Cindy in US military flight gear.

Dr. Cindy Anthis, SIM USA, recently returned from Haiti where she spent four days with a team from Builders without Borders, a Texas-based organization here in the Unites States. She used her medical skills in Haiti Community Hospital, a private hospital that was unaffected by the earthquake. CURE International, which has done extensive work in the country, was invited in to help manage the crisis at the Haitian hospital. Cindy wrote to prayer supporters immediately upon her return home. Here is some of what she had to say:

We had to fly from Jacmel (south of Port-au-Prince) to the capital in a Navy Sea Night helicopter. The crew was totally awesome. They had just flown 5,000 pounds of food into Jacmel and unloaded it on the tarmac with the help of only our group and some young Haitians in 95 degree heat. We approached the pilot (who looked young enough to be my son!) and told him who we were and that we needed to get to the capital. Without hesitation the crew of the helicopter quickly got us in the proper gear and flew us where we needed to be. Once in Port-au-Prince they unloaded our gear and got us headed in the right direction. All the US military we encountered from Navy, Army, and the 82nd Airborne were compassionate and professional. They seemed to understand the devastation and on an individual level and really wanted to do all they could to help. I was proud to be an American and proud of the sacrifices these young men and women are making.

This precious boy had his left arm amputated after it was crushed by falling rubble. He also had a femur fracture (long bone in his leg). This had not been fixed yet, but when the 6.1 aftershock came on Wednesday morning he was rushed outside with all of the other patients. I was tasked with finding all children under 18 with femur fractures that had not been fixed yet. This was quite a task among the mass of patients taking refuge on the grass outside the hospital. We did find the boy and were able to convince the mother to let us take him to the OR [operating room] after promising her she could return him to the "safety" of the outdoors after the surgery. I think what I found the hardest was watching the parents of these injured children suffer the horror of having their child in pain and being powerless to do anything to help them.

This little baby boy has a broken right arm and a ruptured bladder. He has a catheter in his bladder through his skin. His post-op care needs are huge and very difficult even in the best of circumstances. But God saved his life for a reason and I am trusting that God will provide the specialty care he needs. I am also praying the 82nd Airborne will come through with the hospital beds they promised so this little guy can be moved off the floor!

This woman [pictured below] is the choirmaster at her church. In her left hand she has her hymn book and lying next to her bed is her Bible. She was injured when she threw her body over one of her sister's two small children as the stairs they were on crumbled. Her other sister died. She has a severely fractured pelvis that is externally fixated, and her leg is in traction because of a femur fracture. Despite all of this she was continually lifting praise songs to the Lord. When she was in severe pain she would sing out as loud as possible.

With tears streaming down her face she praised the Lord. At 3 a.m. as I was feeling exhausted and still taking care of patients, she began to sing "Amazing Grace" in Creole. It was beautiful as six or seven other patients lifted their voices with hers. This woman clearly understands that God is in control in all this chaos and she defiantly sang in worship of her Lord.

I was overwhelmed by the Haitian people I met and their response to the crisis. There were a group of young educated Haitians that worked tirelessly alongside us to save their countrymen. At one point I had been working with a young Haitian woman for several hours changing IV’s and bandages. I asked her where she had gotten her medical training and she looked at me and said, "I'm an attorney." I asked another man who was translating for me as I rounded on patients outside in the dark about how his family was after the earthquake. He told me his mother (a Haitian pediatrician) was killed when their family home collapsed. He was an only child and his father was already dead. He also lost the family business (a large bakery). He said simply, "I am all alone and I have nothing now. Not a home, not a family and not a business." He said he felt he needed to stay and help as much as he could to save lives even though he had a valid visa to the US and could leave his country.

	This boy has a complicated fracture. But he is the face of hope in this tragedy. Pray for him and the thousands like him.

The devastation I saw was overwhelming. The physical suffering was not something I can even describe. But through it all I saw the hand of God as I saw personnel brought together from all over the world—I saw miraculous healings, I saw hope in the face of hopelessness.

Please continue to pray the God of hope would reign in Haiti. Pray for God to intervene and heal those who have had surgery. Pray they would get the rehab and care they need. Pray they will see God’s hand and worship Him as my patient did so eagerly.

Please note: SIM has no official presence in Haiti at this time, but we do encourage you to look into one of the many reputable organizations that are there working tirelessly for the Haitian people. Let us continue to pray and give generously of our time and money during this ongoing crisis. Thank you to Dr. Cindy Anthis for giving us a glimpse into what God is doing in Haiti.