We have more news from some of our graduates and friends…

William Hatcher is back in the States. He and his team all made it home safely.

Pacius, a 1996 graduate, lives away from Port au Prince, but he has opened up is small home – 20’x20′ – to 30 people needing a place to stay. His daughter was in the city when the earthquake hit, but she was not hurt.

Anne, who was part of the 2009 field study, runs a school with 300 children and also works with a vanilla bean project for the community. She was in Haiti during the earthquake. In an email, she shares that every single person has lost someone or has someone missing. The pain, sadness and despair is overwhelming.

On Friday afternoon, our executive director Tom Corson and 2009 graduate Trey Reed were given an opportunity they couldn’t turn down – a chance to leave Thursday, Jan. 21 to travel to Haiti with a group of medical personnel and relief workers from HERO, Haiti Emergency Relief Organization, a nonprofit based in Huntsville. Air travel will not be a problem, because Remote Area Mission – RAM – will be providing a plane and pilot to take the volunteers and their supplies to the Dominican Republic. From there, they will travel across the border and into Haiti. HERO partners with the Jimani Project and Hunstville Haiti Congress, so they have a base camp from which to work.

Tom and Trey will be taking water purifiers from New Life International. These purifiers run from car batteries, which can be recharged using solar panels. The purification system uses electricity and table salt to chlorinate the water, making it safe to drink for up to 10,000 people each day. The systems last for several years, and Tom and Trey will train local people to maintain them.
An individual unit costs $1000. The recommended system costs $2500 and provides a larger capacity of clean drinking water. We need your help now! To donate to our effort to take purification systems to Haiti, please visit the donate page on our website or our cause on Facebook.  Email our accountant Claude, hurttc@sifat.org, to designate your online donation for Haiti. Checks can also be mailed to the SIFAT office, 2944 County Road 113, Lineville, AL 36266.

** As with any disaster relief effort, sometimes plans unexpectedly change. Tom and Trey’s travel is dependent on RAM and HERO at this time. We will keep you updated if the airports close. As of now, they will fly out on Thursday, Jan. 21 .

As most have been doing this week, our staff has watched the news and video footage of the devastation in Haiti. Checking Facebook and email to hear from SIFAT graduates and friends is the only way to communicate. Below is what we have been to find out so far. We will update as we receive word from others.

Roger Eason, who attended the May 2009 field study, was missing. You may have seen his story featured in the Birmingham News. He made it to the Dominican Republic and is okay.

William Hatcher, a friend of SIFAT and Practicum instructor, arrived in Haiti for a mission trip the day before the earthquake hit. His wife received a brief email from the US Embassy saying that he was okay. Please continue to pray for him and the other men on the mission team with him from Meridian, Miss.

Gabi, a 2009 Practicum graduate, is in Haiti with her parents, who are missionaries there. They live inland from the capital, but are still very much involved with what is happening. You can follow their blog for updates www.haffdetails.blogspot.com as they help with rescue/recovery efforts in Port-au-Prince and refugees to their community.

Joas, a 2006 Practicum graduate, emailed us that he and his family are okay. They were not directly hit by the earthquake, but everyone in his church has someone they know that is unaccounted for. He mentioned that he had to use someone’s private internet, as it is hard to find internet cafes.

UPDATE:

Lionel and Leon, 2007 graduates, are both in the United States. They are fine, but waiting to hear from their families. Lionel said he received word that everyone was okay, but wanted to be able to speak to his mom.

Mercideau and Samuel, 2009 graduates, survived. Mercideau was in the Port-au-prince area, but Samuel was further away. We aren’t sure about the status of their homes, but they and their families are alive.

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. During Practicum, Becky shared her experience on our blog. Now that she is in an intern in Bolivia, she will post updates as our interns in 2008 did. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas.

Leaving the Internado and the kids was very difficult because many will return after their summer vacation, but some will not. I don’t know if I will ever see them again. I am thankful for having the opportunity to get to know each of them and pray that their time at the Internado will have a positive effect on their lives.

The last month has been very busy. The kids all had projects to work on for school, and we were trying to finish up our classes in English and computers. I gave a final exam in English with 100 questions. Almost all of them passed and received a certificate for completing the course. In computer classes, their final assignment was to write a letter to the interns that were at the Internado this past July. It was interesting to watch them select various colors and fonts to make the letters more fun. They learned a lot about using Word writing these letters. We could really use a few more laptop computers for classes next year if anyone is planning to upgrade to a new one this Christmas please consider donating your old one that is still in good condition to the Internado. You can contact me by email if interested.  Blforrest2008@gmail.com.

We had a big celebration the night before we left. One of the pigs was slaughtered, and our cook Mercedes prepared a wonderful meal of roasted pork, potatoes, yucca and plantains all cooked in our big wood-fired oven that we use to bake bread.

Today (Dec. 6 – Sunday) is Election Day in Bolivia, and the entire city of LaPaz is shut down. It is very strange to not hear horns blaring from my hotel room, but a good quiet day for reflection. I was thinking of the biggest message God has sent me during this year living in Bolivia. I have definitely learned to trust Him more for ever part of my life. When we are living in our comfortable houses and communities we really are not aware of how much we really have in common with peoples living on the other side of the world – or in my case the other side of equator. One of the first things that really impressed me was that everyone here calls each other Hermana/o when greeting one another. That is Spanish for brother or sister. We really are all brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of where we live, and that is the biggest message I have received. We may speak different languages and live different life styles. There are cultural differences also, but we want the same basic things in life. We all have the connection of being sons of God. Galatians 3:26 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” tells us we are all one big family regardless of where we live. When you become involved in mission work this really comes into reality.

I thank everyone for the prayers and support you have given me over the past year and hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures on the blog. I look forward to coming back and making new brothers and sisters next year at the Internado. My posts will return in February when I return to Ixiamas for another year. Please keep the staff and kids in your prayers during our break as we make plans for the New Year.

Hermana Rebecca