ESMI Update #10, February 17

We are glad to report that the nebulizer needed (see attachment) will be brought in by our team! Praise God for his wonderful provision to meet this need. Our team of 25 will also be carrying 50 50 pound duffel bags literally stuffed with needed supplies of all kinds.

The team leaves on Friday. If you’d like to get updates, please send me back a quick email – I’ll add you to the list. They would be most grateful for your prayers.

Click here for attachment

Thank you once again for your continued prayers and support. One month after the quake, ESMI is still seeking to meet the immediate needs of food and medical care of so many who have been displaced and injured. At the same time the leadership is beginning to look to the next steps.

ESMI in Haiti has already brought Earthquake relief to:

1. 400 Pastors

2. 70000 church members

3. 5000 victims (injured people).

4. 941 families (directly around Port-au-Prince, Gonaives, Cayes,Miragoane, Petit Goave, Leogane and Gressier.

5. 2935 people homeless (providing sheets and help to buy big plastic covers (to serve as a roof).

Thanks you so much for your help and your great contribution. Without your help, your heart and your arms, it would be impossible for us to reach them. It is not easy. We have more plans for the next two months & will keep you posted as we are setting the draft in order to start some agricultural projects. We will need seed (beans and corn) which will be ready in two months to eat. We will need at least 4 big water pumps to irrigate the lands.

The ports are now open in Haiti. This past week, 3 box trucks were purchased. Two are being packed with food and the third will be packed with supplies to prepare for construction. God's willing, all three trucks should be in Haiti and cleared two weeks from now. Food items bought US side were 90,000 pounds of rice, 12,500 pounds of flour, 12,500 pounds of beans, 600 gallons of cooking oil and 2,400 boxes of spaghetti.

Many thanks, to our medical teams that have been making a difference in both the southern and northern Haiti. On February 5, 3 medical teams from St. Louis, North Carolina and the Grace Place Church, FL made the long and arduous drive from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Les Cayes and Gonaives. This was a medical team of 28. The team that headed to Les Cayes, met up with another medical team from the Florida Panhandle who were at the general hospital.

Here is a report from one of the doctors who served in the Gonaives area:"... There are many patients needing skin grafts w/wounds to the bone w/ exposed tendons. Lots of delayed care and improperly set fractures that have been casted after the quake. There is a big need for ortho supplies, splinting material, orthopedic OR hardware. Chronic wound care materials are also needed. Antistaph and broad spectrum abx for kids and adults both oral and parenteral.

One thing we don't have that neither hospital in town has is a nebulizer that works. A portable, possibly battery operated, nebulizer w/ meds, hose, chamber and mouthpieces would be great. Injectable steroids and antihistamines also good. We did use some of the prednisone, antiemetics and antibiotics you guys left. The hospital let us use an area all to ourselves that has a hall we placed benches in for triage/waiting. I had an exam room w/ stretcher and table to do procedures. The nurses shared a big room w/ 4 stations. An adjoining room was used to store extra supplies and we used shelves between the two rooms for pharmaceuticals. There is a nursery, delivery ward, and single operating room. The hospital is literally a converted warehouse with makeshift wood frame walls and plastic sheeting dividing the wards and rooms.There is an onsite pharmacy with very limited supplies."

Yesterday, Sunday, Feb. 14, a North Carolina Ortho team of 22 arrived in Les Cayes. You can follow them on their blog or twitter to read what they are seeing.

www.morethanmedicine.wordpress.com and on twitter www.twitter.com/morethnmedhaiti.

Continue to keep Haiti in your prayers as they finish up 3 days of praying and fasting for their country. We praise God for this time that was declared by President Preval. God's Church will prevail.

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven

and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14