How to save a life? Start with Prayer...

7 days until departure...


Wow... the past several months have flown by! It was back in September when Stefanie first suggested that I go with her to Haiti. It was October that my employer offerred to pay half my cost. It became real in January, even more real in February, and now it's March and I only have to pack and kiss my husband goodbye before I leave. OK maybe it's not that easy, I still have to work for this week, but still!


I have been going to the smaller service on Sunday evenings lately and volunteering for hospitality. I realized yesterday, how much fun the earlier service is. The gym is packed and the songs give me chills when I hear the whole congregation singing out in words of praise. In addition to those chills, Pastor Justin called up the mission team for Haiti as well as the high school/college mission team for New Orleans so the congregation could pray over us as we prepare for our travels. The power of prayer  swept over me. I feel so grateful to all of the people who have been lifting me up in prayer along with my team members and the Haitians as well. I must say, my prayer has taken on a new life and energy.


We had out last team meeting before we leave and we finally got to meet EVERYONE! We even got to bond while packing our spare suitcase full of school supplies and diapers. We received our room assignments as well. My two room mates (Amy & Stephanie) are already good friends, but I'm sure I will fit in alright - plus how much time do you really spend in the hotel room? There are two grade-school students traveling with parents with us, and I am so excited to see them grow! I wish that I had the opportunity to do this when I was younger.

I also signed up to lead the morning devotion for next Tuesday! This will be my first time leading a devotion, so  I pray that God is with me and gives me the knowledge that I need. It is scary to lead a prayer in front of a group. But I think I have come to realize that this is an irrational fear. Talking to God can never be wrong.


Mitch Albom is a local reporter here, he has had a lot of involvement in giving back to the community and the world. Attached below is his article from yesterday's Free Press. Many people have asked me, Why go to Haiti? Why not help people here? My answer, I do help people here. But until we see the world and the level of poverty, it is inconceivable. Here, people's needs are not the same as they are in other countries.

Mitch Albom: A day in Haiti, a life in the balance

March 25, 2012

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- How do you save a life? You start by finding it.

This was a typical hot day at the mission orphanage in Haiti. Our group of volunteers, nicknamed the Detroit Muscle Crew, was busy hammering, plumbing, wiring and slapping down concrete. One of the young Haitian men working with us -- his name is Jackie -- had a question.

Could we help his sister?

What happened to your sister? we asked. She fell, Jackie said. Was she hurt badly? He thought so. When did it happen? Four days ago.

Four days ago?

A small group was dispatched to check it out, including Detroiters Herbert Studstill and Val Gokenbach. Studstill has been in Haiti off and on for five years and has seen a great deal. Gokenbach is a former vice president and chief nursing officer at Beaumont Hospital who has joined us many times. This was her first house call.

What they saw was only slightly more shocking than where they saw it. A narrow passageway full of stinking sewers led to a cinderblock dwelling atop a platform. The entire home was the size of one small American bedroom. The roof was made of tin, keeping the heat in.

"It had to be 110 degrees in there," Gokenbach recalled.

Four people lived inside: Jackie, his younger brother, his mother -- who was crying and reading a Bible when the group arrived -- and his sister, Redja, who lay on a bare mattress, next to two buckets of blood, barely conscious.

Terrible living conditions

How do you save a life? You start by asking questions. Redja, they were told, had been playing with some children when she fell and landed face first on concrete. Her jaw was fractured. Her teeth were knocked out. She bled profusely -- Gokenbach estimated four units of blood had been lost, about 4 pints, or a third of her supply -- and Redja's mother had been trying to get her to drink the blood back into her body.

For four days she had been lying there with no attention, no medicine, no relief, no fluids. Her face was contorted from swelling, her lips were horribly swollen and cracked from dehydration. She had a fever. She likely had an infection. Her hands were cold and clammy, indicating a drop in blood pressure. Her pulse was 120 beats a minute. She was in hypovolemic shock and barely able to moan in pain.

When Gokenbach, Studstill and the others returned, they shared with me the details of her situation. We decided to bring Redja to the Have Faith Haiti Mission by dispatching several young men who could carry her. The consensus was she would die if left in that house. At least with us she would have a chance.

A new chance at life

How do you save a life? One step at a time. Redja was fed fluids through a syringe. Eventually, she became responsive enough to start antibiotics, then pain medication, then iron supplements. Ice brought down the swelling in her face and mouth.

By the next day, she expressed hunger, and she was given rice, beans, peanut butter, even a Twinkie -- anything she could get down. Her strength increased, her pulse dropped. She finally was able to urinate, suggesting she at least had been hydrated. A doctor visited. A dentist was arranged -- paid for by Studstill, Gokenbach and others.

By the third day, Redja was speaking. She said she would never forget what had been done for her. She said no one had ever shown her kindness before.

She is 20 years old.

You may ask how this could happen. What about medical care? Insurance? Ambulances? But the rest of the world is not America. There is not always a phone. Not always a hospital. Medical care must be paid for in advance. Impoverished and sometimes superstitious families may not know what to do or whom to call.

By the end of the week, Redja was out of danger. Continued care is being arranged. If not for Gokenbach, Studstill and other volunteers, there likely would be a funeral this weekend. Instead, Jackie has his sister back.

We think on this now and shake our heads. It was just another hot day in Haiti. We were going about our business. Jackie had a question ...

How do you save a life?

Sometimes just by showing interest in one.

To help, go to www.havefaithhaiti.org .

Mitch Albom asks us to consider, how do you save a life?  Mitch talks about saving a life here on Earth and that finding a life is the first step, but I think it is much more important than that. I think it all comes back to prayer. Belief in God and Jesus. Planting seeds so that others can understand who Jesus is. Because it is through Jesus that we have eternal life. That is how we save a life. We pray that the Holy Spirit is with those in need and leads their heart to Jesus so that they will never perish.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16 NIV]

As always, please keep my team, their families, and the whole nation of Haiti including the children I will be teaching and helping all in your prayers.

I love you - from Haiti

  - Jen