My Final Post (for now)

And a really good title, too, I might add. :)

So, my dad is re-couping, we continue to speak in churches every weekend and the occasional student assembly, people continue to gather supplies for another container shipment, the work in Carrefour continues, and we are planning another trip to Haiti the end of March, the goal being to get to Jeremie.

I have loved keeping you all abreast of this adventure we have shared! I am sorry to leave this blog, regretfully having nothing new to report, aside from the above listed things. Please check back on occasion, in case of new developments.

I have no way of knowing who most of you 10,000 people are, but thank you for reading. Thank you for caring about this love of my heart. Don't forget her.

I am posting a link to a video that I hope you will all watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd-RkzfTxzU

Love, Lisa

Dad Comes Back to the U.S.

Dad is in Tampa with Heidi at a hospital. April will be joining them tomorrow. They are running a bunch of tests on him and he's pretty exhausted. Thank you everybody for all your messages of concern and all your prayers! We appreciate it.

Angry in My Living Room

As of right now, a container full of tarps, supplies and a flat-bed truck, destined for Carrefour, is sitting at the port in Gonaive. It has been sitting there for almost three weeks now, while our friends in Haiti: Dieudonne, Jean-Michelle, Rodney, Bryan, (when he was there and now from here on the phone), and others, have worked to negotiate its release from Haitian port authorities, who are currently demanding $200 for each "piece of paper" (ie: manifests, signature documents, etc.). Of course the number of papers required for its release keeps increasing. Ah, life was good before customs was "back in efficient working order."

There are other containers in process of shipment right now from other organizations who are now helping the Carrefour area that will undoubtedly meet the same fate. We are all very frustrated and the government officials in Port-au-Prince claim that "their hands are tied."

When Rod's container ships to Jeremie, you can be sure it won't be going through Gonaive. I came home to hear Bryan yelling on the phone in Creole. He is very frustrated (understatement).

We used to just pay the bribes after wheedling them down. Now, however, we thought that surely, in the wake of such a disaster, there would be a general outcry against this kind of corruption, which is literally taking food from the mouths of children and shelter from their families. But nothing.

And the rain is coming.

Anybody want to call the New York Times? Anybody want to call God?

Update on Wes

Doctors on board the Comfort were unsuccessful in taking my dad off the ventilator today. It was discovered that he had also suffered a heart attack a few days ago, probably because of the overload of I.V. fluids that had to be given to him. Doctors are hopeful that he can come back to the States by the weekend.

It's hard for all of us to be far away and not even able to communicate with him. Even Heidi still hasn't been able to visit. Undoubtedly, though, Dad has probably made many friends on board the ship. The whole experience allows us all to more closely identify with some of the Haitian people, those lucky ones whose lives were saved.

Wes Recovers

My dad is stable and O.K. His blood pressure is back to normal and his breathing is better. He had some sort of bacterial infection and they're keeping him on the ship for a couple more days. Thank you everyone for your prayers. Heidi gets to visit him on the Comfort today. Lucky. I'd love to see that ship!

The Hands and Feet of God

The individual responses to the needs in Haiti have been so varied and astounding! From schools collecting money, to food drives, to container shipments, to banquet fundraisers, to linen drives for hospital sheets...It's been wonderful to see so many different people responding in so many unique ways.

So...if you would like to send some extra sheets that you may have in your linen closet, (or if you would like to buy brand new ones), send them to Everett, who has taken it upon himself to collect them. They will all go to Haitian households who need them and hospital admits who have no resources. In the public hospitals in Haiti, the patient must provide his own sheets, food, etc. Thank you, Everett, for this ministry! Questions can be directed to ramoseverett@yahoo.com

Everett Ramos

P.O. Box 80

213 Hadley Road

Stony Creek, NY 12878

And here's another one:

Rod Johnson writes:

We are going to ship a full container to Jeremie, Haiti! By networking and working together we will succeed. It will take some time and the logistics will need to be figured out, but we don’t have to wait to start collecting. I’m willing to provide storage space for everything collected that won’t freeze in my garage. I figure one bay full of totes ought to fill one shipping container.

Suggested items to collect: non-perishable food(not canned goods), large quantities of rice and dry beans, nutrition bars, cornmeal, children and adult vitamins, dry milk, bottled water, powdered formula, baby bottles, pedialyte(8 oz. size), baby wipes, clean t-shirts, pants/slacks, dresses, and socks/underwear.

Someone I love wrote, “As Christians we should expect to serve. We should seek opportunities to give. We should joyfully rise to these occasions(challenges)……….

Rod Johnson 518-696-3644 or rodj43@frontier.com for information or assistance.

Rod is out of town for a few days but I will take messages for him at lisabartow@yahoo.com.

If God lays something on your heart, don't be afraid to pursue it! There are so many people looking for purpose, for opportunity, for ideas...many gifts, one purpose!

My dad, Wes Smith, who has been in Carrefour for a couple of weeks, is now on board the USNS Comfort, the floating hospital in the bay of Port-au-Prince...and yes, he is there as a patient.

Last night, he had a fever over 105 degrees, blood in his lungs and rock-bottom low blood pressure. He was given 9 liters of fluids and was hospitalized in Carrefour. The American doctors on staff said he had to be evacuated as soon as possible, since they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him...perhaps some kind of infection. TB, typhoid fever and malaria have all been ruled out. After several hours of attempting to get him relocated to a facility with a ventilator, he was finally choppered out of Carrefour to the USNS Comfort. My sister, Heidi, is with him. Pray for his swift recovery.