Something to Scratch Your Head About

Last Sunday evening the we started receiving text messages on our cell-phone about the most unexpected event--the return of one of Haiti's two most notorious exiles, Jean-Claude Duvalier. (The other notorious exile, Jean Bertrand Aristide, also has recently said he is ready to return to Haiti). Jean-Claude, also called Baby Doc, is a former president and the son of Haiti's most infamous patriarch/president, Papa Doc Duvalier. The Duvaliers are well known in Haiti for ushering in three decades of stability. The cost however, was repression at the hands of the Duvaliers' gang of thugs known as the Tonton Macoutes. The Macoutes were the original "men-in-black" (they wore black suites and sun-glasses) and anyone they went after disappeared permenantly. Jean-Claude is especially remembered for pillaging Haiti's treasury of untold millions before being exiled to France in 1986 where he lived the high-life. After barely 48 hours on Haitian soil, Jean-Claude was pulled out of his hotel and drug before the Haitian courts on charges of corruption. A number of criminal complaints have been filed against him by his alleged victims. With Jean-Claude back in Haiti and put up in the docket, the soap opera that is life in Haiti will no doubt become more interesting. Why would Jean-Claude ever return to Haiti? Something to scratch your head about.

365 Days after 35 Seconds

Tomorrow, January 12, 2011, is the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that killed over 200,000 people and left 1.5 million living in refugee camps. Everyone has been asking, “What progress has been made since the earthquake?” Please click here https://docs.google.com/a/crcna.org/document/d/1WZ9Q34qMu3-su8iGyE0uKkYRhz4Hxrpgzg7mvCwAL5w/edit?hl=en&ndplr=1#

for a one page answer to your question. CRWRC Disaster Response as published a more detailed one-year report that can be found at http://www.crcna.org/pages/crwrc_ir_haiti.cfm as well. The picture above is of the Siloye church, recently reconstructed after being destroyed in the earthquake! Please remember the Haitian people in your prayers as they mark the first anniversary of this terrible tragedy and look forward to the ways in which God is healing their country.

Family Update

We give thanks for your prayers over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Despite some problems with civil unreast in Haiti and some illness, God blessed us with a quiet and enjoyable break from our frantic activities. Sharon's parents, Larry and Faith Segaar, spent almost two weeks with us in Haiti. During five days of their visit we stayed at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. Just to prove that you can get sick anywhere, all eight of us came down with food poisoning upon our return. Christmas Eve Day and Christmas were spent close to the toilet, administering Gatorade in syringes, five milliliters at a time, so that our children could keep some liquids down and avoid dehydration. We were thankful that Zach could get some medical testing done in the Dominican Republic for abdominal pain he has had for almost two months. While we haven't yet figured out the cause, many more serious problems have been eliminated as possibilities. Our children finally returned to school after a month of vacation because of school cancellation due to the unrest here in Haiti. Thanks for your prayers and support.

A Letter from Limbo

Haiti is officially in limbo as the one-year anniversary of the January 12, 2010, earthquake approaches. It has already been more than a month after the presidential and legislative elections on Nov. 28, and no official result has been pronounced. The problem is that most Haitians and international observers believe that the ruling government has tampered with the vote. That is why so many Haitians protested in the streets on Dec. 7-8, bringing the entire country to a standstill. Many are demanding that the original vote be thrown out along with the government of the current president, Rene Preval. For his part, Preval has announced that if no government is elected by Feb. 7 (which is the day he is supposed to relinquish power), he would be more than happy to remain at the helm for another three months. The average Haitian on the street believes that no politician can be found who will govern Haiti for the good of its people. And so, with an air of resignation, peace and calm have been restored to streets and alleys of Haiti. Life goes on in limbo. Please pray that some agreement can be made between the Haitian government, the international community, and the supporters of the presidential candidates so that the country can turn its attention to the massive challenges of rebuilding and restraining the spread of cholera.