Dear friends;
Thank you so much for all the prayers, letters, support, and donations that you have been giving us. We appreciate it very much.
Right now, we have over 24 staying with us. That is in addition to the family that we have living with us all the time. Sometimes it is hard to be responsible for so many but we are so thankful that these people are not in Port anymore. People still have to sleep in the street because of the instability of the houses. Just yesterday, there was another aftershock. Unfortunately, there are many thieves in the streets of Port-au-Prince. We are very glad that our house is full and that there are 24 people that have a roof and food to eat. We are happy that the Lord can use us in this way. We will take in more, if need be.
JeanJean has been busy organizing the community leaders into a response committee. Our relief efforts are basically the same as we had envisioned at the onset of this disaster. With the community, UCI will be continuing to send trucks into Port to evacuate people. We will not only be retrieving people from our area but also offering the trucks to take people to other parts of the country where their family is. We had taken 5 young women out of Port on Sunday. We didn't know where they were from and they were scared that they wouldn't get a ride if they said they were from Ranquitte--a community behind our own mountains. People are desperate to get out of Port, and they will get on any truck they can, no matter where its destination. They don't bring anything with them except the clothes on their back. They just want to get out. We thought that we would be taking in these 5 girls into our house. However, when they got to our place, were fed and given a place to sleep, they felt comfortable enough to tell us the real story. Luckily, they had family only an hour away from us. We found transportation for them and got them to loved ones. We would like to offer that to others. UCI's board met together this afternoon and decided to make every effort to reunite families. Pray for the 3 trucks that will travel to Port to transport more refugees.
Another area that UCI's relief funds will go to is to supply food for the families that are receiving people. There are families that have taken in as many as we have. These families will give and give, but sooner or later, their stores will be depleted. We are glad that we are able to help this way. We hope to offer money to people in the near future so they can get back on their feet. Most of them have viable skills and just need help to start over. We don't want to be caught giving food indefinitely and never letting the families take control of their own lives. The Mompremier family has land on the mountain that can be worked and we will offer this as well to the families that have no land.
It has been wonderful to see how the community is banding together and giving generously. So many people have offered food, money, and their homes. They may only have a space on the ground to offer someone, but it is so much better than sleeping in the streets. Our youth group prayed with the families who lost sons or daughters today. They sang, read the Bible and prayed with the families. Then we gave an offering that we gathered and soap for the family to wash their clothes. Lastly, the youth offered to come and do laundry or help in their yards. I was really proud of the group. Jacqueline and Rosenie did a great job of leading the youth and it was a privilege to be with them.
It has also been a busy afternoon for me with my nursing skills. I have sent a lot of supplies to our local doctor but I also have been seeing a lot of people myself. There are many cuts, bruises, sprains, and other external problems. But, more often, we see many people that are still in shock. A young man came to me that just left Port this morning. He is from our area but was living in Port, making sandals for a living. His good friends were the young men from our area that died. He spent days trying to find the bodies. He has slept out on the streets every night since last Tuesday--which means he hardly slept at all. He is a young man but he looked old and he had no strength left. He kept talking about the aftershocks and how each one made him relive the earthquake. His problem is the same for many. In our house, every single night someone screams in their sleep. Each one that I talk to has said that it is still hard to sleep at night and eat during the day.
Keep your prayers coming!! Pray for JeanJean as he counsels many that suffer from the shock. They were still pulling people out of the rubble yesterday! Praise the Lord! There are still many good people helping their fellow man. There are so many stories of God's grace.
Thank you again for all your support.
God bless you,
Kristie and JeanJean Mompremier
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