a few more thoughts on Hope...

I've asked a few people about Peter's stinging words.
Wondering what they would say if asked to explain the reason for their hope.
The answers have been mixed.
It's neither good, nor bad.
Some gave very "spiritual"answers, others "pat" answers, never giving it another thought.
Maybe it was too overwhelming or unfair.

Maybe...

Honestly, that wasn't what I was looking for.
I wanted to know what their heart was saying.
Have they ever really thought about it?
It wasn't a test.
Maybe it felt like one.
I was just wondering.

For me, I can still feel the sting of the words.
I have done some soul searching.
Lots of praying.

It was while I was having lunch with a friend that I made some progress on this whole matter of hope.
I always take something of value with me when we spend time together.
She suggested that maybe I was beating myself up.
I was only called to do my part.
She reminded me about being a voice for the poor, even if it is just one and that I was able to sit down with each woman and talk about what options she now had because of the sewing school.
Each woman had saved enough money to help her family and had taken the steps to have a better life for her and her children.
It took courage and it paid off.
She now had money in her bank account and was going to work everyday.

We have a living HOPE in Jesus, He and he alone gives us eternal life...yet, we must not forget to be a part of that hope.

Notes From Cliff

I talked to Cliff today.
He is home in Oregon yet still touched by his trip to Haiti wanting to know as many details as I could give him.
I returned his call from a week ago, he was sitting on a boat, fishing with his buddies.

Enjoy!



Since I’ve been back, I have had to do a lot of processing of what happened to me, and how the pieces of the puzzle fit together, as I was literally thrown into service when I walked through the field hospital door. Right up until I caught the plane home the needs were nonstop. These were the longest seven days of my life, and the shortest seven days of my life. They were the most impacting, the most defining and rewarding days of my life - not only from a medical point of view, but also from a humanitarian point of view.

In the face of this catastrophic event I was blessed to be able to work with other practitioners from all over the United States. They had hearts and dedication like I have never seen for the simple love of others. Our bond is incredible. We will all be friends forever.

I witnessed the hand of God guiding us in all that we saw, experienced, and did. He prepared each of us to go and He got us there together – miraculously. It was clearly Him working in us and through each of us. In Him we were able to endure the magnitude of devastation that happened to these people on January 12. That devastation is beyond description and comprehension. I know that others with whom I served agree with me that coming home was very, very hard to do. Regretting deeply having to leave so much undone is inexpressible, not knowing the end result of our work on the people.

All those trips out into the rubble of the slum areas, every touch we made, in most cases was the only touch of help that these people would have. Every wound was infected. I saw every type of known orthopedic injury known lying out in the street, or brought to us with help, even in wheelbarrows. Again, beyond scripting. It was and is hard to realize that thousands and thousands more were still suffering from all the crush injuries associated with the earthquake. In the field hospital with minimal supplies and no tools, it was Civil War medicine requiring a lot of improvisation. Believe me when I say that I used all 44 years of my ortho training there.

It has been well recognized that even at this level of care, we were saving lives. It was a very humbling experience. The Heartline website tells me that they are still finding these people with major, major injuries - again, a demonstration of the level of this disaster. Think about this: in under a minute, over 250,000 people were injured or crushed to death. Those numbers continue to rise. It was hard for us to wrap our brains around, even seeing it.

Very soon I realized that we saw and treated the outside of people, the physical injuries, but the inside of them, and the scope of their losses then or in their futures, I could not begin to understand or treat. At some point I will return to Heartline’s ongoing ministry there to do what I can.

I did and do realize that it was through the prayer support of my family, my church family, and my friends that I was able to be there for the people of Haiti in a time of catastrophic chaos, and human pain and suffering – and all that continues there.
It is disheartening, appalling for me to see that this human event has fallen off the media radar.

Through your prayers, donations, or supplies people were and are helped. Our results were in positive medical outcomes, and literally saving lives. But all of it means something more when you realize that they had nothing to start with, not even hope. Because I now have a greater understanding of the power of prayer, my request is that above everything else, you pray for the people of Haiti.

With love,
Cliff ~ and Adrienne
“But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Cor. 13:13

My Advantage

Anderson Cooper was doing an interview with Father Boyle and asked...

"Do you ever feel taken advantage of?

He simply said, I give my advantage away.

Dan's Haiti Trip

I would like Dan to write a blog about his trip rather than me telling you about it.
Maybe he will.
He says, I am the writer.
So, if I am the writer, I guess I have permission to say what I want.

One of the things that sticks out for me after listening to him tell about his trip was, he feels like his heart changed on this trip toward the people of Haiti.
He now sees things very differently, it was all so hard to take in and comprehend.

When you work at something for a long time, it can become your "job" and not your passion.
You often forget about the people that you are working with (and for) because you are so busy trying to "do your job".
This rule applies to both the corporate world and the ever so crazy world of missions and humanitarian work.
I think we have all seen the news reports with all the supplies sitting around waiting and waiting until everyone gets done making all the "rules".
Meanwhile the whole country be eating three meals a day.
Sean Penn called it an apocalypse.

I keep thinking about the words of Jesus - "don't despise small beginnings".....
It seems to me, it is small beginnings that make the big picture happen.

Living Hope...

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

But, do this with gentleness and respect..."


The thought of this mother asking me why she should have hope has haunted me since I read Peter's words.
I keep thinking, "God in heaven I hope she never asks me a question like that".
I am having a hard time with these words.
It isn't that I don't believe them, because I personally have hung on to the fact that we have hope in Jesus for dear life over the past few months while learning to live out this season of my life.
If this is what I am thinking...can you imagine what she must be thinking.
Me, a white woman, who can get on a plane and leave at any time, telling her to have hope!
I feel very unqualified to say these words when I am in Haiti.
My heart races just thinking about it.
I liked Peter so much better when I pictured him as the guy who really messed up and denied Jesus.
On some level, I can relate to Peter way more than what I want to.
He and I know the "right" answers when life is good, but do I have what it takes on every level to do the right thing?
It is terrifying to me to think about having the guts to do the right thing no matter what, coming face to face with the bottom line - Do you love me and will you feed my sheep?
I can't imagine what Peter was thinking when Jesus said, dude, your gonna deny me, end of story.
Peters words have been rolling around in my heart....we have a LIVING HOPE.
How exactly would I tell this woman she has a living hope?
Me, what would I tell her?
Not what I have heard from the platform, what do I personally know about hope.
I have cried about this many times, telling the Lord my words seem empty.
I have a home.
I have my husband and children.
I have food and water.
In my confession, maybe I was trying to get off the hook.
I said, it was wrong of me to say these things when I can just get on a plane and leave.
It was in my tears and frustration, I heard the Lord say, these are NOT your words they are mine.
I am the only living hope for the world today.
I am the one who speaks these things into existence, not you.

I did find comfort in these words.
I will continue to battle with this question, knowing that I have to come to peace with it.
I thought this statement spoke well of how I am feeling....

"There is a lethal absence of hope - it is that simple and that complicated."
Father Boyle, CNN Interview with Anderson Cooper

Agape Shipment

We want to say THANK YOU for all the donations given to God's Plumbline for Haiti. Dan took everything down to Agape flights in Venice, Florida before he left for Haiti. With your help we filled four pallets full of supplies.

Ti Pa Pa

We had just finished with dinner and walked over to check on things at the hospital.
Ti Pa Pa was coloring, working out the details of what happened to him during the earth quake on paper.
Everyone in Haiti has a story about the earth quake.
Much like we have our stories about 9/11.
We will never forget the exact time and place, when the world as we knew it changed in a minute.
Forever different!
I was at home with Maddie and Parker, Eileen, Dan's mom was visiting.
Dan was on the road, working.
I went to get Alyssa early from school that day and wished Dan was home.
Ti Pa Pa was at school.
His picture got my attention because it said, "Emergency Exit".
Where on earth did he learn that?
Must have been in the book he was reading, I couldn't imagine his school had a sign like that.
He pointed to the chair, showing me that he had fallen off the chair during the shaking.
I told him, I loved his picture!
I asked him if he wanted to sell it?
Yes, he said without thinking for a second.
He held up one finger and said, one gourde.
I was caught off guard that he didn't say the first English phrase every kid in Haiti yells when they see a white person, "hey you, give me one dollar"
No way! I teased.
I told him I would give him one dollar!
His eyes grew large, he smiled even bigger.
I took a few pictures and showed him what he looked like on the camera.
We exchanged art work for money and a hand shake.
I hoped he would keep drawing.
I hoped he would find healing in his expression.