Life is a vapor. Don't spend yours on the sidelines.

12 Feb. 2010

“…Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives…” I Jn 3:16

The following is a transcript of text messages Micah McElveen sent to his wife, Audrey, from Haiti in the days following the earthquake of Jan. 12. The explicit nature of these messages only serves to describe the reality of the experience.

January 18
(10:03 pm) Landed in Puerto Plata, got a taxi and took a 4+ hour bumpy ride to the boarder town Dajabo’n. Driver didn’t speak a lick of English and I forgot all my Spanish. Crashin out at a $12 per night hotel, cross the boarder tomorrow. Luv u.

January 19
(2:17 pm) I have spent the last while with Haitian orphans and have found my Haitian Freddie. The stories coming in from Port-au-prince are unearthing and I am so overwhelmed with emotion just sitting with the hurting. The little ones find joy in play and after a game of soccer they are asking if I am going to leave them soon. I told them I would stay the night before making the trek to the capital and they cheered. I know leaving will come soon and yet these boys need a Father, I am so torn.

January 20
(6:07 am) I woke up to screaming as orphan boys in terror rushed through the halls to get outside. Another quake in the early morning and these kids were so tense and ready to get out that I am not sure if the quake or them screaming woke me. One said, “We sleep with one eye open now.”

Headed to the epicenter of damage today.

January 21
In Port-au-prince - communication down.

January 22
(3:08 pm) Been crazy here, worked in 1 of 2 standing medical facilities. Broken femurs, bones sticking out, broken backs, necks, amputating kids arms, legs. Things I cant speak of now. When tremors come people flee in with broken feet.
 
(3:45 pm) Working at hospital. Amputations, unreal fractures, flesh and muscles rotting and hanging on bones. Unreal. People screaming, crying, people in so much pain when moving or cleaning, some poop all over themselves almost all lying in urine. Sad
 
(4:18 pm) We took in an orphan last night named Joni. Danita & Brittany from Danita’s Children’s Orphanage found him at General Hospital having lain their nine days unattended to, as he has no family. He has a broken femur, parents didn’t make it. He stayed with us last night and we took him with us to the hospital I am working at.  He was found on the 12th busted up and was lying on a mat until yesterday. Hopefully surgery tomorrow.

(4:38 pm) I know this is a crazy time, but adoption?
 
January 23
(4:50 pm) Audrey, love you. Crazy, people dying in front of your eyes. Yet some amazing God moments where He appears in traumatic pain in unreal situations.

(5:56 pm) Don’t know if I will be able to meet you at the border on the 27th, as I may still be required here in Port-au-prince. Catch a taxi from Puerto Plata to Dajabo'n, Dominican Republic. Ask for Massacre hotel, should be $12 per night. In the morning go three blocks south then three blocks east to the border, it opens from 8-9am. Walk across into the Haitian city of Quanamithe and I will try and have someone meet u. If not just ask people for Hope Orphanage till you find someone who speaks English; it’s a half-mile from the border. You can serve orphans there, as the trek to Port-au-prince is not really possible right now. I will come soon, bring some money. I love u so much.

(6:18 pm) Staying with Joni at hospital tonight, in love w u.
 
January 24
(3:18 am) I am laying on the concrete floor next to Joni in ICU, surgery on broken femur yesterday-11 days before care. Mom, Dad, dead in quake.  With so many people dying so many screaming, I have asked myself again why am I here? Right now a woman 10ft away, dead, a man 20ft away a few moments from death. All around me amputations, crushed faces, legs, arms, bodies, a little boy amputated at the knee getting blood 5ft away and everyone moaning.  Why am I here?  I keep coming back to 1 John 3:16-18. Who am I to preach a message I will not practice. Loving him as Christ for the both of us, for Christ, for those we represent.
 
(3:41 am) There is an old man, about 65, strong upper body but short. No family. Shattered back, severed spinal cord and nothing they can do here. So he was laid on cardboard and set in a corner. Speaks no English, but I have been coming and giving him juice, water, liquid food and praying with him. He just lies there withering in pain in the worst of circumstances waiting to die yet he smiles when I come by and closes his eyes when I touch his face.  I have talked to the doctors and they can’t do anything. He is waiting to die, alone. Thought of my grandfathers last night. Having family or friends who love us is a gift. I made him some Gatorade from mix at 2pm, when I came to give him water in the evening he smiled and asked for Gatorade.
 
(4:01 am) There is a young man, Cias 22.  Mom, brother dead from quake.  Dad broken neck most likely dead now.  He is the oldest son, provider for family, but we had to amputate his leg.  He was so shattered and hard when we made tent rounds yesterday.  I sat with him and spoke, at first he had tears running down his hard face and I had no words.  I put his hand on my shoulder and let him see my paralysis, and he stopped crying and looked intently.  Then God gave me words and spoke hope through me to this young man.  I told him God can bring life after a tragic injury and that I knew from personal experience that He gives new direction and dreams.  By evening when I went to see him, he reached out and grabbed my hand, smiled, and said, “I am ok now, I am going to be ok.” I am trying to find a Bible for him.  Even in this mess, God is working and transforming. Please David Platt he and Brook Hills have meant a lot and he has helped equip me for this. Tell him his friendship matters a lot. Please tell DP and the Stampfl’s I appreciate them looking after you and how much they mean to me knowing they are there for us. Tell our staff how proud I am of them and how thankful I am for them. I know they are working at the home front. Tell yourself I love u.

(2:57 PM) Certain items at the hospital are not readily available. We ran out of body bags and had to use thick trash bags. Today we had to haul bodies from ICU and or out to a gravel spot to wait for the dump truck.  About an hour after we placed one of the ladies, her daughter, not knowing she was dead, came in to check on her. I sat the family down and told them she was dead and they insisted to see the body so I took them out into a group of decaying bodies and horrific smell.  One of her sons began to vomit. I cannot even explain the dynamics at play. He asked me if I would bury her, I told him if they could not the hospital would have her buried in a mass grave. He said they could not, and right then the dump truck backed up. I just prayed they didn’t know that was her Hurst. I took the people in, got them some water and a little food.  I shared John 3:16 with them along with a very condensed gospel presentation and prayed with them.  My face, body, hair feel like they will never come clean.  I keep reading 1 John 3:16-18 and James 2 & 3.

(7:11 PM) Joni got bad fever so we r in ICU again tonight. I am sleeping on the concrete floor beside his cot. We have made beds out of stretchers. Some never come off their stretchers until discharged or dead. So hard, so sad. Long day today. I love you.

January 25
(7:19 am) taken care of Joni last night and this morn. Fever was approaching 103 but it looks like it broke. He looks like he is getting better!

(8:30 am) With the overwhelming quake families have to fend for their own. Until yesterday families were almost the only source for real bedding, food, water and such. Spent about an hour and a half with the alone sweet old man, no family, little care. Tried to get someone to help me with him as he had nasty drainage, diarrhea, and blood come from his anus. His injuries are unreal, radically severed spinal cord. I was trying to flag down professional care for him and finally one well-meaning nurse stopped and looked at him and his x-rays. He was shocked and turned to me and said, “We have to turn our energy to those who may make it.” …I know there is truth in that in a situation like this but I kept thinking of my dad and mom and the way the took care of me when I broke my neck. So I searched the hospital till I found a mattress in a back corner. A very gentle and gracious African American nurse helped me clean him, pull out a 3-day-old soiled blanket, get some clean sheets and put him on a mattress. Babe, he reached his hands up to hug me and smiled rotten teeth showing and eyes closed. An old woman on the floor with a broken leg kept waving her arms and repeating something in Creole. The translator was emotional and said, “she is saying God bless u my son, god will bless u.” I started to cry and made myself stop because I am afraid it will come like a flood when I let it go. We got to share the gospel with him and I have been able to put my hands on his head and pray for him multiple times. God is driving so much of the love here.

January 26
(5:39 pm) Babe going to see you at the boarder. Was asked to fly on an MAF reverse medivac flight of sorts transporting Joni (femur), Jos’lin (amputated leg), Catalina (amputated arm, broken leg) to the orphanage up north in Quanimenthe. All of them orphaned by the quake. Can’t wait to see u tomorrow, lov u.

(6:04 pm) I am focusing on nursing Joni back to health; he is sleeping on a mat next to me now. Did u happen to bring any kids clothes? Can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Luv u.

January 27-29
Audrey, Dustin, Jolie and I got to love on orphaned children. Some orphaned by the quake, others before. Some with obvious extreme physical injury, all with deep internal wounds. We had to leave to the DR to meet the party inviting us to build a center in the slums of Puerto Plata but none of us wanted to go. We gave money, goods, clothes, and other resources to their care but saying bye to those children, to Joni was not easy. We told Joni we were not leaving him but temporarily exiting Haiti. As an entity it is our complete desire and our full intention to start a center in Haiti this year. As a couple we have made our intentions known to those who have say in the matter. As we seek to break ground in Haiti sometime this fall please pray God direct, guide, and raise up resources that we may play our part in the reshaping of shattered country.

Micah McElveen, President
Vapor Sports Ministries

“Life is a vapor. Don’t spend yours on the sidelines.”