Earthquake in Haiti

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake ripped through Haiti yesterday, causing widespread destruction and death in a country where poverty and persistent political unrest had resulted in poor building standards. Photos from the scene are showing whole regions flattened, and the local authorities are saying hospitals can not handle the influx of wounded and dying.

Destroyed communications made it impossible to tell the extent of destruction from Tuesday afternoon's 7.0-magnitude tremor — or to estimate the number of dead lying among thousands of collapsed buildings in Haiti's capital.
The ornate National Palace crumbled into itself, the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission collapsed and swaths of rickety shacks lay in shambles. Clouds of dust thrown up by falling buildings choked Port-au-Prince for hours...
Associated Press journalists found the damage staggering even for a country long accustomed to tragedy and disaster.

Please be praying for the disaster-torn country. It remains to be seen if the Recession creates any difficulty raising relief money, but it is likely to put extra pressure on efforts to help.

Prayer Request: Our Dog Biscuit

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or who have spoken to me in-person the last few weeks are aware that our family has been going thru a minor crisis. Our dog Biscuit has been diagnosed with "significant" heart disease and some kind of gastrointestinal disorder. The heart disease is being treated with medication, but in order to treat her intestinal problem any further, she needs an endoscope. The endoscope, however, is dangerous because anesthesia is required, and anesthesia is always dangerous (potentially fatal) for a dog with heart problems. However, it has become clear she is NOT improving without this, so we have opted to have the vet do the endoscope today.

Please be praying for all of us and for little Biscuit today. Please pray that God guides the doctor's hands (both the vet and the anesthesiologist) so that they do their best to get the info they need without risking her life. Please pray that they can see what is wrong and know if there is a treatment. Please pray that we recieve comfort during this stressful day, and that once the doctor knows what is wrong that we have the required wisdom to know what to do next.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Pray... Pray!