting a critical need. At the dedication a Haitian orphan recently adopted by a Nampa family gave Scott Channon two boxes of items he had collected. He wanted the box to go to orphans in Port-au-Prince. There was a good deal of media coverage.

Brian Shepson and Scott Channon will take the Kodiak to Port-au-Prince, and stay for several weeks to fly it. Paul Dukes and Amos Lightner will depart Nampa in the next few hours, meet Brian and Scott in FL, and go on to Haiti to help with the Kodiak maintenance. It has not yet been decided if they will cross to Haiti in the Kodiak, or take an MFI flight.

The Kodiak’s progress can be followed at: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0D1PXJl3qUEr3JnlFt9jYrAhIK3fcdFYC

Dave Jacobsson is “established” for now in Fort Pierce, FL, to handle logistics from that end.

Our guys in Port-au-Prince are asking for mosquito nets and air mattresses. We have sent what they have asked for.

A rotation is being worked out to relieve those who are currently in Haiti. A list of available staff and qualified volunteers is being compiled by Denis Haglund.

We received an update on our national staff today. One man is still missing, presumed dead. All others are accounted for. Two have left for the countryside to be with family. Four others are coming to the airport daily to help.

John Woodberry reports that his email inbox is flooded. We ask that, except for family, you not email staff in Haiti for now. The ability of headquarters to communicate with staff there is critical.

Please pray for:

• A safe trip for the Kodiak
• Rest for our guys in Haiti. Enough breeze to get rid of the mosquitoes for a few hours so they can sleep.
• A solution to the AvGas problem
• Wisdom for leadership as decisions are made on how to proceed

Thanks. Never stop praying.

11:51 (MST), Wenesday, 20 Jan 2010

Karen H. Carr, Director, Community Coalition for Haiti

With the help of MAF, CCH's (Community Coalition for Haiti) trauma team and medical supplies are in Jacmel helping heal the injured, hurt and hopeless … MAF has been a constant source of hope for all of the relief organizations trying to get supplies and medical personnel into Haiti. For the Haitians who are suffering and those bringing help, hearing the MAF flights overhead gives us more reason to believe that things will recover here and that more help is on the way.

On the ground, gas is running low, but available. There are few medical supplies here except the ones we brought in by MAF. There are several medical teams here, but they are facing treating over 2,000 patients at the hospital and clinic. In the rural areas, thousands more need assistance. Aftershocks were felt this morning and at 3AM. People are still sleeping outside.

Without MAF, our ministry here to those in need in Jesus' name would not be possible. For the lives that have been saved, we owe MAF an eternal debt of gratitude. For those who will hear and see Jesus touching them through our medical volunteers and MAF's efforts, our appreciation on their behalf is infinite.

11:07 (MST), Wednesday, 20 Jan 2010

From the MAF Communications Team in Port Au Prince, Haiti

Today, David Hoffman and I removed the GATR system from the World Concern building and brought it back to the airport. The World Concern folks still as yet do not have an infrastructure in place to keep the VSAT system inflated for the night. With the price of gas reaching $10 a gallon in the city and even that is watered down, they don't have the finances to keep the generator going. Each time the GATR system deflates, it must be reinflated and recalibrated which is up to an hour process.

But more importantly, there are more pressing needs of the VSAT system elsewhere. We positioned the system today in the midst of the Search and Rescue groups and are working with Instedd (www.instedd.org). Some of their information about what they are doing is on their webpage. But in a nutshell, they are receiving information in from the Haitians via SMS messages or literally by workers who are roaming the streets and typing in messages. These messages are then encoded onto electronic maps for the UN Disaster Assistance and Coordination (UNDAC) group who then sends out the necessary relief or Search and Rescue (SAR) teams to the neighborhoods.

Miraculously, two more people were pulled from the rubble today. However, even as I write this, the majority of SAR teams are packing it up tonight and heading back to their respective countries. In the morning, Dave and I will move the VSAT system over to the UNDAC area as they have an urgent need with their Map Action group. Hi resolution satellite images have been collected of the area that they need to download to help plan for the transition from rescue over to relief. We plan on being stationed in the UN compound for the next few days until their own systems can be flown in. We hope that at that time, we can then move back to the World Concern office to assist with the "internet cafe" for other NGOs.

15:10 (MST), Tuesday, 19 Jan 2010

We are trying to get more detail from the folks down there, but they are really trying to minister and thus information can sometimes be secondary to the operations. Here is what we do know:

• Dave Jacobsson left this morning for Florida and will be helping Missionary Flights International with their logistics and possibly some maintenance.
• The Kodiak is scheduled to depart with Scott Channon and Brian Shepson on Thursday. Paul Dukes and Amos Lightner (maintenance team) will depart by commercial aircraft and MFI in order to allow for as much equipment and supplies to be loaded on the Kodiak (new type of mission aircraft recently deployed with MAF).
• We have still not confirmed if our national workers are all safe or not. We can only presume that Daniel, our driver, has been killed, but we will try to confirm that as soon as possible.
• One member of our staff is in Port Au Prince to help with communications and logistics – he will maintain the GATR ball VSAT after David Hoffman leaves tomorrow.

08:04 (MST), Tuesday, 19 Jan 2010

Update (excerpts) from Phyllis Schmid of MAF-LT partner ministry STEP

So far people here are getting food and water. Our part of the city though damaged is getting some water which is so helpful. No showers but at least a little for hygiene. An important need is making a water filtration system for immediate drinking water. Roger See is arriving on Thursday and he will be bringing supplies to get that set up. My gallon of Clorox is getting very low and so I'm asking God to keep it filled. ? I know He can!

It is hard to get news out every day. Our days are just so full.

Pray for safe arrival of trucks and aid missions as without a military escort they are in great danger. David is going out later today to pick up a first responder and supplies that are coming in on MFI. I have prayed that the two trucks going out and back will be "invisible".

A large dump truck is bring supplies from Judy and Manis and from the Robinsons. It is heavily loaded and coming over rough roads. Please pray for this truck, its drivers and its load to safely arrive with God's protection.

God is giving daily strength and I am so thankful. We receive so much encouragement from around the world. It is amazing.

15:00 (MST), Monday, 18 Jan 2010

Update from John Woodberry, MAF Disaster Response Manager

Can you believe it has been 6 days since a massive earthquake hit Haiti? 3 days after the earthquake MAF was involved in a massive relief life line that continues to this day.

So much has happened. MAF is coordinating logistics for Missionary Flights International and other organizations. The last flight of the day was a real blessing. 26 orphans were flown out along with their escorts to meet their new parents tonight. These children were already adopted, but the earthquake stopped the process. The new families are quickly getting down to Fort Peirce to meet their new children. What a blessing to be a small part of loving and serving those with such great needs. I was also reminded of the great cost of serving and the uncertainly of life on this world. We flew out the deceased body of a Missionary Doctor that had been serving in Haiti. Short stories from the 8 flights we facilitated today - flying in over 78 critical relief workers, doctors, surgeons……….so needed… and flying 70 out, including the orphans. . 5,000 lbs of cargo.

Last evening, David Hoffman arrived got the GATR VSAT system up and running - helping Operation Blessing connect and send some of their video work. We desire to serve and enable as many as missions and aid agencies as possible, so today the GATR was moved to the World Concern office. This will serve as a communication center for many of our partner agencies – WR (World Relief), WC (World Concern), FH (Food for the Hungry), MTI (Medical Teams Intl), CRWRC and many others. One of the office rooms will be set up so numerous other agencies can be served with this communication support service. What a blessing to be able to provide rapid email and data service to enable those responding communicate well.

Yesterday we helped, with our partner MFI, fly in 63 surgeons, nurses and doctors along with their medical equipment and supplies.

Tomorrow there are numerous other flights. One interesting thing is we have a fork lift coming and MAF will facilitate the arrival of a C130 and help with the logistics of the cargo at our hangar.

11:20 (MST), Monday, 18 Jan 2010

• MAF completed an operational flight on Saturday and has started operations again. We are flying people out of the countryside who have been stuck without connections to the city. Most of the work will be evacuating the city of Jacmel which has been hit hard by the earthquake as well.
• David Hoffman, formerly in MAF’s IT Department, arrived yesterday in PAP Port Au Prince and set up the GATR ball (portable, inflatable satellite antenna) Internet connection this morning – it is working well (I can personally attest that it is due to the increased email from Haiti!!)
• Rick Dickson, MAF’s Latin American Regional Director, left Ft. Pierce, FL this morning for PAP and will continue to help John Woodberry and the four remaining Haiti staff members with the logistical work at our hangar.
• The Haiti staff that has withdrawn are leaving South Florida today and heading to their respective home areas.
• One member of our staff left today to help maintain the GATR ball – David Hoffman must leave Haiti on Thursday.
• Please continue to pray for the folks planning the continued effort and for how we need to plan the rotation of the crew.

12:32 (MST), Sunday, 17 Jan 2010

Update from Phyllis Schmid of MAF-LT partner ministry STEP

We just finished a worship service in our yard. Jacques Louis spoke and a number came forward for salvation. A time of singing, praying and rejoicing in God’s provision of protection.

Helicopters are flying directly over us (over a dozen in the last 5 minutes – now I’ve lost count) and we wonder if it is to verify where we and all these people are for delivery of aid.

Cell phones are beginning to work again. Digicel even put 200 gourdes (divide by 40) worth of minutes on all Digicel phones. This will help with people under buildings to be able to use their phones if they are still alive.

The night of the quake we actually rescued one student after hours of work and he was alive and not too severely injured. I don’t think I ever explained that before. It was truly a miracle. Cindy and I had the job of using flashlights to watch for the building to begin to move to let David and Bruce and the other workers know when something else might fall. That same night when I was hurrying up to our home to get something David needed I fell on a cement wall and fell off to a grass landing. I am scraped and bruised but NOTHING broken – a miracle. I’m trying to learn to walk slowly but it is hard when someone needs something. One of our missionary moms, Susie Day, had the home she was in fall in around her. She managed to pull herself out of the wreckage. Her survival is another miracle.

I have a group of about 12 men, David, Bruce, Wawa, Jacques and young men from the area who are meeting together to form plan of action. God is so good and people are trying as best they can to pull themselves together.

Some have asked about Pastor Dirogene. He and his family are safe, they home is safe but their church has damage.

Not everyone received my news last night that David, Bruce and Cindy (DBC) got back after many hours out on the roads. They made some good contacts, got some medical supplies, found Jehu and boys all alive and delivered some food to them. They saw many horrors and it was hard for them. Jehu and one of the older boys were inside the house but were able to get it. It is destroyed. This is the house they have been renting. Someone went out to check on the new building outside of town and it seems to be fine except for some of the walls on the top level that didn’t have the roof done on them yet.

We never did find another student under the rubble so now we feel everyone is accounted for. The night of the quake classes had just let out and people were leaving the building to go to the newer STEP building for chapel and the missions conference. The presidents of the classes took a census and knew there were three missing from that classroom (original chapel in old building). We assume the student unaccounted for perhaps was just not here that night. We have not heard that but he is not under the rubble.

Each day we learn of friends who have lost husbands, wives, children, other family members. For those that knew the Lord we can see that even through the grieving a peace eventually replaces the terror as they know where their loved ones are.

This is experience has changed me in ways I can’t even put into words. It is amazing to sense God’s presence, grace and strength in spite of our own personal weaknesses.

We will be digging another latrine only closer to our homes to use. Kinda like our first days in Haiti 34 years ago. Actually I’ll grateful to have it available.

Cindy is going to help me wash my hair this afternoon sometime just using the smallest amount of water possible. It is amazing what you can get used to.

We are changing our generator hours to cover the nights instead of days to help with security.

We felt another aftershock as we sat on our cement wall during the worship service.

I can’t think of anything else right now so will close with grateful hearts to God and to each and everyone who is praying for us and all those around us. The things to be learned from this experience can’t be measured.

Cindy and I are so grateful our internet continued to work so we could contact our families that first night. It would have been so hard for them and you all to be in the “dark” about what was happening here. The internet dish was a good investment and because we had to replace our breezeway and depot roof we had a stable place to put it.

 

09:58 (MST), Friday, 15 Jan 2010

For a heartfelt and well-written account of conditions on the ground in Haiti, see Wilhelmina Krul’s blog: http://mafkrul.blogspot.com . She has chronicled her family’s experience serving in Haiti, but she has focused her latest entries on the earthquake on Tuesday, January 12 and the aftermath that she, Jason, and other MAF families have experienced.

15:19 (MST), Thursday, 14 Jan 2010

John Woodberry (MAF's Disaster Response Manager) is on the MFI (Missionary Flights International) flight from Ft Pierce, Florida, but the plane has had to stop in the Turks and Caicos because the Port Au Prince Airport is no longer accepting civilian flights – for the moment. We are praying that it will open up soon in order to allow for the plane to land in Haiti and then return to Florida with several of our staff. Rick Dickson will remain in Florida until the withdrawing staff arrive and are relocated in the US as necessary. Teresa will be with him this evening as well.

Noon (MST), Thursday, 14 Jan 2010

Here's what we know now:

• There are four MAF-US staff staying in Haiti: Mark Williams, PM; Mike Broyles; Todd Edgerton; and Will White.
• The rest of our MAF expat staff families should be leaving Haiti this afternoon via a Missionary Flights International (MFI) DC-3. Their destination will be Florida.
• Latin America Regional Director, Rick Dickson, remains in Florida and will meet them on arrival. A counselor is standing by to help as needed. MAF Travel is working on plans to move folks on to home destinations.
• Disaster Response Manager, John Woodberry, went (was to go,) to Haiti on the MFI DC-3 that will be bringing our families out. He will have Sat-Phone capability.
• The MAF hangar and aircraft are okay.
• Several of our national staff are still missing. One man is presumed dead.

23:14 (MST), Wednesday, 13 Jan 2010

Ron Banks just heard from Phyllis, David Schmid's wife from the work at STEP, our theological seminary partner in Haiti.  The original building she is talking about was the original seminary building built by David's father when he was a there, one of the founding missionaries of the seminary.

• [3:05:44 PM] David Schmid: sleeping outside is new to me but necessity forces us to
• [3:05:20 PM] David Schmid: lots of damage to dishes, etc 2 of our walls have some damage
• [3:04:53 PM] Ron Banks: Okay I will let you go, thanks.
• [3:04:45 PM] Ron Banks: How is your house, are you and David okay?
• [3:04:42 PM] David Schmid: i have gobs of things to do right now so will try to update you later
• [3:04:20 PM] David Schmid: don't know about Emmanuel
• [3:04:10 PM] David Schmid: I know Abdias is fine but their apt building is not livable
• [3:03:17 PM] David Schmid: campus is full of people sleeping inthe yards - no one wants to go inside
• [3:03:11 PM] Ron Banks: How are Emmanuel and Abdias?
• [3:02:59 PM] Ron Banks: Thank you Phyllis, we are and have been praying for you guys.
• [3:02:33 PM] David Schmid: Phyllis
• [3:02:25 PM] David Schmid: it was the most terrifying thing to happen here
• [3:02:09 PM] David Schmid: students pulled from rubble and unclear if two are still burried
• [3:01:52 PM] David Schmid: david and bruce are out working all last night and today