Very soon, everything began to fall in place, but not without us having to make sacrifices. We redirected our plans to now leave out of Dallas as opposed to leaving from Tulsa. All luggage packed, we set out from the Image office praying and asking God to take charge. As bad as the weather was on that Friday morning, six of us drove in three vehicles safely to Dallas International. That was miraculous. At the airport, God also gave us a last-minute favor with American Airline. We were allowed to travel with all of our excess luggage without having to pay any extra. We save about $500.00. Praise God for His goodness and mercy following us each step of the way.

We made it safely to West Palm Beach where the rest of our team joining us from about four different cities of the U.S. were already waiting for us. That evening also marked a tremendous time of devotion and togetherness for the team. Promptly, the next morning, we were all dressed, ready to go before 4:30 a.m. We prayed and set forth for Ft. Pierce where we awaited our flight to Haiti. The wait was long. The readiness of the team was non-wavering. In one spirit, we were all looking forward to getting to Haiti.

At last, we arrived in Haiti, cleared Immigration and waited several hours to be picked up by the Salvation Army team of workers in Haiti. We felt a warm welcome from them. We hit the ground running, re-arranging all the supplies already on ground and preparing the classrooms at the Salvation Army compound for our clinics, Pharmacy, and Operating Room.

Our one-week stay in Haiti was marked with long hours of seeing and treating patients with all kinds of wounds, taking out and debulking tumors. Debriding wounds, treating several with hypertension, dehydration, malaria, performing amputation surgery, and improvising innovatively with limited supplies in lots of cases. Some difficult cases were sent to a nearby Miami tent hospital.

As spiritual leader, my role included oversight of the overall spiritual health of our team. Along with that, I was also helping in the clinics, triage, and OR. Wherever there was a need, we all helped meet it period.

It was not easy to watch the pain and agony some of those we operated on went through because we could not sedate them or give adequate medication to control their pain in preparation for surgery. Joseph, whose leg we amputated, had to have a belt wrapped around his leg for a tourniquet to prevent excessive bleeding. We could not totally control his bleeding, but did our best to control it. Not without its own challenges, the surgery went well, Joseph was recovered on a nearby room, then physically picked up in a stretcher to be taken back to his make-shift tent. His tent was just sheets tied together to a tree, then pegged to the ground. Everything Joseph had was underneath his bed. Our attempt to visit with him on the night of his surgery was unsuccessful because the ever watchful dogs stood in the way of our progress, however, we did see and blessed him with lots of supplies the very next day.

The devastation in Haiti is too real to ignore. Many are destitute. The women don't have sanitary supplies. Incidence of rape has also risen. The majority of the people still cannot return home because they don't have one to return to. For others, there's just no place to go. The good news is that we witnessed may salvation, we treated about 300 people per day, and saw such a hunger in the people. They woke up as early as 4 a.m. each day, praying and praising God. The hunger is real and insatiable. Praise God for that.

In less than a month, the rainy season is going to begin. What this means is further desperate situation for many. Diseases are going to be on the increase as decomposed bodies and debris are washed out into the streets. Please pray for wisdom and help for these people to be able to get relocated. Pray for the safety of the women, elderly, and children. Pray that your moneys being sent to help the people of Haiti be utilized appropriately.

Thank you so much for your prayers as we headed off to Haiti. God kept me safe and healthy. He also kept and took care of those whose health were challenged during the trip.

Amos Adesokan