Now that cholera from the point of view of new infections or cases has diminished drastically, we have moved from the Samaritan's Purse base of operations to Jackson Beach where we were originally destined to work from the outset. But because of the cholera reality, we were assigned to more important work. Obviously everything can change very quickly according to the situation as it develops. Samaritan's Purse's operations in Jackson Beach are focusing on the shelter program for temporary refugees, removing rubble and holding mobile medical clinics.

Today was quieter. We even went to church. There for a few moments I felt like I'd been transported to the famous Maracanó stadium in Brazil with 90,000 fans viewing a soccer match between Flamengo and Liga (Quito) in the final of the Liberators Cup with the play-by-play announcer about to have a heart attack. I felt my insides and my body vibrating to the rhythm of the music of the Haitian Christians. Exciting ... truly extraordinary! Later we had rice and beans for lunch-the typical Haitian meal-with a red sauce and onions. Oh, how delicious!

In the afternoon we were moved to the Jackson Beach base after a two-hour drive. Before it was something like a recreation center that is now part of Samaritan's Purse. There we had a good welcome orientation that emphasized the theme of security measures. They told us that the probability of being involved in some type of traffic accident was high. It is the most dangerous thing in Haiti. When something happens, it's 95-percent probable it's a traffic-related incident. During our trip we saw an accident involving a motorcycle right in front of us. But the driver was not seriously injured.

Hurricane Tomás lost some strength, but it could build up again and isn't expected to reach Haiti for three or four more days. It will likely just bring heavy rain. We will be watching this, and in the case of an emergency we would be taken to a safe place about six miles from here.

-Hermann Schirmacher