Sunday, April 18th 10:38am...

As of today there are two teams on the ground at base camp (Y.ushu earthquake zone) and another team on route. These teams consist of expat nurses, doctors and drivers that work as logistic coordinators on the ground.

Just a few of the people that are on the ground that you may know and could be lifting up:
Ken S.
Tim F.
Phillip B.
Jenny Rose W.
and another of our local HGM team members that is to be kept secret. We'll call him Mr. P.

We (Jones') have officially been given "jobs" from the Plateau Perspectives office. They were desperate for people here in town to step into spots and be willing to dedicate nearly full time hours to it until no longer needed.

So, as of yesterday:
Justin is a pre-brief and debrief "counselor" to teams going out and coming back in. His degree is in communication with an emphasis on mediation. So, two of the counselors here in town are training him to get him ready to brief people for what they will see when they hit the ground in Y.ushu and to intercept people (local expats that are there doing trauma work) as they come back home to help them talk through what they've experienced.

Shelli is now the main point of contact in Plateau Perspectives for people needing reimbursements for medical supply purchases and she is also giving out advances for the teams and other that need to go out and purchase supplies. Basically, she is a one woman bank. Yesterday, she realized just how massive this job will be, and started to get a bit overwhelmed. So, our team mate Katie C. has willingly accepted to help her. Katie has experience in QuickBooks and will help more on the accounting side of things.

Our good friend Brian H. has also stepped in as THE web guy for Plateau Perspectives. He is managing their earthquake relief website and doing tons of other behind the scenes jobs. He's also a main point of contact for people on the ground. Yesterday, we saw first hand just HOW much he is really doing. The best way to describe him right now is as a "chicken running around with its head cut off", but somehow, he is supernaturally organized and "getting things done".

Yesterday, our good friends Shara M., Gennie H., and Bonnie H. helped head up the organization of around 400 gift bags to be given to the injured Y.ushu refugees here in the X.ining hospitals. Within about 4 hours, HUGE amounts of fruits, wash cloths, and basic toiletries were gathered and sorted into bags. Around 45 people showed up to volunteer in the assembly of the bags. It was awesome!

Things on the ground in Y.ushu are starting to get organized and our friends there are being used in great ways. The government and officials are starting to send the injured and wounded to our tents to get medical help and our (all of us partnering with Plateau Perspectives*) folks are really doing AWESOME!

Pr@yer points:
That the cold weather would stop and that warmer weather would come to Y.ushu.

For more people to be pulled out alive. The death toll is now over 1400.

For family members to find each other in the chaos.

For the grieving people having to watch their loved ones that have died be burned in a pile. Ti.betans usually go through a long list of ceremonial things before their loved ones are either burned, buried or offered a sky burial. The fact that they can not go through their ceremonies is a bit overwhelming to them. I think we could all empathize with that. No matter what your religion is.

* Just who IS partnering with Plateau Perspectives?? Well, LOTS of people. The organizations that we are connected with (both ADMG/FAD and HGM) are partnering with them as well as many other non-profits here in the province. Plateau Perspectives is just one of the few organizations that the government (literally) called and said "please help". So, we're all just holding hands and joining our forces together through them.

For more photos and info, check out the earthquake relief website on the left of this page.