Hope for a Friend in Haiti

This week many of my thoughts have been with two little boys and their beautiful Mommy, Renee, in Colorado. This family is waiting for news on when Daddy will be coming home. That might sound normal, but it's far from normal. Their Daddy is David Hames and he is missing in Haiti.

All week I have...
tried to write this post, but the words have come hard to me. When I learned my friend David Hames was unaccounted for in Haiti at the Hotel Montana, it was beyond comprehension. David along with colleague Dan Woolley were in Haiti to tape segments for Compassion International on the plight of the world's poorest children. They had just returned from a day of shooting when the earthquake struck an unsuspecting country. According to Dan, he and David were heading up to their rooms at the Hotel Montana via the lobby when the quake hit. Dan says David yelled, "It's an earthquake!" and they both dove for cover where there simply was no cover. The floors crinkled, the walls rippled, and then destruction on top of them. When it was over Dan said he yelled out for David, but no answer.

After 65 hours in an elevator shaft rescue crews located Dan and pulled him to safety. Words can not express the joy of finding David's friend and colleague Dan and hoping that our friend's rescue might be close behind. They were only three feet from each other when the tremors began.

This week I have prayed for the search teams and prayed for Haiti and the aftermath of this devastation.  David's friends from around the world have joined together to send up petitions for a miracle in this madness. David touched everyone he knew with his infectious charm, intelligence and heart. Anyone who knows David knows he would not give up on anything, so why should we give up hope now.

You can find evidence of David's joy and passion for life in his creation of a Christian preschool television program called Cranium's Ark. David plays Captain Cranium and the release of the new award winning show met with rave reviews. Would we expect anything less from David?

Now, here we are and we are not giving up our hope, not yet. Rescue crews pulled a 23-year-old man from the rubble and debris just today.

David had a backpack with water and food.  We believe, we hope,  he might still be alive. We will not give up this hope that David Hames can be reunited with his family and friends who love him. We are not ready, not yet.