Good News: A Quickie

Got some good news this weekend--we've raised more money than the Chip In Meter actually shows.

The Chip In Meter is connected to the Paypal account set up for the Pound4pound challenge. There is, unfortunately, no way to make it reflect the money that has been sent in to Heartline via check. So, there is actually about $200 in the fund that isn't recorded on the Chip-In graph.

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the total so far. It's turned out to be much harder to get people to READ this blog than I realized, let alone contribute some bucks.

I'm getting nervous because there are less than 5 weeks left before this fund raising effort ends and I leave for Haiti. I hope you all will stick with me as I travel to Haiti and blog from there. I know people are short of both time and money in this difficult economy. However, I can't control how people choose to spend their time or money: I can only control what I do. I'm continuing to diet, exercise an hour a day and my clothes are getting a lot looser. The weight loss is just slower than I would like it to be. I must learn to trust God to do the rest.

In the meantime, I need to root around in my closet and find a smaller pair of exercise shorts--my old ones are getting waaaay too loose. I don't want to lose them in the middle of aerobics class. (And now, you're saying "Thanks Terri, for that attractive mental picture.")

If you've been thinking about sending in a contribution and just haven't gotten around to it, please do it today. Thanks for stickin' with me and supporting me.

A Hospital is Born

With their children safely transported to the United States, American missionaries Troy and Tara Livesay were able to fully concentrate on helping the people of Haiti.

Shortly after the earthquake, the head of Heartline Ministries called together the staff. They prayed urgently, "Lord, what would you have us do?" They were a small band of people, less than 10 Americans, and fewer than 20 Haitian employees of Heartline.

What do you do in the aftermath of an earthquake --total apocalyptic chaos--when EVERYTHING is needed? The Haitian people needed water, food, medical care, housing,and supplies of every kind. Buildings were in ruins everywhere and roads were blocked by rubble. Many of the dead were stacked out on the streets.

The Heartline staff discerned they would try to help with medical care. Not one of them was a doctor or a nurse, but the Heartline staff knew that they had contacts in the medical community who would help. One of Tara's best friends was a emergency room pediatrician. Tara called Dr. Jen Halverson in Minnesota and in hours "Dr. Jen" had cleared her schedule and was headed for Haiti.

Heartline has been working in Haiti over 20 years, so they have a group of people in the USA who have come to know and support them. Heartline put out the word, "Tell everyone you know, we need doctors, nurses and EMT's. We also need people who speak Creole and can act as translators. We need people who can get to Haiti within two days and stay for as long as possible."

Their emails and phone calls for help were answered abundantly. It was a logistical nightmare to get people and medical supplies to Haiti but through tons of hard work and lots of prayer support, they managed it. In two days Heartline turned some of their buildings into a hospital, staffed with medical people who had never met or worked together before.

Many other charities and ministries were sending help to Haiti too--but the need was completely overwhelming. Beyond overwhelming. Everywhere, there were wounded.

The poor of Haiti do not have cars, so how could the injured people get to a hospital? Many people remained in their own neighborhoods, sleeping on the ground next to the rubble of their former homes. Heartline used their vehicles to go find the injured and pick them up. By the grace of God, Heartline had just purchased a large truck. The truck was supposed to be used for transporting visiting short-term mission teams from US churches when they came to Haiti. The truck became an ambulance that could transport almost a dozen injured people at a time.

Troy and the men of Heartline drove into the poorest neighborhoods of Port au Prince to find the wounded. These are places the United Nations would not even send their armed troops because they feared violence. The Heartline men and medical staff had no trouble with crime or violence--their problems were figuring out who was wounded the worst and therefore most in need of transport to the hospital.

In was now about a week after the earthquake. Anyone with a television saw the horrible injures after the Haitian earthquake and Heartline Hospital got them all: fractures with the bones exposed, deep lacerations, limbs needing amputation, crush injuries. I quote from Tara Livesay's blog.

"It seems that lots of folks were treated at home or by a friend or in some sort of make-shift clinic in the early hours following the earthquake. The problem is, they were not given follow up instructions and now they have major infections. In some cases they were wrapped with an ace bandage when in fact they have a major fractured bone...These injuries are far too serious to treat and send away for good..."

The Heatline non-medical missionaries "disinfected, ran around to get supplies, tried to prioritize patients, took phone calls, did research and tried to stay clear of things that might make us faint," as Tara described it. Many patients were treated on the ground in the yard outside of the Heartline Hospital, for lack of a better place.

Tara writes, "At one point in the day I walked by a guy that needed to pee. He was very vocal about it too. I looked around and found no one to help him ... I was it. Not something I can say I had ever done before today. Helping a non-ambulatory male go pee."

It quickly became clear that some of these patients were so seriously injured they would need around-the-clock care for many days into the future. Heartline scrambled to set up some cots and beds for the patients to use long-term.

Tara continues, "My favorite part of the day was getting to be the one to deliver the news to a Mom that her child did not need an amputation on her broken leg. We prayed and hugged and rejoiced together. A good moment."

Heartline Hospital was born.

Coming soon: Stories of the people who came to Heartline looking for help.

The Seed

This Easter, my 10-year-old daughter Cece brought home a seed planted in a little plastic cup of dirt. Her Sunday school teacher gave her the seed, and all the kids planted their seeds in class. We didn't know what kind of seed it was, but we were curious.

We put it in our sunny kitchen window and watered it. It sprouted and grew. What kind of plant was it-- a vegetable plant? When it warmed up this spring, we transplanted the plant into our flowerbed. We still didn't know what it was.

Look what the plant became! It is now a big bushy HUGE plant with purple flowers all over it. We learned it is called a Cosmos. The Cosmos plant is now literally bigger than Cece is. The little seed in its humble plastic cup that became a huge plant has been a great metaphor and teaching tool about Jesus.

The plant is now producing dozens of seeds of its own. Next year, I predict the Cosmos plant will take over the whole flowerbed.

So the message is KEEP PLANTING SEEDS, you never know what they will become!

Jesus talked about seeds in his time on earth. He shared many stories about seeds with lots of people as he told his good news. Jesus said, "The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart--those who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a great crop." (Luke 8:15)

Please help share the love of Jesus--let's plant some seeds in Haiti.

The Day After the Earthquake : Tara's Words

On the day after the earthquake, the Livesay family--the American family pictured here who are missionaries with Heartline Ministries in Haiti-- fired up their computer. They were one of the few families in the Port-au-Prince area who could do so. The Livesays were equipped with gasoline-powered generators that could provide power. Most of the island was shut down in an electrical blackout caused by the earthquake. This is what Tara (the mom) wrote:

"The sun is about to come up. The aftershocks continue. Some more noticeable than others. There is no way to even begin to share the things we’ve heard and seen since 5pm yesterday. To do so would take hours that we don’t have to give right now. Some of them feel wrong to share - Like only God should know these personal horrible tragedies... There are buildings that suffered almost no damage. Right next door will be a pile of rubble."

"Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people."

"I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them. For us."

"When the quake hit it took many seconds to even process what was happening. The house was rocking back and forth in a way that I cannot even begin to describe. It felt fake. It felt like a movie. Things were crashing down all over the house. It felt like the world was ending. I do not know why my house stands and my children all lie sleeping in their beds right now. It defies logic that my babies were spared while thousands of others were not. "

"The horror has only just begun and I beg you to get on your knees – I truly mean ON YOUR KNEES and pray for the people of this country. The news might forget in a few days - but people will still be trapped alive and people will still be suffering. Pray. Pray. Pray. After that - PLEASE PRAY."

(From the Livesay Haiti Weblog)

Tara's words went out over the internet. Her husband Troy sent out messaages on his Twitter account. Their words were some of the very little communication coming out of Haiti--their messages were transmitted to an information-hungry world. Their words were literally passsed around the world in a few minutes and rebroadcast on radio and television in many countries. And when Troy and Tara logged onto their computer, they got thousands of messages back. Desperate people all over the U.S. and everywhere in the world were asking the Livesays in Haiti to help their loved ones, or to look for someone who was lost in the earthquake aftermath.

Troy and Tara Livesay had two impulses: 1)to do everything in their power to help the people of Haiti in their hours of worst need and 2)to protect their children. No one knew what would happen in Haiti. Would their be more serious earthquakes?

Troy and Tara decided to get the children to someplace safe, while they stayed in Haiti and do whatever they could to help. After much agonizing, they decided to put their children on an airplane to the United States. They secured places on a cargo plane that the U.S. government provided for American citizens to evacuate Haiti. (All but one of their children had legal status as citizens of the United States.)

The day the earthquake hit Haiti, the Livesay family had some American friends staying with them in their house. The Livesays arranged passage for their children and their American friends by making their friends the children's official travel escorts. The children and their temporary guardians boarded a big noisy C-130 military cargo plane to the United States. Tara stood at the airport in Haiti watching and crying--her heart so divided between going with her children and staying to help. Loving friends and family met the children in the United States and took care of them.

With the children and former houseguests safe, Troy and Tara could concentrate on helping whoever they could help in Haiti.

And so many of the Haitians needed their help.

Coming soon: What Heartline Did to Help

Where I Am

Today, I am wondering if I'm crazy for caring so much about Haiti. For caring so much about a lot of things that take up time and emotional energy and that don't involve anyone I actually know.

Discouraged. Things have happened that make me angry at injustice and wondering if it would be easier to be apathetic about the world and not try so hard to change it. I think I'd better stop writing and go lean on a strength greater than my own.

How Many Colors Can You Paint It?

This is my little girl's playhouse. We built it about 8 years ago when our now-teenagers were little elementary school kids and our daughter was a toddler. As they've gotten bigger and older, the kids have lost interest in the playhouse. Teens are far too cool for such juvenile things.

This past summer, our 10-year-old got interested in the playhouse again for the first time in years. In fact, she decided to paint the playhouse. Cece and some of her little girlfriends got out her craft paints from her bedroom and went to town. I thought, "Surely those craft paints won't hold up outside, the colors will melt away in the first rainstorm."

The whole project kept them busy, outside, and out of my hair for a few days, which,(let's be brutally honest here) is all you want as a parent some days. So I figured "Why not? Let them paint it however they want, it's a playhouse. Who cares what the result looks like?"

Well, you see the result: I think it came out rather cute. My husband observed, "How many colors can you paint a playhouse?" Well, the answer seems to be, "A lot." Surprisingly, the colors have stuck--the paint must be a lot less water soluble than I thought. And so far, none of the neighbors have complained about the CREATIVELY decorated object in the backyard.

The fact is, this five foot by five foot playhouse is a lot better shelter than a huge number of people have in Haiti right this minute.

It makes me think, "Why is my child so fortunate as to have a PLAYHOUSE that is better than a real house for those people?" And I don't know the answer.

That is why I am trying to raise money for building houses in Haiti. Because, like my kids who ignore the playhouse in the backyard 90% of the time, we have a lot in this country that we ignore, forget about and take for granted. Meanwhile, other people have nothing. Families in Haiti are living in with leaky pieces of plastic for roofs and bedsheets for walls.

While it isn't practical or cost effective to dismantle my child's playhouse and ship it Haiti, there are many ways of building a simple house in Haiti. We are not talking complicated or grand houses here. These houses are not even fitted with electricity or indoor plumbing. They are basic, but a roof that doesn't leak is a whole lot better than a piece of plastic. And a real wooden door that can open and close is a lot better than a blanket or bed sheet acting as a door.

If can help, please, let's build some houses in Haiti.

Quick Diet Update

Thanks for the inquiries on the progress of the diet. It's working and I'm workin' it.

I think the smartest thing I have done so far was buy an improved super-accurate scale. When I started the diet, I had an old scale that would say something different every time I stepped on it--even if the two weigh-ins were only 30 seconds apart.

So depressing to step on the scale and think, "Yeah! I've lost three pounds! Wait a minute, no I didn't. Yes, I did. Nope, not now." I found a great ACCURATE scale on Amazon.com and it was very reasonably priced--actually lower in price than the ones I saw at Target. This scale measures in increments up to 1/10 of a pound. Really, every day I stick to the diet, I see the scale go down a fraction. (Email me if you want the specifics on the model number. I'm not being paid for advertising, but I'll share if you really want to know!) What you want more than anything when you are dieting is assurance YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS--that you aren't depriving yourself for nothing. And it's working! I'm encouraged.

What diet am I using? The Sonoma Diet--which is basically very low sugar, very low in white flour, lots of veggies, and all the common-sense stuff we all know. High fiber to fill you up. Low fats and vegetable fats like olive oil instead of animal fats. Lots of lean protein.

We do eat waaaay to much sugar in this country and it's hidden in all sorts of foods where you wouldn't expect it. Yesterday at Costco, I sampled some four-bean salad. Sounds very healthy, right? Ingredients: green beans, white beans, red beans, chic peas and 15 grams of sugar per serving. That's as much sugar as a serving of ice cream. Being off sugar for a while really sensitizes your body to tasting the sugar when it appears. And quite frankly, I don't need so much sugar in my green beans.

So, if you haven't sent in or chipped in your pledge for the first ten pounds lost, let this serve as a gentle reminder. If things continue on this course, I'll embrace the nickname "The Incredible Shrinking Woman."