Christy's First Update From Haiti

Hi everyone - this is Laila, Christy's friend, posting for Christy. She just sent an email update from her Blackberry and asked that I post it here. It sounds like they had an eye-opening day, but are doing well and getting settled in. Here is her email:

Wow was today a mixed bag. I saw things today that I will forever remember and will leave a lasting impression in my mind. Today was also a day of enjoyment and intrigue that brought us closer to our goal.

We had a long day of travel and we were exhausted. When we finally made it to Haiti we were met with heat but also a flood of people needing and asking for our help. Unfortunately, it was not appropriate to give them money so we had the hard job of telling children barefoot, covered in dirt with ripped clothes that we could not give them money. Hard. We were met by International Ministries and they took us to the truck we needed to load our 18- 70 pound bags into as we brought a ton of supplies and meds. We loaded the bags into the truck and then we were told we needed to join the bags and ride in the back of the truck, all 9 plus 4 others, all the way 3 hours plus to our destination. And so we loaded up unable to sit down- we stood up for the next 4 hours over bumpy roads and gawkers waving and staring.

On that long 4 hour ride standing up in the back of a truck we saw things that I have never seen in my life. Concrete ruins and mangled buildings. People living in poverty you can not imagine. It was hard to see but came to a head seeing naked babies and children living in a center divider of a road in plastic tarped rooms the size of a small powder room. Literally childen, families living in a center median in a room about 5x5. Covered in dirt and playing naked with rocks on the ground- tent after tent the same scene. It was enough to push one over the edge and it did me. How could these people survive like this? How can we live like we do while this poverty is happening. Heartbreaking.

We drove for 4 hours to end in Grand Goave, our place of residemce for the next 9 days. We met the other missionaries and found our tents and saw what we would be doing. Laura and I were very pleased with the clinic as it was an actual room with a ton of supplies. It will be a great place to work. We unpacked which took a while and had a dinner the local women prepared. It was a nice time. The kids are adorable and I can't wait to see them more tomorrow. As soon as we finished dinner it began pouring and I mean pouring. It was crazy rain so we we're stuck in a leaky tent for the rest of the night. Kevin, Laura and I are in a tent together and Laura and I both were fortunate enough to get a shower tonight which was wonderful. Cold water but wonderful! I'm now off to bed after being sleep deprived for 2 days and being emotionally exhausted. Please keep us in your prayers. We are having a good time. Its just an absolute adjustment from everything we know. No comforts of home - nothing. But, we are here to help and help we will.

We miss the kids already and we hope they are having fun. We love them so much. I will send pictures tomorrow.

Love Christy