My Haitian Experience This Week

Church Service at Carrefour COC

John Davis (Ft. Worth volunteer) reading to the children during VBS/School

Charissa Richard with a sick child and 2 sisters.

I arrived back in the great United States last night...... it's good to be "home" but as John Davis put it...."it feels odd to be back. Like we are strangers in this land".

While in Haiti we connected with the people there. We felt for them....with them....and wanted to make everything better for them. Although in working to make things "better" we also need to remember that "our" better is not necessarily the Haitian Peoples idea of better. They have their own culture and it is not our place to come in and try to "Americanize" them.

Those of you who know me.... know that camping in a tent.....especially during rainy nights with the tent leaking....living without electricity except for the 1 or 2 hours per day of generator power....not using makeup or a flat iron.....riding in the bed of a truck on rough, dusty....dirt/gravel, pothole "roads" while trying to hang on and not to focus on the stench in the air.....eating "different" foods....and suffering through extremely hot, humid weather....showering every other day.... attempting to be patient because "Haiti time" is different from any other time I've ever experienced.....has never been my idea of living.

BUT..... for the Haitian people most of this is normal everyday life....much of it they lived through daily even before the earthquake. They adapt and overcome. I'm amazed at the ingenuity they have.....

NOW....since the earthquake they are in more need than ever. There are countless "tent cities" where thousands of people are living. But they're not "tent cities" because they have no tents! They use branches from trees stuck in the ground for corner posts and cover them with bed linens. THIS IS NOT KEEPING THE RAINS OFF OF THEM..... Their immediate needs are tents and medical help. From there we can begin the rebuilding but for now....we have to get them relocated out of the river beds and into tents rather than sheets. The rains have begun and will only continue to get worse. Their "tents" will flood.....and the diseases will continue to get worse.

Please help us help them...... We need volunteers of any kind as long as you can handle horrible, rough conditions. We need funding to continue to purchase food, tents, building material, medical supplies, tools, equipment......the list goes on and on.

If you're willing to volunteer, please go the the DRT website and register. If it is put upon your heart to donate.... you may do so through PayPal on the website or by postal mail to:

Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team

810 Hollywood Blvd.

West Melbourne, Florida 32904