Highlights

Campus News

Wildcat Weekly Minute for Nov. 17, 2011

A look at what's happening on campus this week.

Faith

Cleansed through the Cross

Dr. Quarles speaks on the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice at weekly chapel

Sports

LC hoops teams wrap up homestand with pair of wins

Off to Ozarks, UT-Dallas next

Organizations

LC media student give to Toys for Tots

More than 100 toys will help local charity

Campus Life

February is Heart Health Awareness Month

Stay healthy and 'God Red'

Culture

All the Shakespeare you could laugh at… and more!

tlc's adaptation of 'Shakespeare Abridged' pulls out all the stops

Special Coverage

LC brings another successful ‘Follow the Star’

'Christmas on the Hill' and 'Gala' add to festive weekend

LC duo part of “Mission of Mercy” to Haiti

by Al Quartemont

Dwayne Rogers, Sarah Hudson part of 14-person team

UPDATE: As you can imagine, communication streams are limited for our team down in Haiti. Here is what we have from Dwayne and Sarah via Facebook and text messages through iPhones:

Sunday Update:

Dwayne Rogers: "Just made it back to U.S. Soil. In Miami."

Saturday Update:

Sarah Hudson: "After seeing the destruction of the earthquake in Haiti, is heartbroken for the people in Chile. Praying for Chile and all of the places threatened by tsunamis."

Dwayne Rogers: "We're on the road for the 5 hour trip to Santo Domingo. We heard about the quake in Chile. We are discussing how to get additional supplies and head to Chile. Of our families and places of work were not expecting us back, I think we would figure it out. This team is so awesome and compassionate."

Dwayne Rogers: "Made it back to the IMB 'White House' in Jimani. It's great to have the team back together again. Today some of the team will be setting up a pharmacy at the mission house. This will be of great benefit to the teams that follow us. Part of the team will be helping deliver supplies to. Churches in Haiti. Those of us who haven't been able to see Port O Prince will be making a trip to do so."


Friday Morning Update:

Sarah Hudson: "We are back in Jimani with the rest of our team. We will be at the missionary house here until tomorrow when we head back to Santo Domingo. We will spend the night at the hotel there and fly back on Sunday. I finally have my computer back, and Internet access, but the Internet connection is incredibly slow and I won't be able to send anything in. I can get on Facebook with some effort, but even sending this message has taken me trying since last night. I tested sending a picture through e-mail and that wouldn't work. I've got some GREAT pictures. Today the women who stayed in Jimani are going into Haiti to see Port Au Prince. The rest of us will be here at the house doing work to prepare for other teams coming in the future. The men are building shelves to set up in a room to make a pharmacy here. We may do some painting and other things. I will hopefully be able to sit and write as many stories as possible today. And I have a ton of pictures to edit. It has been a wonderful week in Haiti and the D.R.!

Thursday Evening Update:

Sarah Hudson: "We're back with the rest of our team in Jimani. It was sad to leave the children at the orphanage, but it is wonderful to hear new stories from the team members who worked at Good Samaritan this week. God has really worked through this team and the missionaries here."

Thursday Update:

Dwayne Rogers: " We have seen nearly 100 people today, and it's just 2pm. We're out of most children's meds. We've made it back to the orphanage and are waiting for transportation to hopefully get us back to Jimani today."

Wednesday Evening:

Sarah Hudson: "It was another wonderful day in Haiti. We saw 142 patients today, some at a school and all of the children at the orphanage. We have treated everything from a cold to a foot that was injured in the quake. God is at work here. We've met so many good people, but there is still so much to be done in Port au Prince and the surrounding areas. I can't wait to see what God can do in our last few days here. I now know what it means to say 'the joy of the lord is my strength'. These people praise god with joy even when the world crumbles around them."

Dwayne Rogers: "The sun is setting on another day here in Haiti. We were able to see and treat about 140 people today. Most of us are still sleeping in tents or just under the stars, while the others are back in the Dominican Republic working at the hospital in the DR. Funny thing is, they want to join us in in the rough. Their ministry there is of great importance. Besides treating patients, they are building relationships that will open doors in the future for the cause of Christ.
Praise to the One who hung these stars that we are getting to enjoy."

Wednesday Morning:

Dwayne Rogers: "It's 5am here in Haiti. I was awakened at 4 am to the praise and worship of the residents here in the orphanage. What a sweet sound. They will worship and praise until about 6 am, then go about their day. With only a couple of changings of clothes, no home, no food of their own, yet they praise The Lord. Reminds me of ...Habakuk. 'God, please forgive me of my limited worship. May I never cease to be reminded of your greatness, and may I learn to really rejoice in You always'.
We have at least another 75 patients to see at the same church we were at yesterday, and then back here this afternoon to see more here at the orphanage. Thank you Father for allowing me to be here."

10 a.m. update: "Have already seen and treated 25 kids in the first two hours. There must be another 75 waiting. That doesn't count the adults."

Tuesday Evening:

Sarah Hudson: "Is dirty but happy. I wish I could bring a few sweet kids back. Do not stop praying for these people. It is needed. The kids at the orphanage are precious. We saw 95 patients today and close to 200 yesterday, I think. I have great stories to tell. I don't have the laptop with me because of the risk of it being stolen. It is at missionary house. Went to Port au Prince today. Awful. Destruction is terrible. Docs are working hard and we've given lots of med. Team is split up with half at orphanage half at hospital in the Dominican Republic."

Tuesday Morning:

Dwayne Rogers: "Well, the rest of the team tells me that we had two strong aftershocks this morning. Neither one woke me up! Traveled a little closer to Port au Prince today. Must be at least 150 kids plus adults waiting to see us."

Monday Night:

Sarah Hudson: "Is at a haitian orphanage working as the pharmacist. Loving on some precious kids! No Internet here, just iPhones."

Dwayne Rogers: "Part of our team has moved into Haiti. We have set up a clinic on the outside of Port O Prince at a orphanage. More people here than we can possibly treat, but we can "do all things through Christ'. Pray for the people here. Pray we can treat those who need it most. No electricity. Few buildings standing. Will be sleeping in tents.
Wow! We saw everyone in line today. Unbelievable! We know for certain there were 140, probably more. God was so awesome as he worked through the team today. Thank you Father for such great servants to work with."


Monday Morning:

Dwayne Rogers: Arrived in the DR (Saturday) night. 5 pieces of luggage did not make it, but hopefully will come today. We learned that plans have changed. Instead of working in the hospital in the DR, we will be traveling into Haiti to work at a clinic that has grown from50 patients three weeks ago to 250 now.

Sarah Hudson: We made it to Santo Domingo! It's LATE and we are traveling 6 hours to the border tomorrow morning (um, well today...in 5 hours). We will be going into Haiti every day! I'm still not sure how much I'll have internet access while there, but we will have electricity and water so that is GOOD!

Sunday Update: (We) won't have Internet access. We're going to an orphanage in Haiti (Monday) and sleeping in tents for a few nights. Pray for us. It's going to get tough


Background Story:

When the 2009-2010 academic year began, Dwayne Rogers was starting his first year as Louisiana College’s Chief of Security. Sarah Hudson, a senior from Hessmer, La., was beginning her final year as a college student at LC. Little did they know how their paths would soon connect.

When a massive earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12, Rogers, who previously led a mission team to the Dominican Republic border near Haiti, sprung into action. First he prayed. Then he posted what he felt God was “impressing” upon him on Facebook – to take another team to the small border town of Jimani – this time as a medical mission team. It wasn’t long before 14 people were signed up and set to go.

“It always amazes me how God assembles a team like this – nothing short of miraculous in my eyes,” Rogers, who is a member of Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville, La., said. “How He pulls people together those who otherwise don’t know each other at all with different skills necessary for something like this.”

How Hudson got involved came after a conversation between her journalism instructor, Al Quartemont, and Rogers. Rogers was hoping to get some publicity for the effort. Quartemont’s thought was what better publicity than to actually send a reporter – in this case the editor of LC’s student newspaper, The Wildcat. That person was Sarah Hudson.

“I’m nervous about it, but only because I want to feel like I’m making a difference,” Hudson said. “I’ve done mission trips before, so it’s nothing new for me. I know from experience what God can do on a trip like this. But I’m really excited about the opportunity as a student journalist to learn and grow in that way.”

Joining Rogers and Hudson are 12 other members, three of whom are also from Central Louisiana, one who is a doctor from Eunice, La., and the rest of whom are from Baton Rouge. They leave from Baton Rouge on Saturday, Feb. 20 and will return on Sunday, Feb. 28.

Their trip will take them by plane from Louisiana to Dallas to Miami to Santa Domingo. From there, it will be a six-hour bus ride through the hills of the Dominican Republic until they get to Jimani, the closest border point to Port-au-Prince.

The team will assist the relief effort at Good Samaritan Hospital – a facility that helped thousands of earthquake victims in the days after the disaster. The fact that Jimani is so close to the Hatian border turned that hospital into a M*A*S*H-like unit that performed multiple amputations and other surgeries in order to keep victims alive.

Rogers’ team will each bring two suitcases or bags – one with their personal items, the other to contain much-needed medical supplies. Rogers isn’t sure whether the team will actually enter into Haiti, but said they are prepared to do so if necessary.

“One thing you learn on trips like this is to stay flexible,” Rogers said. “We want to be where God wants us to be, and where the greatest need is. Needs change on a daily basis.”

That’s a fact Rogers is no stranger to. Besides his 2008 trip to Haiti, one that resulted in him baptizing a 12-year-old girl who was deaf and was converted to Christianity after reading a Gospel tract given out by the group, Rogers also took a team to Indonesia after the 2005 Tsunami.

For Hudson, her experience with previous foreign missions as a student has helped her to prepare for the trip. However, she also said that having to go this time in more of a journalistic role would present a new challenge. Hudson will chronicle the team’s experience and, technology-permitting, will attempt to relay their stories to several media outlets including LC’s student media website: http://www.wildcatsmedia.com.

“I know it will make me get out of my shell and I know I can’t be afraid to speak to people,” Hudson said. “I think it’s also going to teach me that you have to (do the work as a reporter) in a loving way. You have to show the love of Christ in everything you do, even as a journalist.”

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