A Little Close to Home

[Azusateach]

I don't know if this is the appropriate venue or not, but I'd sure appreciate your prayers and anything else you'd feel like offering up for some dear friends of mine.  

The Williams family -- father Frank, Mom June, Trevor (20), Dawn (13), and Pria (6) -- have been living in Haiti and working for World Vision since August.  All were there when the earthquake struck on Tuesday.  Frank is the National Director for World Vision and was in his office.  Trevor lives here but is visiting, doing an internship with the U.N. Peacekeeping Force's firefighting unit this month and was visiting an orphanage.  June and the girls were at home in a 5-story apartment building.  Somehow Trevor's been able to write his experience of the first 24 hours and get it posted on their church's website:

It's been a crazy past 24 hours. When the earthquake hit I was on the second floor of an orphanage building, fortunately the building was stable and I was unharmed. All communication went down and I had no contact with my family. I helped with medical aid and feeding. At 10:30pm my dad found me and told me that our five story apartment building had collapsed on my Mom and two sisters and that they were probably dead. It was hard not to go to the collapse and immediately start searching for them, but all the roads were blocked with fallen down buildings and it was too dark and dangerous to do any of that at night.
 I couldn't sleep, so I put together stuff I would need for search and rescue the next day. The next day we stopped at my dad's office to pick up some tools and at the same time my mom and sisters came walking in. They had survived! They had some injuries, but nothing major. Mom has some PTS. Joyous reunion, but the fact that they survived is truly a miracle. The city is deveastated, many people died. I?ll be doing triage and next week start training fire fighters with the United Nations if all goes as planned. I miss you guys. Keep Haiti in your prayers.

June went to Flying Flags with us 2 years ago and had a blast so some of you have met her.  

I don't know if they're coming home (June & the girls), but I sure would appreciate it if you'd keep them and Haiti in your prayers.

Thanks.

Laura -- and Jed

[cjpoppin]

Oh my goodness this all seems so far away and seems like there is nothing we can do....We have offered up some money to help but seems like such a little thing.  Now with your note it really brings it close to home doesn't it?  Your friends and all the others are in our prayers it is going to be such a big clean up and search for the living and dead.....God truly was there with your friends he must have been so over come with joy when his family walked in.....Gives me the chills just thinking about it......God Bless

[wavery]

They will certainly be in our prayers.

I was in Haiti in 1997, on my sailboat. Didn't really plan to go there but we were anchored near an Island in the Bahamas and a big storm was coming. Haiti was out closest refuge. We stayed there for 2 weeks (because of gvm't bureaucracy and corruption) until heading off to the Panama Canal for our trip home.

Haiti is a living hell on it's best days. I would classify that country as the most impoverished, corrupt places on the planet. I can't even imagine what those poor people are going through now. It is one trial after another for them.

I truly pray for your friends and others that are exposed to this. All I can say is that it will get worse before it gets better.

[darksiders]

We will pray for them, as well as, everyone who has been devastated by this horrific event.
We're glad to hear the family survived.