wfn.org | [LCMSNews] LCMS teams begin work near Haiti

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>1.21.2010		
>	LCMS News	 	
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod  	 	
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	January 21, 2010 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 6

LCMS teams begin work near Haiti with medical care, relief supplies

>By Kim Plummer Krull

An LCMS World Relief and Human Care emergency Mercy Medical Team (MMT)
landed in the Dominican Republic Jan. 19, and half of the 13-member team
worked through the night to care for patients at the Good Samaritan
Hospital in Jimani, a city near the Haiti border where Haitian refugees
have fled since last week's devastating earthquake.

"People were laying everywhere, many with massive fractures," said LCMS
Life and Health Ministries Director Maggie Karner, who received word
from MMT leader Jacob Fiene. "Conditions were chaotic; patients were
critical, and it was difficult, but our team was very much needed and
provided invaluable assistance."

On Jan. 20, MMT members continued to work at the hospital, the base for
LCMS relief efforts set up by the Dominican Republic Mission and Medical
Team led by Rev. Ted Krey of Lutheran Church--Canada, who serves with
LCMS World Mission in the Dominican Republic. Since the Jan. 12
disaster, the Dominican Republic Mission and Medical Team has worked to
coordinate relief efforts and secure emergency supplies to assist
Haitian refugees fleeing to the neighboring country.

LCMS teams are based at the Good Samaritan Hospital, a facility with a
30-patient capacity that, on Jan. 18, overflowed with more than 140
patients. In addition to the Good Samaritan Hospital, LCMS medical team
members plan to treat patients at the Seguro Social triage center and
Elisa Pina hospital, also in the Dominican Republic near the Haitian
border.

This is the first MMT to serve in the Dominican Republic, although plans
were in the works before the earthquake to send an MMT to Haiti in
March.

LCMS teams are working with Lutheran partners in the Dominican Republic
to get urgently needed food, water, and other emergency relief supplies
to suffering Haitians. On Jan. 19, a shipment of 2,000 pounds of rice
and beans secured by the LCMS Dominican Mission and Medical Team was en
route to the Good Samaritan base camp. Arrangements are in the works to
purchase and transport additional supplies of rice, beans, and water.

Rev. Glenn Merritt, director of disaster response with LCMS World Relief
and Human Care, is working with Lutheran partners in the United States
who are collecting relief shipments and making plans for transport by
air and by sea as airports and ocean ports re-open. Orphan Grain Train,
Lutheran Church Charities, and MISSION: Haiti are filling shipping
containers with food, clothing, and other supplies that Merritt says he
expects will be ready to transport within the next few days.

Last week's magnitude-7.0 quake killed an estimated 200,000 people, left
250,000 injured, and made 1.5 million homeless, according to published
reports.

The LCMS response to the Haiti earthquake is a collaborative effort by
LCMS World Relief and Human Care and LCMS World Mission to reach out on
behalf of the LCMS and assist the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti,
an LCMS partner church body, with help for hurting congregations and
communities. Funds are needed to buy and ship emergency supplies and to
carry out what will be a long-term Lutheran response in the weeks and
months to come.

To make a gift to help with earthquake relief in Haiti, click here
<https://catalog.lcms.org/givenow/Gift_Input.asp?ID=800> .

Kim Plummer Krull is a freelance writer and a member of St. Paul's
Lutheran Church, Des Peres, Mo.

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If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release, contact
Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org
<mailto:joe.isenhower@lcms.org>  or (314) 996-1231, or Paula Schlueter
Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org <mailto:paula.ross@lcms.org>  or (314)
996-1230.

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