Losing their hearts in Sous Savanne, Haiti...

Stuart Rayner, a family and marriage therapist, is one of our incredible Hope Force Reservists who is a veteran disaster responder. Stu recruited a team of medical volunteers from his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. The team served in our beloved village of Sous Savanne and nearby communities in early October. By reading their report, you will get a glimpse into why those of us who have gone have left a good chunk of our hearts behind?and want to return: (orginally posted on facebook)

"Today was a very emotion filled and heavy day, but the best day so far, nonetheless. Monday and Tuesday we saw over 150 patients, but very few were more than mildly sick. Today it was as though God trusted us with the truly infirmed as we saw a number of really sick people, especially children. It was as though we had proven to God we could handle the lesser things so He honored our prayer requesting the truly sick show up. Nonetheless, it was difficult seeing how sick some of these people were, many needlessly. The PA on our team was moved to tears. We all got choked up praying for a woman who may have meningitis. But it was the children, who impacted me the most. Seeing babies struggling for life, who are the same age as my granddaughter, was hard.

But God wasn't finished with us yet. We then walked through the village to check on some of the patients we had seen earlier. Most were already improving and God brought new patients that needed attention to us. I am so glad we came. At the same time, we also experienced the joy of many of the children that would come out to greet us, hug us, or hold our hands. This happens every time we walk through the village and made me remember Jesus talking about how He values children and that we should be more like them in our approach to Him.

My day was capped by meeting one of my sponsored children, Betchlinda, who greeted each one of us with a gentle kiss. I introduced myself as her sponsor and asked to get a picture with her, to which she promptly hopped in my lap. She was so adorable. God is good."

* HFI has been serving in Sous Savanne since the aftermath of the epic earthquake that struck almost five years ago, killing over 200,000. Sous Savanne is located at the epicenter of the quake, where 90% of the population lost their homes.

Come and join us in Haiti! Get more info