Feb 25: The government is now taking supplies that is flown into the airport. They are asking a lot of money to get the supplies out. A friend has 250 tents being held. Another friend has medical supplies and food being held for $10,000 US. Adoptions are at a stand still because of UNICEF and the people who do adoptions here are rethinking about continuing.
Feb 20: Catch the story of Rocky Balboa, a preme baby that almost died yesterday, in the diary section.
Fed 18: Just as an example of how bad adoptions are at the moment; Heartline still has 5 children that need to come out of the country. The paperwork is in order the government just does not care. Please, pray that this will happen soon.
I am still working on the database at night. I am hoping people who are interested in adoption are checking here first. I had to wade through over 5000 emails. It is a daunting task at best.
The "Needed to date" number at the top right has not changed for good reason; no money has come in for over a week - since I have left. The mad rush is over I suppose.
Feb 14: I am working on answers about adoption. The news to date is not good. Please, stay tuned and go to the adoption page/adoption link.
Feb 11: Day 1 on the ground in Haiti. There is something weird about being here. It seems the same and yet, different. More later as it is late and the rooster crows early in Haiti!
Feb 10: Preparing to leave tomorrow afternoon. 600 pounds is not much but is what we are told is our allotment. We will have 300 pounds of MRE's standing by at the airport.
Feb 6: I was sick for 4 days and had to pull myself from a flight to Haiti to work with Heartline. I am still working to secure a pallet of formula. The funds are slowing to almost a complete stop. It would be ashamed to leave food sitting here. The site hits are also down to 100/day. If you are one of the hundred, a check for $7.2 would help take care of the $7,200 needed to get the food out. Sorry, we don't do Paypal and HERE is why.
Feb 1: HERE is a story of what is the grim reality of life for Haitians and how our feeding program is making a small difference. Please, consider helping get those twelve pallets of food to where they are needed.
We are still busy amping up for movement of more supplies. I, Chris, may be taking a job in Haiti rebuilding roads. I will apply for a position today.
I have been very busy reading your emails and building a database. Stay tuned.
We still have access to 12 pallets of MRE's but no funds. We have been buying pallets as the money comes in. The last run was with two pallets as it was all of the funds that we had come in. A pallet of MRE's costs us $600 so we need to raise $7,200. We will update you on the baby formula. I am sure a pallet of formula will cost way more. At the moment, a case of MRE's costs us $20 and has 24 meals in it. There are greatly loved by the people who receive them. These meals go to hungry people who have fallen through the cracks. They go to people too weak to fight for their share. This is what our Haiti feeding program is all about.
Jan 28: Long day. Two pallets of MRE's delivered to Ft. Lauderdale at 7:00am. That's 1728 meals folks. Thanks to all that helped make this become a reality. Help keep the meals going over to the people in need. Now we need baby formula which is in short supply - even in the DR. One case costs us $60. We sure could use a bunch of cases. Our supplier only had one case and is going to find us some pallets. What a good work it would be to be able to write the check when they come in. FYI, Bev and I pay all of the shipping and we are both out of work. Your money (100%) buys food and formula.
Jan 27 11:45pm. Have I been gone this long? Man-o-man have things been crazy. Two more pallets of MRE's going to Haiti soon. Bought supplies for Heartline Ministries. All packed up and ready for delivery to Ft. Lauderdale. Arrive at 7:00am and the plane leaves at 8:00am. Then home and work to get two more pallets of MRE's and see how much baby formula I can lay my paws on. I am thankful there are fine people who see the need and sending the support to continue the efforts. Please, continue to support our efforts to get meals to the people unlike our silly government who air drops supplies making matters worse for those really in need. UGH! Pray, give, volunteer.
Jan 23: Change of plans! The 6 pallets of MRE's ended up at MFI. They just weighed too much for the trip to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Looks like 3 pallets will make their way soon. You have GOT to see the pictures HERE!
The work in Haiti is overwhelming. See HERE for a day in the life of Heartline (in Haiti) outside of the clinic. The stateside people are just as busy I am sure. See HERE for a brief GRAPHIC day at the clinic.
There is still a lot of work going on here in the states. Heart of Jonathan is busy in Ft. Lauderdale, FL lining up flights in and out. We are busy lining up supplies in Ft. Pierce, FL and building our new database of hopeful adoptive parents. Our email boxes are full and we are working long, late hours to answer questions. Stay tuned. Pray, give, volunteer.
Jan 22: WOW - WOW - WOW. Just got home at 9:45pm to start sorting the email requests for possible adoption. I am overwhelmed at the sheer numbers of caring people who want to adopt children. I am in the process of creating a database of the information to get the attention of the State Department. Pray that it will help.
UGH. So far our house has been spared. It is 80km WNW from Port-au-Prince. At 8:00AM+/- a 4.7 magnitude quake hit 25km WNW from PAP. That is directly towards us. I have not heard from The King's Kids in our house. Pray for their safety. If the house falls, that is just fine. If it falls on people - well. Pray, give, volunteer.
We are receiving a lot of requests for adoption/foster care. See the adoption tab for more info. I am busy updating the info from DHS and the State Department.
Life is crazy for people here trying to organize supplies and flights. Pray, give, volunteer. A cute fund raiser to the upper right.
Haiti orphans are going to be an issue. We are still working on getting answers. Things go slow in Haiti. Keep praying.
Jan 19: The hard work has begun. The medical team is working long hard hours under impossible conditions. Reminds me of M*A*S*H without the comedy. Pray, give, volunteer. UPDATE: Today saw us picking up 5 Doctors in Jupiter (thanks Lisa Hojara) to bring them to Ft. Pierce, Florida to fly out of Missionary Flights International. In an hour, I will be picking up a teen at MFI who was flown out of Haiti by his mother. He will be flying out to Philadelphia as some later date to be determined. UPDATE: DCF took Ricky to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Not your regular MRE. I guess we should let people see what we are shipping (see upper right). This is a sample and may vary a little but the theme is still the same (trail mix in place of peanuts, different crackers...). If you have had the other MRE's, you know what a treat this is!
The first plane load of Doctors and supplies have landed in Haiti. On board were 9 people and 2600 pounds of supplies which included medical supplies (surgical instruments on down to bandages) and food (MRE's on down to peanut butter).
Jan 17 Lots of news but I am too tired to update. Busy weekend. More tomorrow. Pierre Pan has been dropped by HaitisBabies. It will not happen. If you are asked to give to Pierre Pan efforts, do not do it. It is likely a scam. If you would like to continue to pursue the matter, contact the Archdiocese of Miami.
HaitisBabies may be moving in a new direction. There is a slight possibility of a child drop from Haiti that will be similar to the child drop from Cuba, operation Pedro Pan, in which 14,000 children were brought out of Cuba in the early 1960's. The mention was made on 20/20 last night. We have already contacted International Children's Services and asked to be on the front line of such an effort. Stay tuned. If this is an option, we will be looking for people to adopt or care for children.
World News with Diane Sawyer did a spot on children in Haiti. She visited Heartline Ministries and picked up little Frankie whose initial story of coming to Heartline can bee seen HERE. Enjoy some good news!
We are very happy to announce our alignment with "The Kings Kids" in Haiti. We will be providing their organization with shelter via the use of our house in Haiti. It is a blessing beyond belief to be able to help those in need. As we understand it, 18 kids and supporting staff will be moving in - if the house is still standing.
Update: Sadly we learned one child was crushed in the rubble.
We welcome The Kings Kids to our fold.
Lam 2:11
Haiti's Babies
Updated Feb 25, 2010
I have no money to give, what can I do?
A fun little fund raiser, jar labels! Click HERE to learn more.
We help people by what we do. Perhaps we help them more by what we are. We prove ourselves useful when we give our money. We are still more useful when we give ourselves. And no man has his whole self to give, in all the expansion of his possibilities, until he has aligned himself with God.