Hi friends,

I returned home from Haiti late last night. I will spend a few days finishing my 2009 financial report and put together a convoy of missionaries, doctors, supplies and vehicles to return to Haiti as soon as possible. Missionaries Jeff Garrison, John Webb and Mike Doreing are helping with that plan.

The "first aid" part of this disaster is just about over and it is moving more into a phase where we will have to sustain a large group of wretchedly poor people while cleanup can begin and long term solutions can be implemented. The official death toll here is more than 150,000, but many, many dead remain under the rubble, filling many areas with the stench of death. Strong aftershocks continue and unstable structures remain in danger of falling on people. Many are sleeping outside in the more than 400 tent cities of various sizes scattered around the city, or sleeping in their own cars and yards, instead of inside their homes because of fear of collapse and further aftershocks.

Melina and I were able to move lots of medicine, food, tents and other supplies to areas in need in the last week. We were able to deliver 10 army tents from IOM on Saturday. Saturday night in the darkness I set up a Army medium field utility tent in the street in front of a clinic to handle their overflow. The hospitals on this side of the border are full of injured Haitians and Melina has continued to lead the churches here to visit them with food, clothes and comfort.

All three of the churches that I had a part in building in Port-au-Prince are standing and stable, with varying amounts of damage. All of the pastors I cooperate with or support there are alive, although some with injuries or homes damaged or destroyed. As we move forward, priority should shift to repair and rebuilding of church buildings, care and re-establisment of congregations, and assistance to pastors to get their homes and lives back on track.

Gas stations are starting to pump fuel again, some money-transfer places are open and there is food in the markets. There is a rumor that banks will open today and that will help. Traffic is a nightmare, but it was never good. Now many streets are blocked with debris, tents or blocked because of danger of damaged buildings leaning over the street. The detours have made the traffic nightmare worse. Security is improving dramatically after the deployment of US Marines and Army Airborne into the streets to keep order. With the US troops, there is less need for "personal" security as many areas are pacified and UN troops become available for security at distriution points or convoy escort.

There are still dangerous areas or incidents related to voilence at distribution points and also groups of bandits prowling around at night to victimize an already traumatized population. There is a lot of summary justice when a thief is caught. The Haitian government is conspicouisly invisible at the moment, except at the functioning customs points, where they see and exploit financial opportunities. The Haitian police are directing traffic and shooting looters. Many government buildings, banks, businesses, churches, hospitals, and schools have been destroyed along with homes and vehicles.

BBFI Missionary Tom Franklin is in Port-au-Prince right now. Like many missionaries, he wanted to go in with me on the first trip right away, but I refused, not knowing what I would find. Not wanting to wait any longer, he organized a trip to follow me in with some vehicles loaded with supplies. He has demonstrated initiative and leadership in doing so. We have been in regular communication, our efforts are cooperative and his actions have been complementary to mine. His current trip is well planned and is being well executed and he is to be commended for his actions. Pray for him, as he is currently in the "jaws of the beast."

This problem is not going to go away in a hurry. Many family compounds in the provinces are now overcrowded as people have left Port-au-Prince to go be with family in the contryside, straining already-meager resources there.They will require assistance. Other people refuse to leave because they are afraid that they will lose their land to squatters or to the general cleanup and reconstruction effort. They are staying in the city to keep their tenous claims on squatted land, as very few people have actual government titles to their lots.

We are now entering a dangerous phase, healthwise, for Port-au-Prince. There have been hundreds of thousands of amputations, stitches and other wound issues treated completely without the benefit of Tetanus shots. With hundreds of thousands living in the streets with no sanitation and thousands of dead bodies still uncollected, rising deaths due to disease is at the doorstep. Malaria, Typhoid, Dysinterry, Diptheria, Yellow fever, Hepatitis A and other diseases will claim thousands of lives in the next few months in addition to those who will die as a direct result of lingering infections due to injuries sustained in the original quake. Some doctors estimate that 2000 per day will begin dying in Port-au-Prince in the next few weeks. If it begins to rain, it will be much worse.

That is all for now because I have a lot to do in the next couple of days before I return to Haiti. You have my permission to forward this, publish this, or send this out to the other lists as you see fit and you have my permission to edit this for length or content as you see fit.

Wesley and Melina Lane

E-mail: PreacherWes@hotmail.com