It is good to report that the team is now in Singapore and tomorrow (Saturday) will be flying home.
I believe they are quite tired, some with flu, sorry to come away, but satisfied with what they have been able to achieve.
From here on you will be receiving updates from your family and staff members from the team – or from Mark.
Blessings…..
Robin
Dear friends
With a smile on my face I can let you know that Kees and team are heading home coming Sunday!
He wrote from Padang; “Concerning the disaster here we see that the people are now in a phase of restoration and the phase of rescue has finished. Because of that we as rapid response team are not necessary anymore since that is not our mandate. Yesterday we were at a meeting of the UN and there they spoke about long term plans for this area. After the meeting we all agreed to go home”.
We are of course very happy with this news, we are looking forward to be together again and to hear all Kees his stories!
He also wrote he is tired so I’m sure he is going to sleep nicely in his own bed J
He will write you an update as soon as possible.
Please pray for a safe trip home, they start travelling on Saturday (Padang-Singapore and then Singapore-A’dam)
I really want to thank you for all your prayers and support in the past heavy weeks, your prayers carried us through!
Lots of love and blessings,
Miranda Voogd
I had another opportunity to talk with Ed last night. He and the others are doing well. They have added more people to their team, a doctor and a couple of nurses as well as another team that arrived last Friday. Their schedule over the past few days has been gathering supplies from the local hospital in the morning and going out to to find areas that are in need of help – usually about an hour or so away from where they are based. They set up a clinic and treat people as they come. One village they went to was on an outer island and they treated around 100 people. Ed is observing the doctor/nurses and is able to put into practice right away the things he is learning.
One thing that stands out about our friends in the South Pacific Islands is their hospitality and willingness to help out anyone in need. They genuinely take care of one another. We often hear in Fiji, “first time, you’re our guest… second time, you’re family”. They are hard working and will seek out the needs of others to see what they can do personally to help fulfill those needs b/c they see them as family. We would appreciate your continued prayers for our friends there. Many have lost loved ones, homes and even villages. The effects of this tsunami are very real and close to their hearts. They will need continued help to work through all of this.
Today Ed is going out with a few others to clear some debris and help build a house. It sounds like a lot of the work for “first responders” has been taken care of and now they are catering further to the needs of the people as they are able. Most of the RescueNet team members will be leaving this week. Ed is scheduled to return on the 22nd. Thank you so much for your prayers & support! You are just as much a part of the work being done as the hands that are doing it. We really appreciate you!!!
Blessings,
Kelly
Once again following is the latest news on the team.
‘heading down out of the mountains today – very sorry to do so but happy we’ve done very well and we’re all tired and ready for a shower’.
Short but sweet. One step closer to home!
Blessings…..
Robin
Following is the latest message that has come in from Mark today.
“Gary and Kay went back to Padang. We work with UN looking for IDP’s (internally displaced persons) – assess their need and report it back to the UN. There is MASS trauma so two of the team counsel each day. Today we wait for a US helicopter to bring goods for distribution by us. We plan to go down to Padang Wednesday to debrief then leave for Singapore Thursday, spend Friday and Saturday morning, then fly home.”
Perhaps as the team gets to Padang and/or Singapore we will get more substantial info as they will have access to the internet.
Blessings…..
Robin
I have received another text message from Mark saying that ‘the team is possibly leaving this coming Wednesday. They are all well and longing for a nice shower’.
I think that the key word to note is ‘possibly’. I know that if there is the slightest opportunity for them to be of assistance, they will want to stay – no matter how smelly they are. J Earlier Mark did say that there was mainly ‘secondary wound care’ so if that is the case then it is more likely that they will return home.
As soon as I get further notification, I’ll pass it on to you.
Blessings……
Robin
This morning I received a text message ‘I am able to send you a text!’ J Thank you so much for your prayers!
Kees and his team are more north now in a much damaged village.
They’ve put up their tent next to a mosque and are able to do a lot of work.
All team members are well.
It was a short message but sooooooooooo good!
I’ll let you know when there is more news.
Love and greetings,
Miranda
Latest news from Indonesia,
Thankfully, I received a text message from Mark this morning which means they have mobile reception where the team is located.
Mark advises that they are up in the mountains and damage is bad but the immediate need has lessened so it is now basically secondary wound care only. They plan to stay there for a few days and treat the people and then send out recon teams to try and find other need.
The team is great and they laugh lots. Most are eating and sleeping well. More information soon.
As further updates come, I will forward them on.
Blessings to all………
Hey there,
I heard from Ed last night. He and the team are doing well. They had a little scare yesterday, a tsunami warning…
thankfully it was just that – a warning. Progress is going a little slower than hoped. They wanted to get in there &
begin the work right away. Today was a day of mourning in Samoa though so it brought all work to a hault. They
could use alot of prayer along those lines right now. He is doing good despite the setbacks.
He met a guy on Tuesday at the hospital who’s mom died in the tsunami. She was on holiday there for two weeks.
But the good part of the story he told was of this man’s 14 month old son Daniel who survived being missing in the
water for five hours!!! Ed got to meet Daniel too!!! Praise the Lord!!
There are a couple of guys from New Zealand on the RescueNet team that Ed has connected with & they are in the
care of the base in Samoa. I should hear from him again later this week. I hope that by that time, his
report will have changed from “slow progress” to “much accomplished”. I’ll keep you posted.
Thank you again for your love, prayers & support!
Kelly
(Oct 6, 20:01 PDT)
Thank you to those who have been praying for Mark and the team in Indonesia. The team have all arrived in Indonesia now and are located in Padang at the time of writing this email.
Prayers are being answered. I spoke with Mark tonight and below is what he is reporting.
He has been to several UN briefings over the last couple of days and a great opportunity has opened to the team. At the UN briefings, Mark has also made contact with WHO (world health organisation) officials. In the briefings, opportunities were given to the agencies that were present. No one was offering to go into a very remote area where the need is great so Mark spoke up and said that his team were ready to deploy there immediately.
He went to a Lieutenant Colonel in the US army and said that they needed a ‘bird’ (ie chopper) to deploy and after discussion, the officer asked if they could work together (further clarification on this following).
In the briefings, Mark built relationship with US and Australian army and WHO officials who are all supporting the RN team in their deployment.
Their mission is to go up into a remote area which is further north of a town could Pariaman which is north of Padang on the Sumatra Island. They are to find an area that is suitable to set up a landing pad for an army chopper.
Further relationship has been built with the Office of International Migration (OIM) and they have told Mark that they would give them four 4xdoor 4wd utilities and all the meds they need to get up into the area.
Their team is made up of a nurse, three paramedics, two trauma counsellors and logistical staff. As well a doctor, a nurse and four rescue professionals from France are joining the team making it a total of fifteen people. They will drive north and when they find a suitable area they will establish a heli-pad and then radio back to the US air force and then the marines will be providing choppers to fly in and out of the area.
If the roads are not passable and they get stuck, they can return to Padang and re-deploy but if they get through, they will send the co-ordinates back and then get to work. A ‘bird’ will be sent up to give back-up. That will become their base (a military clinic will be established) from which they will go to different villages to provide help.
The reason they are going by car now is because the chopper will not be available to go until Saturday and they are eager to be helping people asap. Also if they can’t get through by vehicle they will return to Padang and then go with the chopper on Saturday.
At present the team is in very good health and high spirits. They are all working very well together.
The team leaves at 9.00am on Thursday morning (Indonesia time) and depending on the need, they will be out there for 7-10 days.
At this stage they don’t know if there is any electricity or telephone reception where they are going. They will be turning on their satellite phone at two different times each day. If anybody needs to get an urgent message through to the team, please contact me and I will ensure that the message is relayed to the team.
DANGERS:
For the re-assurance of family members:
Mark has had personal contact with an Australian army Lieutenant Colonel, a US army Colonel a US marine captain and the head of the WHO in Padang. They all know where the RN team is working and are contactable by radio so should anything dangerous happen, they can be quickly and effectively transported out.
As news from Mark comes to me, I will relay it to you immediately. I’m sure you can glean from this email what the prayer needs are.
Praise God for such a great opportunity to open to them and for all the assistance and support they are receiving from the officials mentioned above.
Blessings…….
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