Feeding the thousands

Luke just called me to tell me that they were having a food distribution. Yesterday there was enough food for about 60 people, and the workers told Luke he needed to pray over the food before they open the containers tomorrow morning. This morning they gathered around the container and prayed, opened the container and began to distribute the food. When Luke called me they had already fed about 160 people......remember yesterday there was only enough food for about 60 people?!?!?! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! This cannot be explained in any other way, but God....He is providing!

aftershock again, and again

We just had two aftershocks. One at 1:30am and one about 20 minutes later. Both at 4.7. Weird that I happened to be awake anyway. I woke up about 5 minutes before the first one, went downstairs to get some water and then it hit as I was going back up so I ran down and out as the dog ran in with his tail between his legs. So I decided to sit here and process for a minute and then my chair started shaking.

I went across the street to the church since everyone was now awake and talking and I hung out for awhile. I could hear people calling to Jesus in the distance. People's nerves are rattled. I'm understanding this a little now. Now I'm back here and going to try to sleep some more. I don't think sleeping on the second floor is happening tonight so I'm crashing on the first floor now.

It is pretty unnerving to feel the earth move like this - especially when all day long I see what happened when the earth really moved.

Ps 46

today

I'm glad Becca is keeping this up for me. I thought I would have had more time for this but between work and bad internet connections it hasn't been easy.

Here's a quick run through of my day today:

4:30am I was woken by vibrations and a rumbling noise so I shot out of bed and got ready to run out. By the time I was upright it was over. At first I thought it was a dream or maybe a truck coming by, but then I realized the neighbors were upset and had come out into the street, so I figured it was real. Once I realized everything was ok I went back to sleep since I had been up late the night before.

Slept through my alarm and woke up at 7:30, leaving me only time for one psalm and half a cup of coffee.

I got ready and went across the street to the church to make a couple of calls and make sure the secretary had what she needs for the day.

On my way I noticed a crowd gathering outside our lower gate thinking we were doing a distribution today. So I sent someone to tell them we hadn't received any and they would have to come tomorrow. I also touched base with the guys who are helping us with the distribution to make sure they hung around because we were hoping for a shipment at some point during the day so we can do a distribution tomorrow.

My goal was to leave the church at about 5 till 9am so I could pick up the seismic (earthquake) engineer and take him to a few places to inspect. Finally left at about 9:05. With so much going on at the church campus there are always questions to answer. Several times a week I'll get in the car, start towards the gate and stop for another question, maybe have to leave the car again to take care of something, get back in the car, get a little closer and stop again.

Picked up the engineer at 9:10. First stop was Joseph's house. As is the case with each house we visit - Joseph's family had been sleeping outside since the quake because they were afraid to enter their house. His house passed. This made him very happy because he had built it with his own hands many years ago. Craig's (the engineer) expertise allow him to say with a high degree of certainty what will happen to a structure in another quake. For many it gives them great relief to hear the words "in another quake of the same magnitude - this house will not fall".

Next stop the CRWRC office - passed. Then Kelo's house - passed. One the way to Kelo's house I called a crisis counselor in Dallas who is coordinating a team of counselors who will come and work with the people at our church during the second week in March. I was able to give her the green light to buy tickets. Then Alexandre's house - passed. Then Jean's house - passed. Then Jasmine's house - passed. No failed houses today, some need work but all can be reoccupied. This gets people out of tents and also frees up tents for people who have none. Time well spent. Some times part of our visit includes us sitting the family down and explaining what Craig does (professional quake engineer that evaluates structures for vulnerability to quakes) and how long he's done it (35 years). After one visit today the mom of the family told me that her kids would still be very afraid so I crouched to their level and explained to them what we were doing. Then the girl told me she was sad because she couldn't see her friend at school anymore (her school fell). Sure would have been nice to have Becca on that one.

After all our inspecting I brought Craig to a UN office where he would work with them for the afternoon. On my way down I got a call from Kelo saying that the truck load of food was there. When I got there they were still delivering it so I jumped in and helped with that until we were done. We received a bunch of the fortified rice stuff, macaroni, little debbie oatmeal thingies, those austin cracker packs, a pile and a half of cans of vienna sausage and something else too that I can't remember. So, we're set for the distribution tomorrow.

Once the truck was unloaded we organized it all into the container and the nursery. Somewhere around 3:00 we finished and I began to prepare for a 4:0o meeting. At 4:00 Corrigan Clay, his friend and I met with about 15 guys who we're sending out into the neighborhood to go house to house to see how people really are. We're wanting to know several things: are they able to get food and water, do they have unmet medical needs, does their house need to be evaluated by an engineer or did it fall, do they have access to shelter, are they traumatized to the point that they need some professional assistance. We're distributing food for about 3,000 people roughly three times a week at the church, but we know there are some who physically can't come - are they getting food? We also know there are some double dippers, we need to know who they are so we can get the food to who really needs it.

The meeting ended roughly at 6 and somewhere around 7 I headed back across the street. For dinner I had some leftover mac and cheese, a couple of hot dogs and some pea salad. Yeah - I miss my wife. Lunch didn't happen today and breakfast was a chicken pate from a street vendor in between inspections.

Apparently there was another aftershock at 10am but I didn't feel it. Hopefully no more tonight because I need some good sleep. I've heard a rumor being passed around that another big one is coming. Unfortunately that only feeds the fear that is here. Both Craig and the articles I read say there really is no way to tell and that it is statistically unlikely.

These sure are busy days here. It is such a blessing to be able to work with the people we have here. God has brought some really good people here to help with the relief effort. People who have good hearts and who know what their doing. There are a lot of "well meaning" people here (like the 10 who've been on the news) and then there are those who really know what their doing. It's a honor to be able to work with them.

Monday

This morning at 4:30am (3:30 TX time) there was another aftershock in Haiti. It was calculated to be 4.7, which hasn't caused damage as far as Luke knows. He was woken up by the shaking and could hear the neighbors talking about it. He called some people and people called him, so far everyone is ok.

Luke has been extremely busy and continues to be! The Lord is providing him with strength to get through all the things he is working on, and pray that He continues to. Please also pray for rest! Luke has been sleeping, but being on the go all day, going to bed late, and getting up early is going to catch up to him.

The food distributions are going well and calm. There are still many people in tents and tents are still needed. Luke went to the Palace the other day and took this picture....

Sorry it is so small, but I think you can see it. Please continue to pray for Haiti and the people there. Luke went around with the earthquake engineer from California to different houses to inspect them. There were some that could go back to their houses, and other could not until work is done on their house. Luke is going to be looking into getting things fixed so we can get these Haitians out of tents and into their home. Thank you for your prayers!

3 stories

Looks like I have a decent connection tonight. Rather than trying to recap the past several days I want to just tell three stories from the quake - probably more so for me as a way to process it.

Today I took an earthquake engineer to the office for World Vision in Haiti so he could inspect it to determine if it was safe to begin using again. While there we spent some time with Frank Williams, the director for Haiti, and he told us his story. I believe he was at his office during the quake and his wife and one of his kids were home at their apartment. As soon as he could get out after the quake he headed to the apartment to see if they were ok. When he arrived he found it completely collapsed. Knowing they would have been inside he instantly knew that "His life had just drastically changed". He tried looking for a while to see if he could find them in the rubble but he realized as he was losing light that it was hopeless. So, he had no choice but to go to the house of a friend that first night, knowing that his wife and child were dead.

The next morning he, his son and some others decided to go to the World Vision office to get some tools and then head to the apartment to see what they could find as they dug. They knew it was hopeless but they had to try. When they turned the corner into the parking lot - there was his wife and child! They were badly scraped up but they were alive! It turns out that they were able to get out of the house and had taken refuge at a neighbors house for the night. With the phones down there was no way to call so they had to wait until the morning. Can you imagine?

Last night I was passing by the Nazon church and decided to call my friend Emmanuel who lives nearby to see if he was ok. Within a minute or so I was able to give him a big hug in the middle of the street. Then he started to tell me his story. Him and his fiance had been driving in their car just before the quake hit. They soon became stuck in a traffic jam and they were waiting for the car in front of them to move when it hit. The car started moving back and forth and unsure what to do he decided they needed to get out of the car. The very moment they cleared the car they turned and watched a house collapse on top of it, crushing it. He says "Luke - God saved me". Indeed he did.

One more. In January 12 at 4:45 Becca and I were driving a rental car down the highway in North Carolina headed to Becca's mom's house. My phone rang. It was my best friend in Haiti, Maxime. We chatted for a couple of minutes, all was well and Maxime and I joked around a bit. We hung up at 4:50. Three minutes later the quake hit. Maxime was in his store when he made the call and not really knowing what to do he ran out of the store and headed for the street. As the quake shook the ground he tripped and flung into the street, landing on and scrapping his arm. Then he looked to where he had just been and saw the next door house collapse into the front yard of his store. Had he been there, he would have been dead. As soon as it was over he started running, pye a terre (barefoot), to his house. His house is several miles away from his store. He knew no cars were moving on the street so the quickest way to get to his family was to run. As he ran he says he called out to Jesus and asked Him to help him. He ran and ran, from Delmas 30 to the bottom of Delmas 33. Finally he saw one of his nephew's so he yelled to him "Eske m'gen fanmi?!" (Do I have a family?!) His nephew shouted "Yes!" and told him to rest for a minute. He did this and then ran the rest of the way home. His wife and kids had not been able to get out of the house during the quake, and luckily it stayed up. They later learned that if they did get out and tried to run they would have been crushed by a house that fell into the path leading to the road.

There are so many stories here. Some dramatic, some not, all miraculous. Many ask the question: "Where was God in the earthquake?" The answer: Everywhere.

The picture below is Maxime's store and what is left of the house that was next to it.

The next few days:

Tomorrow Luke will be totally alone to cover the chapel. The food distribution is giving food to about 3,000 Haitians now, and there are lots of other things going on to the chapel. There is an earthquake engineer from California that has asked Luke if he needed help. Luke will be going around with him for the next three days checking out houses and letting people know if they can or cannot move back in. This is great! There are so many "tent city's" around that this can open up more tents for those who are sleeping under sheets. It has been raining at nights, so you can imagine the night sleep these Haitians are getting sleeping in mud! Tents are in high demand right now, so if is a blessing for Luke to be able to get help from this guy.

Please pray for strength and wisdom for Luke. There are so many things to do, and he cannot do them all! Thank you so much for your support in prayer!

a nice cold glass of culligan

Looks like the internet is working well enough tonight so that I can get a blog up. Busy days here, busy days. We distributed food this morning to feed almost 3,000 of our neighbors and the distribution continues to go well. A few days ago we received a bunch of chicken soup in those microwave bowls and we gave that with the normal rice and vegetables today. One woman asked what it was and Pastor Karl said with a smile "Well you put it on your microwave." Yeah - it's safe to say that out of the three thousand that are getting food, zero have a microwave and most don't know what one is. So we told them to open it and heat it with their rice.

A couple of days ago we received a water filtration unit donated by Culligan to Convoy of Hope. It weighs 3,500 lbs and cost Culligan $20,000. What a huge blessing to have this donated! We tried hooking it up to the well so we could make that water drinkable and pass it out during the distribution, but the well is too dry. So we're in the process of getting a bladder that we can fill with the water from a water truck, then we can begin to use the machine. Hopefully when the rains come we'll be able to use the well too.

One of the fun parts about being here is getting the chance to work with this guy. Joseph has been through alot in his life, but he's always happy. Here he's messing around trying to pray the machine into working.

Tomorrow will be a difficult day as it is the one month mark from the quake. As Becca mentioned we'll have a memorial service tomorrow afternoon/evening. It will almost certainly be a very emotional thing as so many have not even had a chance to grieve yet. I think the death toll is something like 230,000 now - yet very few funerals because people are on survival mode here. We're hoping this service provides a way for people to process what has happened and that God will minister to broken hearts.

Death is all around us here. There is a mass grave just up the street from where I'm sitting. Many of the collapsed buildings all around the city are still full of bodies because people can't get them out safely. Some have called this city a cemetery right now and in many ways it feels like it.

But in the midst of the sadness good thing are happening. We're able to laugh with guys like Joseph. People are being spiritually awakened in a way I've not seen here before. God is at work here and it is so cool to see what He's doing first hand.

One Month

I forgot to mention that tomorrow starting at 4 the Chapel is going to have a memorial service for the ones that were lost in the earthquake one month ago tomorrow! The earthquake happen January 12th at 4:53! Please pray for those who have lost loved ones! The president has asked the country to fast and pray! This is unheard of; this time of year the Haitian are preparing for Carnival (their version of Mardi gras,it has some connections to voodoo). It seems that has been called off and the President has asked everyone to fast and pray for Haiti! Please be in prayer tomorrow during the service and this weekend as people every where are fasting and praying for Haiti.

Food and Water

This is a picture of the chapel and the chapel grounds from the roof of the house Luke is staying at. If you look to the right of the chapel you can see an orange glow; that is where all the tents are. The chapel is being used to house two orphanages, and others. It also where Luke and others distribute food to the community (I believe two thousand people, Luke please correct if that is not right). They did get a water filter and were not able to get it to work. Haiti is in it's dry season and the wall is too low to get water. Please pray for that need!

Luke just put this picture on his facebook. They are doing another food distribution this morning and these people are hungry! Please pray for safety and patience for the Haitians as Luke and the other workers are doing their best.

Luke is not able to get a strong Internet connection to post pictures and most times even blogs, but AT&T has blessed us with free data and messaging at the moment so he is doing what he can with his phone. Thanks for your prayers! We definitely feel them!!

Clean Water

This is Joseph! He works at Quisqueya Chapel, and is a light for Jesus. This picture shows a little bit of his personality :). He is Luke's right hand man when it comes to working on the grounds. Please pray today that they are able to get the HUGE water filter working so the people can have clean water. Luke, Joseph and others will be working on that today; getting the water filter hooked up to the well and functioning. Please pray!

quick summary of the past couple of days

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days. I've been too busy during the days to get near a computer and the internet has not worked the past couple of nights.

I began Saturday with a neighborhood meeting at the Chapel. Several of the missionaries living in this neighborhood got together to share what we're each doing and to share ideas with each other. One of the reasons for this is to ensure that we're not doubling up on things. We're trying to avoid things like having two separate medical clinics right down the street from each other and instead we're trying to combine resources as much as possible so we can serve this community more efficiently. So we have one organization doing medical clinics, we're distributing food and water at the church, another organization is addressing shelter, etc, etc. The meeting went well and was productive. Shortly after the meeting began we were joined by the group of police officers that are responsible for this zone. We're able to share with them some of our security concerns and also work out specific times for them to patrol or provide a presence. At the end of our meeting with them we gathered around them and prayed for God to protect them and provide for their needs.

Yesterday was Sunday and we had a great time together at church in the morning. I've never seen Quisqueya Chapel as full as it was yesterday morning. As Pastor Bobby began the service, the workers and I went all over the campus to get every chair we could so that as many as possible could sit. Many had to stand outside at the entrance because we simply could not fit another person in the building. We prepared extra communion cups in anticipation of a large crowd but there were still maybe 50 or so that did not get a cup because we ran out. I know there is a lot of debate going on both in the States and here about whether the quake is judgement from God or not, but one thing it has done is driven many people to seek God and the forgiveness that He offers. The word on the street (I heard it again today from a trusted friend) is that President Preval has called for three days of prayer and fasting around the time that would normally be carnival (kind of like mardi gras). Interesting.

Today we had a successful food distribution at the church. I say successful because these don't always go well. I asked a friend that lives in another part of the city if he has been able to get food and he says that whenever people go to a food distribution they have to fight with the crowd to get anything. He doesn't want to fight so he doesn't go. He did wait in line, in the sun, for an hour this morning for a 20oz bottle of water.

I was also able to get a battery for the car I'm using today. I had to go to 5 places before I found someone that sold the right battery, but I got one. Traffic is much worse than the normal bad traffic here so errands like this are tiring.

We're planning on having a memorial service at the Chapel this Friday, which is the one month anniversary. The service will begin at 4 and at 4:53 we'll have a period of silence (Psalm 46). We're also going to have those who have lost someone come up and read the name and age of the person they lost. Over 200,000 killed and there have been very few funerals. We're hoping to provide an opportunity for the church as a community to grieve together. I know this community has been affected in a big way because there is a mass grave just up the street. The grief is so apparent in people's eyes. Grief is everywhere in this city.

Long Day

Quick post as it's been a long day. This morning we met up with a team from a Dominican church and loaded a 15 passenger van and a pick up with medical supplies and water they had collected to bring with them on their trip into Haiti. This church (forgot the name but will look it up tomorrow) from Santo Domingo made their 4th trip since the quake into Haiti today. I was so impressed with their eagerness to help given the history there. They had doctors, a nurse and some translators and they're planning on staying a few days to work before they return to load up with supplies again and come back.

It took something like 4-5 hours to get to the Haitian border and then probably 3 to get from the border to Port-au-Prince. Normally the last leg takes half that but traffic was a MESS from Croix-des-Bouquets into Port. We started seeing destruction soon after we crossed the border and it got progressively worse as we got close to the city. Rubble is piled up everywhere. "Tent cities" fill in all the open spaces as people are afraid to enter their homes. Buildings are collapsed or twisted or caving in on themselves. The ride up Delmas 33 was particularly difficult as the destruction is so bad. It was emotionally very difficult to see.

I grabbed some pictures as I was driving but I'll load them later. I'm tired and tomorrow will be a busy day.

Haiti

Luke called about 2:30 and said that he was almost into Port-Au-Prince! Then about 6:00 he called again to say that he had made it. Luke was talking while driving back to the house he is staying at and describing to me what he was seeing. It didn't sound like the same Haiti, and Luke's voice was filled with all kinds of emotions. Luke's plan was to go back to the house and talk with Karl and Ann (the pastor and his wife: Luke is staying with them), and then get some rest for a busy day tomorrow. Please continue to pray for strength for him!

Onward to Haiti

Luke called me this morning to let me know that they have a 15 passenger van packed up, and ready to take them to Haiti! How much of a relief that was to hear since we were not completely sure on how he was going to get from Santa Domingo to Haiti. We had a lot of ideas of how he and the two other missionaries he is with could get to Haiti, but nothing was set up.

So now they are on their way! I was able to talk to Luke last night and he sounded great! He did seem a little tired, but he is definitely still running on adrenalin. This morning he told me that he was able to get a cup of coffee, but it was quite a process considering Luke speaks Creole and English. We both took Spanish in high school, but when we try to use it our brain just turns it into Creole... so I wish that I was there to see my husband order coffee in Spanish! He did say that he got a small cup, which he thinks is espresso, but he will survive because he just needs the caffeine or his head will explode from the headache he receives from being addicted to the stuff :).

Thank you for your prayers! Luke and I cannot stress our thankfulness enough! We have both felt them, and ask that you continue. Luke has a super long day ahead of him and the exhaustion of traveling all day yesterday as well as today will soon catch up to him. Also, pray for safety for the people traveling in the van. We have all seen pictures of Haiti, and Luke and I were able to see pictures on the news of places that we knew, which are now gone due to the earthquake. Luke will soon see Haiti in a way that he hasn't before, and that will take an emotional toll on him. Please pray!

DR

We're here in Santo Domingo at a guest house. We'll be leaving here tomorrow around 6am to catch a ride that leaves at 7.

Weird to see highway interchanges, Payless shoes, McDonalds, Burger King, etc. on this island. They say they definitely felt the quake here, but very little damage.

On the way

Dear Family and Friends,

Almost a week ago I wrote you to tell you of our plans to go to Haiti and I asked for your help. I am humbled and amazed and so thankful for your response in this past week. Thank you!

This past week has been incredibly busy. Since I last wrote I've been busy arranging travel, renewing my passport, gathering needed supplies for missionaries in Haiti, meeting with various professors at the seminary (Old Testament, Counseling, Pastoral Ministries) to get advise on how I can be most useful there, keeping up with emails, keeping track of donations and soaking up as much time with Becca as possible. Does this mean I'm ready - not a chance. The communication I've heard from missionaries this past week ranges from: "It's pretty rough, make sure you're prayed up", to "the chaos is fine - come on down", to "PAP looks like it was bombed, it's a war zone...I can't even bring myself to take pictures". I don't know how to prepare for what I'm going to see except to pray and trust God.

A couple of Sunday's ago Becca and I traveled to a church in Garland, TX to speak about Haiti and present some of the needs there. As I began my talk, I held up something that looks like a clay disc and I asked them if they had ever played in the mud as children and made "mud pies". Of course they had, and so have I. I then explained to them that in Haiti people make mud pies as well. They take mud and filter it through a sheet or a piece of cloth to get the sticks and rocks out, sometimes they add butter and then they form this mud into small discs the almost resemble pita bread. Once the discs are formed they lay them out on a sheet in the street and let them bake in the sun for awhile so they become hard. Once they are baked and hardened they gather them together and bring them to a market area to sell. If a person is poor enough and desperate enough they will come to the market area, purchase a few of these mud pies and eat them.

You read that right. They literally eat dirt.

Of course this is horrible for them as the mud is sometimes mixed with sewage and is full of parasites and other harmful things, but when you can't get food for your family - what else are you going to do?

After telling this story to the church I want through the rest of my presentation, I talked about Haiti's history, about its culture, about some of the ministries we've been involved with and then I showed some before and after pictures relating to the quake. Then I held up that mud pie and as I pointed to it I said "this was the situation in Haiti before the earthquake".

Haiti was in desperate need before January 12th, and it's worse now. I am so thankful for the way so many of you have responded and I feel privileged to represent you as I travel there tomorrow to begin helping with the relief effort. Although we've been able to raise a good amount of money this past week, once that money is spent, there will still be needs that will have to go un-met. So, my plea for help continues. If you have thought about giving to help Haiti but haven't yet, I would encourage you to pray and ask God if He'd like you to help as well. Anything you give to any of the reputable charities out there is great. If you'd like to partner with us as we're there over these next few months you can send a check made out to: Danville Baptist Church with a separate note indicating it is for "Luke Perkins - Haiti fund" and mail it to: Danville Baptist Church, PO Box 2, Danville, NH 03819. You can also go to our blog at: theperkinsblog.blogspot.com and click on the "donate" button to give a non tax deductible donation.

Here is a quick update concerning my plans for the next few days. As I write this I'm on a flight to Ft. Lauderdale where I'll meet up with another missionary that I've known for a few years now. She happened to be out of Haiti during the quake at a conference and has been trying to get back since. We'll then fly to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where we'll meet up with another missionary (the son of an MAF pilot), who basically grew up in Haiti and was evacuated with his mother and sister shortly after the quake.

At the airport we'll be picked up by someone from the Christian Reformed Church's mission in the DR and taken to their guest house where we'll stay for the night and figure out a way to get into Haiti the next day. We're hoping to be able to get a ride to the border in a private car, but if we have to we'll take a bus. If all goes well we'll cross into Haiti sometime tomorrow and make our way to Port-au-Prince.

Here are a couple ways you can pray:

For safety as we travel across the border and into PAP. I'm carrying a decent amount of cash on my person because the banks are not accessible in Haiti. Pray that the Lord gives us safe passage.

For wisdom and strength. I'll be working in an environment that is comfortable to me, but also uncomfortable because so much has changed in the past few weeks. Pray I'll know what to do, where to go and not go, and what to say.

Strength for Becca and I as we endure having to be apart.

Thank you so much for your love, your words of encouragement and your support. It is an honor to serve.

In Christ,

Luke Perkins


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