March 2010

Dear friends,

When I returned in January, I said I had no idea how I lived when so many others close to me died. I may never understand it.

The odd thing that frustrates us is that, all of a sudden, there is no news of it. When I was standing on the tarmac at the airport waiting to be evacuated, one photographer said to another, “As soon as the blood dries, it will be a non-issue.” I guess he was right. You know that we are the last people to say, “Give more money.” But we will ask that you please don’t forget this. People are still hurting. People are still dying. And more are going to die if they have nothing to eat; the fact is, most have nothing to eat. Even if there is food to buy, those who have lost everything have nothing to buy it with.

Port-au-Prince is a scene right out of a horror movie. I have never seen anything I can compare it to. If you who have been there and think the scene of people begging for money was bad when you were there, you should return now. It simply breaks your heart. Even Joe, our friend who oversees things there for us, said he will never feel safe again. And maybe he said it best, concerning you: “If it weren’t for the American missionaries, we may as well give up.”

Many of you who receive this newsletter have received it for years. We have been in many of your homes and spent the night there, so we feel you know us very well. There has never been a time while we have been in your homes or churches when we have asked you to give money for this or that, and we won’t start now. But we will say that there has never been a time since our first trip in 1994 that we have ever seen anything like we see now. And without your help, there is very little to nothing we can do.

Some of you have already given, and some of you give more than we could ever expect anyway. But if you haven’t given, please consider it. Pray about it and pray for Haiti. If this country has ever need money and prayer, it is right now. Not tomorrow or next month. Right now.