First, Kristen and Karis are at the US Embassy, where they will presumably be put on a flight tonight or tomorrow morning through the Dominican Republic back to the US. Not a done deal, and we’ll all have much more peace when she is back on US soil, but it’s good sign that she is in a safe place with a tentative plan.
Also, fantastic news from Lifeline, the organization through which several of my friends are on (and were on when the earthquake hit) a short-term mission in Haiti. They also sponsor a 3 story orphanage near the epicenter of quake, and no one was able to get ANY communication with them for almost 48 hours. The worst was feared. I just read on the website that ALL THE CHILDREN are safe! I won’t lie–I burst into tears.
The team is in Grand Guave, a small town about 30-40 miles from Port-au-Prince. The compound has had much damage, but all the women from BCC (my other church home) are safe and unharmed. Today is the first day there has been any signs that the roads might even be passable back to the capital. This is only a first step, as PAP (capital) is in chaotic rubble, and the airport is barely functioning. However, the Lifeline leadership is making great strides to get the team out safely ASAP. In the meantime, the Haitians are coming in droves to the compound, feeling that they will be safer there. This is giving amazing opportunities to minister to the community. It is just the beginning in what will be years of attempted recovery–physical, emotional and spiritual. As a friend of mine said, the people of Haiti seemed to have nothing, and now they have even less.