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Haiti Mission Going Well
My brother is Rev. J. Ronald
Hester, pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in
Cumberland County. He and his wife, Betty
Carol live in the Bladenboro area. For years,
Ronald has been very active on mission trips in time
of disaster with the North Carolina Baptist Men.
He is in Haiti along with Kenneth Davis of
Bladenboro and Gerald Williams of Fayetteville.
They are a cooking team for a
group of medical professionals. They left home
Monday, March 8 and will return on the 15th.
He has been sending messages back home about his
mission trip and he has given me permission to share
with BladenOnline readers.
robert g hester
Tuesday evening 3/9/10
We are staying 1 1/2 hours from
the hospital. The house where we are staying is part
of a missions complex that is mostly rented by
Samaritans Purse. We have one house and they have
the rest of it. We are in double decker bunks that
were just built last week.
There is no AC. The men sleep in
a screened in porch and we have built a
bathroom/shower room outside.
The work has gone well today.
Our medical team worked at two hospitals and in a
tent clinic where many people were treated, mostly
follow up and remedial surgery. The nursing staff
has ministered in the clinics and on the wards in
the hospital. Our feeding team worked with a Haitian
chef who previously worked at the Montana Hotel
which collapsed in the earthquake killing many
people. He prepares some tasty food with what we
have. Today he used spaghetti noodles, a cheese
sauce, and mixed vegetables for a one dish meal. I
ate it and found it to be good. When we serve the
food we have to serve just patients first, staff
second, volunteers next and then provide the rest
for the families.
Normally we serve rice and beans
with a gravy type meat sauce on it, but we have run
out of rice. It is quite expensive to buy down here.
I was at the UN today trying to get them to donate
rice for the kitchen, but we still do not have an
answer from them yet. Much of my day was spent in
going to about three different grocery stores and an
outside market trying to find things we need. We
have interpreters who usually do the negotiating for
us when making a purchase.
The drivers here are all hired.
None of us would dare try to drive in this traffic.
There are small pickup trucks with benches on each
side with the back extended that are called "tap
taps". They are the primary bus or taxi service
around town. They have some larger buses that have
racks on the top. Often they are filled with people
with the luggage on top with some people riding up
there also.
The devastation is overwhelming.
There is debris everywhere. The people are proving
to be very industrous. They are going through the
debris to recycle everything they possibly can. Tent
cities have sprung up everywhere, even on top of
some buildings that are still standing. Many of the
people whose houses did not collapse sleep in tents
because of fear that their houses might collapse in
a severe aftershock.
I am sorry I can't send pictures
just now. I tried to pull the card out of the camera
and insert it in the computer, but I don't have a
correct slot.
Maybe this will give you just a
little insight into what it is like here.
I'll share more later. I have to
go to bed. I am scheduled to be up at 4:00 a.m. to
get breakfast for those at the house.
Ronald
Monday night
Well, we have arrived after two
delays and a lot of aggravation. Things are well. We
get to work tomorrow morning.
I'll send more later
Ronald
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