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


*if you would like to stop receiving these emails please reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and you will be removed from the list. Please accept my apologies.