Hurricane Update #? of ?

We did hear from our orphanage last night, that everyone in the orphanage is safe. They did have some flooding in the "depot" (storage area), and boxes from the shipment that just recently got through customs got wet. However, they were fortunate to have been able to unpack those boxes and didn't lose anything. There is a lot of flooding around the orphanage. The almost constant rain the past couple days make travel impossible, and the staff at the orphanage have not been able to leave. Water is hard to keep supplied with the rains and floods. They had enough food, but were also going to be stocking up on that when the rains let up. This cooler weather and storms this time of year tend to bring about illnesses in the children, but fortunately there have been no reports at this point.

While it's good to hear that our children are safe, the rest of the news is very hard to hear - the death toll in other areas is rising, and expected to go even higher, as many parts are still flooded and/or covered in mud/rocks. Haiti did finally get some more media attention this morning. I wish the circumstances were different, but in my opinion the media attention is good in terms of getting more aid flowing into the country. Here is a link to the msnbc article. It's so sad to me how many people are living in the flooded areas. They aren't being rescued and brought to safer areas - except for mothers in labor. They're being brought food and water to wait out the floods - and that's if the aid can even get to them!. I can't even imagine. It seems to be a hopeless situation.

While the US this afternoon has shifted focus to our East coast, and the arrival of Tropical Storm Hannah, I have been also watching a Caribbean Hurricane Network. They track the progress of hurricanes as they develop off the horn of Africa, travel across the Atlantic, and make their way towards the Caribbean. They are keeping a very close eye now on Hurricane Ike - a fast-moving and very strong (category 3) storm. It is predicted to pass along to the north of Haiti. They cannot take the devastation that is possible from another storm at the moment. The ground is saturated. The rivers are already overflowing. I'm praying that it weakens to a tropical depression, and speeds up so it blows over fast. Haiti needs the sun to come and dry things out. I'm praying for no further loss of life and destruction. I'm praying for safety and health for the children and all of Haiti.