Friday, January 22, 2010
still waiting but hopefully yet today
Our people are still at the Embassy in Port-au-Prince waiting for the rest of the papers. They did find out last night that there are flights leaving every hour so they are still hopefully that they will be on one of those today.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The plan - please pray
As most of you have realized things in Haiti are in a constant state of flux right now so although this is the plan things may change. They currently have the travel documents needed for most of the kids at Maranatha. They have an appointment at 9am tomorrow morning and hope to have the remaining papers by noon to have the kids on a 3pm flight to arrive in the US (most likely Orlando) by 6pm. They are still waiting to find out if they will be able to get on a flight tomorrow. The people down in Haiti working on this have been at the Embassy every day and feel they have the "bumps" worked out so are hopeful for all to go well tomorrow.
Please join us in covering this situation in prayer.
We are trusting in God's perfect plan and perfect timing.
We will post something one we know more.
Please join us in covering this situation in prayer.
We are trusting in God's perfect plan and perfect timing.
We will post something one we know more.
Monday, January 18, 2010
good news
The US will be granting Humanitarian Parole wavers to everyone that is in process with an adoption in Haiti. So it will definitely happen we are just waiting to find out when our kids get their papers and when they will be able to get here. It could happen very quickly so we are working feverishly to prepare as best we can. Would love to type more but have a lot to do! Please be in continued prayer that our kids get their papers quickly and for their continued safety. Thank you!
update on our kids
Sorry it's been a while since an update - it's been quite a crazy few days with a number of developments and set backs. I am going to try not to be too detailed here (very difficult for an extremely detail-oriented person).
The parents of our orphanage (Maranatha Orphanage run by Heartline Ministries) have been working as a group with another orphange to obtain Humanitarian Parole wavers to get the kids over here. To clear up a misconception some of you know about, we are not connected with the BRESMA orphanage that has been on the news, there is another orphanage in PAP (Port-au-Prince) with 150 orphans and this is the group we are working with together.
Yesterday we had been told that we had the Humanitarian wavers and they were working on the logistics of flying the kids out. That now seems a bit more uncertain as the government is trying to figure out a "policy" to deal with this situation and that seems to change hour by hour. Ultimately, it still sounds like they are committed to getting any kids out that have a referral to a family even if there paperwork wasn't in Haiti yet (which is us since our paperwork is all pulled together and at the translator) but priority may be given to those further in the process.
We know that God has a perfect plan and his timing is perfect as well. Please join us in praying for:
The people of Haiti in general - there is so much loss and suffering but also hope and help.
For Saraphina, Olivier, the rest of the Maranatha children and all the other orphans - for safety/security and provision or food/water until they can come home.
For the process of getting them here safely and hopefully soon.
For Heartline Ministries as they open their women's center as a medical clinic and reach out to those around them in great need.
Thank you all for your prayers and offers of assistance - we are so grateful!
The parents of our orphanage (Maranatha Orphanage run by Heartline Ministries) have been working as a group with another orphange to obtain Humanitarian Parole wavers to get the kids over here. To clear up a misconception some of you know about, we are not connected with the BRESMA orphanage that has been on the news, there is another orphanage in PAP (Port-au-Prince) with 150 orphans and this is the group we are working with together.
Yesterday we had been told that we had the Humanitarian wavers and they were working on the logistics of flying the kids out. That now seems a bit more uncertain as the government is trying to figure out a "policy" to deal with this situation and that seems to change hour by hour. Ultimately, it still sounds like they are committed to getting any kids out that have a referral to a family even if there paperwork wasn't in Haiti yet (which is us since our paperwork is all pulled together and at the translator) but priority may be given to those further in the process.
We know that God has a perfect plan and his timing is perfect as well. Please join us in praying for:
The people of Haiti in general - there is so much loss and suffering but also hope and help.
For Saraphina, Olivier, the rest of the Maranatha children and all the other orphans - for safety/security and provision or food/water until they can come home.
For the process of getting them here safely and hopefully soon.
For Heartline Ministries as they open their women's center as a medical clinic and reach out to those around them in great need.
Thank you all for your prayers and offers of assistance - we are so grateful!
Friday, January 15, 2010
our adoption agency needs help
Dearest Friends:
We write this with a heavy heart. As most of you know, we are in the process of adopting two children from Haiti through an organization called Heartline Haiti http://heartlineministries.org/default.aspx . The devastation in Haiti is beyond anything we can comprehend and they are in enormous need for prayer and support. Many of you have contacted us to see how you can help and we are humbled that our two little Haitians have touched your hearts to bring about such compassion.
If you are interested in knowing more about the need and how you can help, please follow the developments via the Heartline web-site or the blog http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/blog/. The greatest way to help right now is through financing. There are so many needs: food, water, diesel and gasoline to run the generators, rebuilding of the walls (we need to have the orphanage under 24/7 armed protection and now since the walls protecting the houses are destroyed we are greatly concerned for their safety) especially with the danger of theft. Many of the families of the nannies have been severely impacted, losing loved ones, homes, jobs, etc. Heartline believes it is their call to help and support them in any way possible, so the ripple effect of those impacted in our ministry reaches more than 100 people not including the kids.
If you feel so compelled, we have included the direct link to the ministry for this support www.haiti-relief.com . The wonderful thing is every dollar given goes immediately to supporting the needs from this devastation (Heartline has been serving Haiti for over 20 years and is a 501C Non-profit with a Board that is made up of adoptive parents serving as lay ministry so all monies will go directly to Haiti. Also know that all of your contributions are recognized as a tax-deductible contribution).
We all covet your prayers for God’s mercy, protection, provision, grace, strength, wisdom and peace. Please forward this to as many people as you can.
Banding together for the cause,
John, Jennifer and Jacob Bettin
http://thebettinbuzz.blogspot.com/
Heartline MinistriesEarthquake Update
Below are updates John and others have provided via their blogs. Communication is difficult and they do not cell phone usage and the internet is only working occasionally. The number one need is money. Not only do we need to rebuild walls, but many of our employees (we employee approximately 100 people in various capacities) are now homeless and will need massive help rebuilding. Please donate at www.haiti-relief.com or www.heartlineministries.org. Materials are very difficult to find and everything that is needed is going to take money that we simply did not have yesterday. If you have specific questions please realize that John is not able to respond. You can contact tom.white@heartlineministries.org if you need specific information.
We have had lots of inquiries about traveling to Haiti to help. This is the only comment we have received on visitors: If you don't speak Creole/Kreyol and don't have the ability to work with injured people - you should NOT come. We cannot feed you and we don't have a place to house you.
See http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/blog/ for John's blog. Most recent entries are below.
John's Updates
January 14th, 2010
I have just returned from seeing the man who was trapped inside his house when it collapsed. Please pray that they are able to get out of here through the Dominican Republic as his wife's foot and leg is in serious condition.
Bodies are starting to be placed on the street and at times covered with sheet.
Almost all the store are still closed and we are now facing the issue of a lack of diesel and gasoline to be able to use the vehicles and generators.I am starting to get reports from our workers of how some have lost their houses and are living on the streets. We, I believe, must help them.We, last night, had 12 people at my house and as they didn't feel safe to be at their homes or on the streets.One of our nannies just told me that her brother has been seriously injured and that other people in the same house have died. She asked for a couple of days off, and I said, "Of course, take as much as you need." She replied, "The children need me here at the home, I won't be gone long."This is the quality of nannies that we have at Maranatha Children's Home.
Today's struggle is to provide water and food for the kids and to keep ourselves strong and not allow fear of discouragement to creep in.
Wednesday January 13, 2010
8:30 PM
It has been several hours since we have had internet access and our cell phones still are not working. The last time I posted I said that I was going to hop on the motorcycle and try to find the father of one of our daughter Morgan's friends.
I drove to what was once his house and saw nothing but a pile of rubble with a roof on it. The house had fallen and he was still in it. By the time I arrived he had been trapped for almost 18 hours and several men with a hammer and chisel had made a hole in the cement roof and so when I arrived I could see Patrick still trapped as he could not remove his arm as it was trapped by the cement and steel holding it in place. But the men continued to work on it and after 18 hours he was freed. His arm was quite swollen and now looks as if it has been severely burned.
He spent several hours at my house where the medical people with us cared for him and we fed him as he hadn't eaten since being trapped in the rubble of his house.
His wife had as well been injured and it seems had seen a doctor at a clinic. I just returned from bringing Patrick to see his wife where she is staying at a mission about 30 minutes from us. It was a joyous reunion. She it appears has seriously injured her foot and they are talking about how to get to the States in face of the airport here being closed. They may have someone take them to the Dominican Republic and try to fly out of Santo Domingo.
Getting to the mission was a bit of a challenge as the bridge is out and we had to take what may be loosely called a road, which also took us across a river. We along the way on the so called road were stopped by several men who demanded money to let us pass. I choose to run their roadblock and did so with the men chasing after me on foot and waving their sticks.
Please pray for Patrick and his wife Barb. As I was driving him to see his wife, I couldn't help but consider how much he had lost and gone through and how little we have been impacted by the loss of several walls. See pictures of Patricks rescue at
http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/blog/
PLEASE PRAY:
We have several people in our church that work at the UN Headquarters, which is in an old hotel which was partially destroyed. It has been reported that perhaps several dozen people may have lost their lives as part of the hotel collapsed. One of those that work there came by my house today to let me know that he was okay. He said that he was in a meeting with others and some did not get out in time and were killed. I asked him about the others that I know that work there but he didn't have any information.
Now I have never been in an earthquake before and I am taken back by the enormous amount of damage in the areas that I have traveled. It is stunning to see what was just yesterday a large functional building and now to see it in ruins.
So many lives lost, so much suffering, so much devastation, so much that is hard to understand.
Yet in my 20 years in Haiti, I have learned that the Haitian people are resilient and although they have not seen this kind of destruction before they will rise above it.
UPDATE
We today started cleanup at the crèches and the women's center. Our problem is that things aren't functioning yet and we are not able to have the rubbles hauled away and can not get the blocks, sand, rocks, cement, and steel on site to rebuild our fallen walls. And we simply do not have money on hand and do not know when we can get money as the stores and places where we change money have not reopened. The store where we often change money has in fact been leveled.
The kids and nannies are again sleeping in the yard of the Buxmans' house as they are afraid of aftershocks of which we just had one as I sit here typing.
The Heartline people are pulling together to do whatever we have to do to see our way through this difficult time.
I do not know when I can post this as I have not been able to find a working internet connection.
Today's struggle is to provide water and food for the kids and to keep ourselves strong and not allow fear of discouragement to creep in.
We write this with a heavy heart. As most of you know, we are in the process of adopting two children from Haiti through an organization called Heartline Haiti http://heartlineministries.org/default.aspx . The devastation in Haiti is beyond anything we can comprehend and they are in enormous need for prayer and support. Many of you have contacted us to see how you can help and we are humbled that our two little Haitians have touched your hearts to bring about such compassion.
If you are interested in knowing more about the need and how you can help, please follow the developments via the Heartline web-site or the blog http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/blog/. The greatest way to help right now is through financing. There are so many needs: food, water, diesel and gasoline to run the generators, rebuilding of the walls (we need to have the orphanage under 24/7 armed protection and now since the walls protecting the houses are destroyed we are greatly concerned for their safety) especially with the danger of theft. Many of the families of the nannies have been severely impacted, losing loved ones, homes, jobs, etc. Heartline believes it is their call to help and support them in any way possible, so the ripple effect of those impacted in our ministry reaches more than 100 people not including the kids.
If you feel so compelled, we have included the direct link to the ministry for this support www.haiti-relief.com . The wonderful thing is every dollar given goes immediately to supporting the needs from this devastation (Heartline has been serving Haiti for over 20 years and is a 501C Non-profit with a Board that is made up of adoptive parents serving as lay ministry so all monies will go directly to Haiti. Also know that all of your contributions are recognized as a tax-deductible contribution).
We all covet your prayers for God’s mercy, protection, provision, grace, strength, wisdom and peace. Please forward this to as many people as you can.
Banding together for the cause,
John, Jennifer and Jacob Bettin
http://thebettinbuzz.blogspot.com/
Heartline MinistriesEarthquake Update
Below are updates John and others have provided via their blogs. Communication is difficult and they do not cell phone usage and the internet is only working occasionally. The number one need is money. Not only do we need to rebuild walls, but many of our employees (we employee approximately 100 people in various capacities) are now homeless and will need massive help rebuilding. Please donate at www.haiti-relief.com or www.heartlineministries.org. Materials are very difficult to find and everything that is needed is going to take money that we simply did not have yesterday. If you have specific questions please realize that John is not able to respond. You can contact tom.white@heartlineministries.org if you need specific information.
We have had lots of inquiries about traveling to Haiti to help. This is the only comment we have received on visitors: If you don't speak Creole/Kreyol and don't have the ability to work with injured people - you should NOT come. We cannot feed you and we don't have a place to house you.
See http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/blog/ for John's blog. Most recent entries are below.
John's Updates
January 14th, 2010
I have just returned from seeing the man who was trapped inside his house when it collapsed. Please pray that they are able to get out of here through the Dominican Republic as his wife's foot and leg is in serious condition.
Bodies are starting to be placed on the street and at times covered with sheet.
Almost all the store are still closed and we are now facing the issue of a lack of diesel and gasoline to be able to use the vehicles and generators.I am starting to get reports from our workers of how some have lost their houses and are living on the streets. We, I believe, must help them.We, last night, had 12 people at my house and as they didn't feel safe to be at their homes or on the streets.One of our nannies just told me that her brother has been seriously injured and that other people in the same house have died. She asked for a couple of days off, and I said, "Of course, take as much as you need." She replied, "The children need me here at the home, I won't be gone long."This is the quality of nannies that we have at Maranatha Children's Home.
Today's struggle is to provide water and food for the kids and to keep ourselves strong and not allow fear of discouragement to creep in.
Wednesday January 13, 2010
8:30 PM
It has been several hours since we have had internet access and our cell phones still are not working. The last time I posted I said that I was going to hop on the motorcycle and try to find the father of one of our daughter Morgan's friends.
I drove to what was once his house and saw nothing but a pile of rubble with a roof on it. The house had fallen and he was still in it. By the time I arrived he had been trapped for almost 18 hours and several men with a hammer and chisel had made a hole in the cement roof and so when I arrived I could see Patrick still trapped as he could not remove his arm as it was trapped by the cement and steel holding it in place. But the men continued to work on it and after 18 hours he was freed. His arm was quite swollen and now looks as if it has been severely burned.
He spent several hours at my house where the medical people with us cared for him and we fed him as he hadn't eaten since being trapped in the rubble of his house.
His wife had as well been injured and it seems had seen a doctor at a clinic. I just returned from bringing Patrick to see his wife where she is staying at a mission about 30 minutes from us. It was a joyous reunion. She it appears has seriously injured her foot and they are talking about how to get to the States in face of the airport here being closed. They may have someone take them to the Dominican Republic and try to fly out of Santo Domingo.
Getting to the mission was a bit of a challenge as the bridge is out and we had to take what may be loosely called a road, which also took us across a river. We along the way on the so called road were stopped by several men who demanded money to let us pass. I choose to run their roadblock and did so with the men chasing after me on foot and waving their sticks.
Please pray for Patrick and his wife Barb. As I was driving him to see his wife, I couldn't help but consider how much he had lost and gone through and how little we have been impacted by the loss of several walls. See pictures of Patricks rescue at
http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/blog/
PLEASE PRAY:
We have several people in our church that work at the UN Headquarters, which is in an old hotel which was partially destroyed. It has been reported that perhaps several dozen people may have lost their lives as part of the hotel collapsed. One of those that work there came by my house today to let me know that he was okay. He said that he was in a meeting with others and some did not get out in time and were killed. I asked him about the others that I know that work there but he didn't have any information.
Now I have never been in an earthquake before and I am taken back by the enormous amount of damage in the areas that I have traveled. It is stunning to see what was just yesterday a large functional building and now to see it in ruins.
So many lives lost, so much suffering, so much devastation, so much that is hard to understand.
Yet in my 20 years in Haiti, I have learned that the Haitian people are resilient and although they have not seen this kind of destruction before they will rise above it.
UPDATE
We today started cleanup at the crèches and the women's center. Our problem is that things aren't functioning yet and we are not able to have the rubbles hauled away and can not get the blocks, sand, rocks, cement, and steel on site to rebuild our fallen walls. And we simply do not have money on hand and do not know when we can get money as the stores and places where we change money have not reopened. The store where we often change money has in fact been leveled.
The kids and nannies are again sleeping in the yard of the Buxmans' house as they are afraid of aftershocks of which we just had one as I sit here typing.
The Heartline people are pulling together to do whatever we have to do to see our way through this difficult time.
I do not know when I can post this as I have not been able to find a working internet connection.
Today's struggle is to provide water and food for the kids and to keep ourselves strong and not allow fear of discouragement to creep in.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Earthquake update
I am feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to put this together so bear with me.
Our kids are at Maranatha Orphanage which is run by Heartline Ministries. They are in the Port-au-Prince area and were significantly effected by the earthquake. The homes and buildings on their property sustained damage and the walls around their property are laying in pieces. Thankfully all the children and staff are accounted for and ok.
The children and workers are currently sleeping in a neighbor's yard. Today's struggle is to provide water and food for the kids and to keep themselves strong and not allow fear of discouragement to creep in. Almost all the store are still closed and they are now facing the issue of a lack of diesel and gasoline to be able to use the vehicles and generators. Since the stores are closed they are also not able to change money - the store they typically changed money at was leveled.
Going forward they will be focusing on getting one of their buildings safe enough for everyone to stay in and rebuild the security wall which is very important (even before this they have had an armed security guard that patrols their property at night).
It sounds as if things are getting more desperate and dangerous but they believe that they are there to reach out to those around them and have been providing a place for some to stay and providing medical assistance through the medical staff they have at the women's center.
This is a real brief synopsis so if you are interested in more information, pictures of the damage, the story and pictures of a friend they pulled from the rubble of his house please see their blog:
http://heartlineministries.org/Blog20.aspx
Please be covering Saraphina, Olivier, the rest of the children and staff in your prayers.
If you would be willing to help please make a donation through their website - even $5 will help!
http://heartlineministries.org/default.aspx
Our kids are at Maranatha Orphanage which is run by Heartline Ministries. They are in the Port-au-Prince area and were significantly effected by the earthquake. The homes and buildings on their property sustained damage and the walls around their property are laying in pieces. Thankfully all the children and staff are accounted for and ok.
The children and workers are currently sleeping in a neighbor's yard. Today's struggle is to provide water and food for the kids and to keep themselves strong and not allow fear of discouragement to creep in. Almost all the store are still closed and they are now facing the issue of a lack of diesel and gasoline to be able to use the vehicles and generators. Since the stores are closed they are also not able to change money - the store they typically changed money at was leveled.
Going forward they will be focusing on getting one of their buildings safe enough for everyone to stay in and rebuild the security wall which is very important (even before this they have had an armed security guard that patrols their property at night).
It sounds as if things are getting more desperate and dangerous but they believe that they are there to reach out to those around them and have been providing a place for some to stay and providing medical assistance through the medical staff they have at the women's center.
This is a real brief synopsis so if you are interested in more information, pictures of the damage, the story and pictures of a friend they pulled from the rubble of his house please see their blog:
http://heartlineministries.org/Blog20.aspx
Please be covering Saraphina, Olivier, the rest of the children and staff in your prayers.
If you would be willing to help please make a donation through their website - even $5 will help!
http://heartlineministries.org/default.aspx
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Merry Christmas from Haiti
We received a bunch of pictures of the kids celebrating Christmas - what a wonderful present for us!
Paperwork progress: We have gathered all our paperwork together, taken two trips over to St. Paul to get everything authenticated and state seals on all of it, and sent it all over to the translator. We are just waiting to get it back so it can be sent off to the Haitian consulate in Chicago next. Hopefully we are on the homestretch with the paperwork now.
Any day we should be getting access to a website that will be updated (approximately monthly) with pictures and info on the kids so we can keep up with what is going on with them and share it with you.
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