The earthquake in Haiti has the world scrambling to help. I (Jerry) have been inundated with phone calls and e-mails from friends, churches, and from people I’ve never met asking if we are sending teams that they can join, or if we will be accepting donations of food, water and clothing.

I have spoken with our partner, Lemuel. They are in need of funds for food, water, rebuilding their own facilities as well as staff housing. They, of course, want to help the people of Haiti survive the current crisis, rebuild their lives and homes.. They have asked that we do not send teams any time soon because they are having hard time surviving themselves let alone having to worry about visitors who do not speak the language, don’t know the country culture, safety issues etc.. The unknowns of day to day living are overwhelming right now. They have asked for donations so they can purchase supplies locally. Prices may be high but purchasing locally will help to re-stimulate their economy and at this time many of the supplies that have arrived at the airport are stuck there because of the logistical problems with all the damage of the roads and building.

Yesterday we got word from them that all but one of the boys they work with in Port-au-Prince were alive.

ER rep Jean David was scheduled to fly from Quito to Haiti yesterday. We have not heard if he arrived or not. The current plan is that he will assist with the distribution of aid alongside the Ecuadorian military…. more details to follow.

We are accepting donations that will be distributed in Haiti at the discretion of our partners. If and when they are ready to host work teams we will begin planning and sending teams. My guess is that it will take 3 to 5 years for them to rebuild to the pre-quake situation which was not good by any standard. We will have plenty of time to send teams when the rest of the world had forgotten and moved on to the next disaster. This is a long term project. Right now it’s the crisis - recovery and first-response efforts. Much will need to be done with this phase has ended. Thank you to all that have already donated.

Jenny from House of Hope Orphanage writes…
Today was another busy day, trying to connect people with their loved ones. Again some good and some bad endings, but we are glad to be able to help. We communicated with Dr. Boucher, and he sounded much better today. We are still trying to get our kids out of PAP and up here. We have received numerous requests to keep people who have survived and have no place to go. We are happy to do so, and so are waiting for them to start showing up. We imagine our family growing quite a bit over the next few days, and we are happy to be able to help out in this way.

The hospital we are connected with(CMB) is starting to fill up with wounded that have been able to make it out here. We’ve sent all our extra medical supplies to them because they will run out quickly (dear friends at Simcoe {Extreme Response Canada}– your medical supplies are being put to good use!). Dr. Mozart was exhausted this morning, so you could pray for him and the other Dr.’s and nurses as they treat these wounded. They were told they’d get some extra nurses from the government, but so far we haven’t seen them yet.

Please give toward to the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti

Donations towards HAITI RELIEF
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The Woodside women - plus ER leaders Ed and Dawn

A team of 9 women from Woodside Bible Church in Troy, Michigan travelled to Cape Town, South Africa to work with ER partner Living Hope. The team worked with over 350 women (and a few men) from the Living Hope Support Groups. These support groups exist to support those dealing with HIV, AIDS and other illnesses. Each of the 4 support groups meet in various townships in the Fish Hoek area. Most of the women they worked with are HIV+. The team did a wonderful job empowering, encouraging and loving these women who have known so much sickness, poverty, death and abuse in their lives. (for more information on Living Hope go to: www.livinghopeusa.org)

They also had the opportunity to encourage the 25 women (and a couple men) at the New Beginnings Development Center in the Woodstock area of Cape Town (www.newbdc.com). These women are enrolled in a free training course for unemployed people. The goal is to train, educate and empower individuals in an effort to alleviate poverty. The Woodside ladies had a great time getting to know the New Beginnings students.

Thank you Woodside Ladies!

House in the Masiphumelele Township

Woodside team member Deb with 2 of the ladies

Meeting at New Beginnings

Red Hill Township

The meeting at Red Hill

Christina makes a new friend at Ocean View

Extreme Response welcomes Calvary Church of Pennsylvania to Quito this week! A team of 18 adults is here working in partnership with the El Inca Church. This group is building a 120-seat auditorium for a new church in the La Paz community, just north of Quito. Each day the team is busy mixing and pouring concrete as well as welding the steel roof trusses. A team of nationals will continue with the roof structure and corrugated panels once the team has finished their week. A special thanks to team leaders Steve Kirsch and Norm Emery, as well as each of the team members for serving in Ecuador!

Submitted by Bill Hedrick- Teams Coordinator

We welcomed a team made up of three families from The Chapel in Akron and Green, Ohio, to serve with Extreme Response in Quito, Ecuador from July 22nd to August 6th. The team arrived in stages. Dr. Dave and Linda Hoff flew in on July 22. Dave and Linda are dear friends of ours from Akron, and having them here was like welcoming family. This was their sixth trip to Ecuador, and they handle it like pros! For six days we put them to work doctoring patients at the nursing home, working at the medical clinic at the dump.. On July 28th, the rest of the team arrived. The Lingenhoel and Miller families arrived prepared to conduct a Kids Program at Pan de Vida, a local soup kitchen serving about 1000 families in the Quito area.

The team was prepared for 100 children (Now where have we heard that before?) and we actually ended the week with 70 children in regular attendance. This was a good thing, as it allowed us to connect with the children (and maintain some semblance of control!). We ventured into new territory with this team, taking two field trips during the week. These are street children who would never have the opportunity to do anything like this. Both were to local museums…one of them was positively amazing. There is a new interactive “water museum” here in Quito. We arrived with 70 children and 15 adults. The guides were excited to see us. They talked to the children like they were real people. Our guide got down on her knees so that she could look our little ones in the eyes…at their level. Our kids were engaged from the moment we entered the building until we boarded the bus to go home. Throughout the rest of the week, the kids in my group chattered endlessly about how much fun they had at the water museum.
Many thanks, to The Chapel, for serving those in need here in Ecuador!
Submitted by Dan Maloy

A team of 24 from Omaha, Nebraska is hard at work in Quito, Ecuador helping out with many ER projects and partners. Half of the team is doing construction - building a house for Maria, Segundo, and Diana. They are a family that has been working at the Quito dump for many years. The home will really impact two families. The new home will allow the second family move into Maria, Segundo, and Diana’s existing house. Maria said each day seems like a dream. Their grandchildren are having fun with the team and are pitching in on the work. The house dedication is set for Monday the 10th of August. The team plans on buying beds, stove, sofa, dinning room table, pot & pans, and food for the dedication.

The non-construction part of the team has done a program at the Betania Old Folks Home, taken the children from the Zambiza Day Care Center to the Zoo, and will be doing a Kids Program at Nuevo Amigos. The team is being joined by the boys from Casa Gabriel (home for former street boys). These boys are doing a fantastic job serving with the teams; two are with the construction team and seven are with the non-construction team. The non-construction team will also do some painting at the Casa Gabriel house. It is awesome to see the boys impacting lives.

A team of 14 people from the Second Avenue Baptist Church of Rome, Georgia arrived in Manta, Ecuador late Saturday night. They are putting on a kids’ club in the small town of Pacoche. Just over 100 kids came the very first day (along with some moms too!). The team is also installing bamboo railings at the Montanita Verde Children’s Home and will help to paint some of the kids’ rooms. Wednesday they will visit the Manta trash dump where they will distribute food bags to those working in the dump.

The senior high youth group from Richvale Bible Chapel in Richmond Hill, Canada served with Extreme Response in Quito, Ecuador June 25- July 4th. The group of twenty teenagers and adult sponsors served with ER partner Nuevos Amigos in a very depressed part of the city. Their mornings consisted of painting the school building and several class rooms, also running a kids’ club for a total of three hundred kids in the afternoon. A highlight of the week was a morning of just playing with the children at the Zambiza dump day care center. This year’s team was the first ever from Richvale. Thanks for serving those in need here in Ecuador!

Submitted by Dan Maloy

The senior high youth group from Woodside Bible Church in Troy Michigan served with Extreme Response in Quito, Ecuador June 27- July 6th. The 17 teenagers and 6 adult sponsors served with ER partner Remanso de Amor  (Haven of Love) in the south part of the city. Their days consisted of making repairs to the school building there and running a kids’ club in several different neighborhoods. A highlight of the week was in serving a hot meal to the night shift workers at the Zambiza dump project. This year’s team was the third consecutive group from Woodside. Thanks again for serving in Ecuador!

Submitted by Bill Hedrick- ER Teams Coordinator

A team from Kensington Community Church of Troy, Michigan is currently on the coast of Ecuador, building a security wall around the Montanita Verde Orphanage.  They’re doing a great job with not only the construction, but also with building relationships with the children of the orphanage.  Thanks for all your hard work, team!