Update from Fort Pierce, FL and MFI

Dear friends and family,
January 27, 2010

As I am scheduled to fly out to Haiti tomorrow (it's finally arrived, barring any more unforeseen circumstances!), I wanted to send a recap of my time in Florida. First, thank you all for your prayers and support--it has been encouraging to hear of your prayers for me, for Haiti in general, and for those at HAFF during this time.

These last two weeks obviously came with their share of stress and frustration, as we dealt with the shock and sorrow over the earthquake, as well as trying to figure out how my trip might change in lieu of it. However, though at times I have felt like I'm simply in a "limbo/waiting period" it has been really neat to see how God has used this time as way more.
As I mentioned in a previous email, my flight from Miami to Port-au-Prince was initially set to arrive in Haiti at 8:50am on the 13th, but was obviously pushed way back after the earthquake. Then, church friends who had heard about my flight situation and are living near Miami picked me up from the airport, and I stayed with them until I figured out how I would be getting to Haiti. They and their entire church were incredibly welcoming, and some even had connections to Haiti and/or were planning trips to Haiti.

I finally was able to book a seat on an MFI (Missionary Flights International) flight to Pignon, Haiti (near HAFF), and will be flying through Cap Haitian rather than Port-au-Prince. Then, as it was still a week until that flight was scheduled to leave, I took a bus up to Fort Pierce (where MFI is located) to volunteer with them and make sure my spot was secure until I left. As it turned out, a family in the area had heard that I was looking for a place to stay in the area, found me at MFI, and offered that I could stay with them until I flew out! It seems that they know a friend of a pastor whom I know in Grand Rapids, and it has been such a privilege and blessing to stay with and get to know them and others at their church this past week. I would love to write so much more about this, and about how amazing it is to see and experience the hospitality and unity within the Church, but I am already rambling...

It has also been a great experience to be able to volunteer at MFI this past week and see more of their ministry. At times there were perhaps 100 volunteers helping with everything from organization to packing to shipping, and since the earthquake MFI has shipped around 500,000 pounds of supplies and 1,100 nurses and medical personnel. Furthermore, it seems that they are able to be extremely efficient at distributing aid once it reaches Haiti, as they already have many contacts and established relationships on the ground. And unlike the gridlock that seems may be the case for many planes trying to land in Port-au-Prince, MFI is able to land on a smaller strip and thus has no problem getting their supplies to the ground. It seems they are even serving as a distribution center on other levels, as the US army even came by to pick up supplies at MFI, which they will then fly down. In case you are interested in reading more about them, here is their website: http://missionaryflights.org/home (which, incidentally, they had to rework when the number of internet hits jumped from 50/day before the earthquake, to thousands/day, and have recently upgraded their servers to allow for 500,000-1,000,000 hits/day.)
So much more I could write, but I'll stop for now. Please pray for safe travel tomorrow, and I will try to send out a quick email once I arrive at HAFF tomorrow (when I can get online).

M'a ekri nan ou anko tale! (I will write to you again soon!)

Jonathan