As Todd arrived back in Haiti he found the chaos a little more structured as MAF’s role in the relief work shifts as the population’s needs shift. As regular commercial flights have begun to operate, the need to handle large numbers of international passengers (in cooperation with Missionary Flights International) is diminishing. As more aid is able to arrive via the seaports, less needs to be airlifted in. We are still making many flights each day to take food out to remote areas that are trying to support large groups of displaced people. Currently the MAF program has been loaned two turbo prop airplanes, both brand new Quest Kodiaks. They have allowed MAF-Haiti to haul a much greater quantity of food and people. One of the Kodiaks is an MAF aircraft ultimately destined for Papua, Indonesia. The other Kodiak belongs to Samaritan’s Purse and will be operating in Haiti through the end of March (thanks, Franklin). Todd got his first taste of turbine maintenance today as he learned how to do compressor washes.
Thanks for keeping our family and our ministry in your prayers. God’s hand on us has been especially tangible over these last weeks.
One amazing thing that we heard from friends was that the Carnaval celebration which is usually HUGE was practically cancelled as the entire nation was called by the president to pray for three days. Churches were packed, and the prayer and praise overflowed into the streets. Oh, how I pray for a change and rebuilding that will come from the inside, that will leave behind the past bondage to fear and allow the country of Haiti to rise from the rubble stronger than ever. I know that God can bring peace in the midst of the storm, a sense of untity and solidarity instead of blaming and division, honesty and integrity instead of an opportunity to exploit other's generosity.... What a chance for Christians to offer hope and help! Pray for Haiti's children and youth, especially.
We continue to adjust to life here, and our routine seems to become more “normal” each day. However, there is always a little tinge of sadness that gnaws at my heart in spite of our great blessings here. I know that the rainy season is creeping closer and closer each day, also bringing the possibilities of hurricanes and tropical storms. Right now the little tents made of sheets are keeping some people out of the rains that have begun, but we all know that they will not be sufficient..... News media seems to have moved on to new stories, but it does make me happy to still see signs of people here, so many miles away, still remembering. The kids' school is having a contest to raise money for Haiti relief this week. Our church is still collecting items for "Crisis Care Kits" (contains things like soap, toothpaste/brush, washcloth, shampoo...). The tremors continue, and recently there have been some strong ones that have caused new damage to buildings that withstood the original quake.
Todd left for FL Monday, and by Tues. afternoon he was back in Haiti. We enjoyed almost three weeks with him here in Clarksville!! He was here for three of the kids' snow days, so they enjoyed some nice snowball fights. He had individual "dates" with Megan, Kyle and me, and then some time when we were all together. He was also here for important days like my mom's 65th birthday, Valentines Day and the SUPER BOWL!!! It was just the right amount of time for him to catch up on rest and enjoy some time with his brother and family in Nashville and my family here in Clarksville. Of course the ideal would be for us to all be together, but we know that this temporary arrangement is best for all.
The first signs of spring are visible here in Clarksville, TN, in spite of a few white patches of stubborn snow that refuse to melt. Although I do not expect real warm weather for another couple months, the temperature is slowly rising and the annual "bulbs" are starting to push through the frozen ground. Change, change, change...... The kids are doing well in school and are making friends. The public library is just across the street from their school, so we have gotten a membership and have been reading in the car, at home... Last night we started on Little House in the Big Woods, a Laura Ingalls Wilder book (the first in the Little House on the Prarie series) that I remember reading as a kid. :) Just behind their school is a learning center, which I visited for the first time this morning. It is packed full of all kinds of learning games and resources. So as we use our community resources to the max, I am hoping that learning will become even more fun for them. Along with all of this learning, the kids are enjoying exploration in my parents' woods, playing with their Clarksville and Nashville cousins, and all of the special attention from their uncles, aunts and grandparents. Two of my brothers are expecting babies in the next few months, so soon there will be new little friends around!!
I (Todd) have been back in the states for a few days, now. It has been so wonderful to see Jennifer and the kids. I didn’t realize how tired I was, but discovered that most of the nights spent here don’t seem to be long enough. I think I am beginning to catch up on my sleep now.
MAF’s involvement in the relief efforts in Haiti has been multi-faceted. Our initial response was more that of survivors. In the first days after the earthquake we were not sure how soon we would have access to things like groceries, fuel for vehicles & generators, water, propane for cooking, and school for our kids. The exterior security walls around the properties of two of our families’ houses had fallen. Each MAF family had various amounts of the staples needed to survive. It was decided that the wise decision would be to move most of the staff and families back to their home areas before we reached a crisis point. We kept enough personnel to fly our three aircraft out of the country if we felt they were endangered. I also stayed on in an I.T. role to handle any communication problems we might have with our internet satellite link, which was our only link to the U.S. in the first hours after the quake.
Our families flew out on Missionary Flights International’s (MFI) turbine DC-3. This flight kind of marked our transition from earthquake survivors to relief workers as that same plane brought in an initial wave of supplies and people responding to the earthquake. In partnership with MFI, we were soon coordinating flights, cargo, and people on the Haiti side of relief operations. Various businesses such as Hendrick’s Motorsports donated their aircraft to fly people in and out of Haiti. Airplanes ranging in size from Cessna Caravans to C-130’s brought thousands of pounds of cargo. By the time I left we had handled roughly 2500 passengers and 500,000 lbs of cargo
. With the start-up of the NASCAR racing season, we no longer have the use of the Hendrick’s and Joe Gibbs Racing aircraft, but the stream of cargo and passengers continues.
It was several days after the earthquake before avgas for our little MAF airplanes was available. The fact that some of the cargo aircraft that were coming in to Haiti are four-engine avgas burners (DC-3’s, DC-4, & DC-6) meant that the local supply of avgas was soon exhausted. We had been able to store some avgas in drums and flew a few drums in (very expensive), but this has meant limited operations for our Cessna 206 and 207’s. We have been able to respond to many requests for food, transportation of the injured, and movement of medical personal. Most of our flying for regular passengers has been very limited. Fortunately, MAF was able to loan us one of the new Quest Kodiaks that are just being integrated into the worldwide MAF fleet. This aircraft uses Jetfuel which is much more readily available. It also can haul significantly more cargo and people. From the day it arrived it has been invaluable for helping meet the demand for flights within the country of Haiti. Currently I am scheduled to rotate back to Haiti on February 22. The plan is that I will be working to support our in-country operations (Cessna and Kodiak flights).
I want to extend a huge thank you for the tremendous outpouring of concern and prayer, and the many other ways you have supported us over these last few weeks. We continue to see God’s hand at work.
hts have begun to operate, the need to handle large numbers of international passengers (in cooperation with Missionary Flights International) is diminishing. As more aid is able to arrive via the seaports, less needs to be airlifted in. We are still making many flights each day to take food out to remote areas that are trying to support large groups of displaced people. Currently the MAF program has been loaned two turbo prop airplanes, both brand new Quest Kodiaks. They have allowed MAF-Haiti to haul a much greater quantity of food and people. One of the Kodiaks is an MAF aircraft ultimately 
destined for Papua, Indonesia. The other Kodiak belongs to Samaritan’s Purse and will be operating in Haiti through the end of March (thanks, Franklin). Todd got his first taste of turbine maintenance today as he learned how to do compressor washes.
