Flood Blog – Current impact opportunities, stories of impact and classifieds.

Hi Everyone,

Thank so much for all the good wishes and prayers and support.  I never felt helpless, hopeless, or defeated.  Thanks for donating to Childrens of the Nations too.

After a day and a half of traveling we arrived into Jimani–right on the border of Haiti.  We worked out of facility that was being built as an orphanage and medical clinic.  Over a course of a few days it had been transformed into a several hundred capacity relief hospital teeming with medical teams from all over the US and world.  On the day that we had arrive, word on gotten out that this place had enough electricity and water to take care of patients and about 100+ medical personal on descended onto it adding to the chaos.

Over the next few days, I just plugged in whereever they need help. I found myself in the recovery room/ICU unit of about 50 patients along with 3 other docs and 6 nurses. I changed sheets, moved patients, emptied bedpans, gave antibiotics, cleaned patients, put in IV’s, fed patients–basically I was an intern/RN/ICU doc.  One day, I prepared patients to be airlifted out of JImani by naval helicopter by making sure they had all their medications and personal information with them.

There were times where I wanted cry and they were times I was overwhelmed by acts of love and service.  There were also times when I did not want to be there but now I think I will go back.  The need will be ongoing and drastic for a long time.

I chose a few pictures to send.
1. A girl whose mom had broken arm and leg.  She gave her portion of food to another patient.  She was so gracious.

2. A Haitian boy who helped us translate into Spanish which then our Spanish translator translated to English.  We were trying to airvac the little baby onto the naval hospital ship so she could avoid an amputation.  Most of the Haitians spoke only French Creole…which is not the same as high school French.

3. (Taken from the COTN website) Patients lying outside the hospital after an aftershock because they were too scared to go back in.

4.  Me– in front of the hospital.

Love,
Christine

Sunday, January 31, all 4 worship gatherings

Participate in our Hygiene Smile Pack drive to resource Children of the Nations’ Haiti Emergency Response.  Purchase the following NEW items, and place in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag:

+ 1 toothbrush (packaged)
+ 1 toothpaste (6 oz.)
+ 1 small pack of adhesive bandages (15-20 count)
+ 1 bottle of shampoo (12 oz. in a separate gallon zip-lock bag)
+ 1 comb/brush
+ 1 washcloth
+ 1 hand towel
+ 3 bars of soap

Return items to Flood on Sunday, January 31st, with a $5 donation.
Contact: MawiPatten@DIVEintoFLOOD.com

January is National Mentoring Month, a time to celebrate accomplishments and re-commit to serving children in San Diego County.  As a grateful partner of The Flood, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) would like to invite you to join us in our January FUNdraising events. 

Tuesday, January 26th (4pm-10pm) – Join us at Stone Brewing Company’s World Bistro for an evening of great food and drink.  Come dine in the Bistro and 15% of your sales will be donated to BBBS. Location: 1999 Citracado Parkway, Escondido 92029.

Thursday, January 29th (5pm-9pm) – Join us at the Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop for “Chow for Charity”.  Order up fresh Mexican food and see a real Lucha Libre wrestler! Proceeds from the evening will be donated to BBBS.  Location: 1810 W. Washington St, San Diego 92103

Based on updates we received from Children of the Nations team on the ground in DR, these are the immediate needs in Haiti. Read on if you are a Medical Professional, or are able to donate medical supplies.

(1) Donate Supplies

Here are the lists of medical supplies needed urgently:

COTNI – Medication Recommendations
COTNI – Supply  Recommendations

You can bring donations to the Flood Office, or mail them directly to the following location.
Use complete address to ensure it goes to COTN Barahona. MFI charges $1.50 per pound for air transport into Barahona – donations are appreciated.

Malou Faublas
Unit 4014 – CTNBH
3170 Airmans Dr
Fort Pierce FL 34946
(772) 462-2395

(2) Go to Haiti

Based on updates we’ve received from COTN’s teams on the ground in Dominican Republic,  the immediate need is for the following medical professionals (as of 1/19/10):

Orthopedic Surgeons
Nurses (especially OR)
Trauma Surgeons
Anesthesiologist

If you fit into one of these categories and are available to travel immediately (as early as tomorrow, into next week), please contact MawiPatten@DIVEintoFLOOD.com ASAP, including your availability (ex: “I am able to depart Monday, 1/18 and return Thursday, 1/28”). We will coordinate further details based on your responses.

If you do not fit into one of the categories above, continue visiting the blog for updates on other needs as they arise. There may be a time in the next few days or weeks when trauma/grief counselors or non-medical professionals are needed.

For those who attended the 9am and 11am gatherings on Sunday, you heard a powerful testimony from John Compere. John has attended Flood since it began and is from Haiti. Sunday morning, he led us in praying for his home country while sharing the difficult news that he had not heard from any of his family since the earthquake hit on Tuesday. Amidst tears, our congregation prayed that John would hear from his family.

As John returned to his car after the 11am, he realized he had forgotten his cell phone in the car. When he picked up his phone he saw that he had a missed call and a message from his brother in Haiti!! Shortly thereafter, he received another phone call from his sister!!

John’s family is alive.

They all have lost their homes and have endured an extremely difficult week, but they are alive!

On behalf of John, I wanted to thank you for praying. May God continue to reveal Himself to us as we draw near to Him. Have a blessed week.

Pastor Adam

P.S. Thanks to your generous response on Sunday, together we gave over $9,000 to provide relief to the crisis in Haiti. A portion of this  will be a gift directly to  John Compere and his family.

My sister and I both attend Point Loma Nazarene University, and live in the same dorm. We decided to invite the girls from our halls to all pray with us at midnight. After explaining the idea, we ended up sitting in the hallway with a circle of 15 girls ready to pray for the hurting.  It is so amazing how God is able to use and work through us by our prayers. Community is such a blessing.  I really do believe in the power of prayer! God is so Good!

We are in this together!
Thank you for the challenge and idea! God Bless.

Strength, Love, Believe,
Marsha Hubbard

I fully intended to enter into this endevour alone.  I knew I would be away from flood folks all evening so I made the commitment to set aside quiet time at midnight.  Boy was I wrong.  I ran into Jason at the YMCA and we had seen each other around.  We shot some texts back and forth and agreed to met up and pray along with his roommate, Todd.  God was even moving in the fact that we barely knew each other but had Flood as a bond already!

Our prayer time was most excellent.  I would say nothing earth shattering, no angels descending from on high (visible ones anyway), yet the simple stillness and hour of intentional prayer will set an incredible space for our hearts for the week.  It was also really binding to know that innumerable lights were also on around the county, praying as we were.  Solidarity and boldness.  What a challenge.  I can’t wait to look up in the near future to see what we really asked God to do with us.  Eyes up.