Peterbrooke Chocolatier employees head to Haiti

When Emily Tallman's flight landed at night in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she could feel the devastation.

"It sinks in, even in the dark you can sense it," said Tallman, an employee at Peterbrooke Chocolatier in Winter Park.

She was struck by it the moment she got off the plane — even the capital city's airport had cracks in the walls. The airport was packed with soldiers from all over.

"It felt like the whole world was there," she said.

Tallman spent five days in Haiti in February helping people affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake. She went as a part of ACTS World Relief with some members from her church, Northland. Tallman will be returning on May 21 for 10 days.

In the light of day, things looked much worse. Her group drove around the city to get a sense of what they were there for. Buildings were reduced to piles of grey rubble, those with an intact frame had nothing inside. Signs were hung outside that said in English, "SOS we need help."

"It just seems like such a big, complex problem — it's kind of overwhelming," she said.

Tallman's group stayed in tents with other teams from ACTS with intermittent running water. Her job during the trip was to give emotional and spiritual support to the people, and to assist doctors and nurses with medical care.

All of the major injuries had already been taken care of by the time she went, so the team mostly treated ailments such as worms, scabies, the flu and a lot of high blood pressure and post-traumatic stress. The first clinic she worked in, the team saw 900 people. One woman had a newborn baby and waited hours just to have someone tell her that the baby was OK.

"The baby was perfectly healthy," she said.

That's not always the case. The stories people shared with her were tough to hear.

"I didn't meet one person who hadn't lost somebody."

But there were times of humor and happiness. One day there were plenty of volunteers, so Tallman's job was to play with the children. She didn't have toys, but did have a small notebook full of paper. She and another volunteer spent hours ripping up the paper into strips to make little airplanes and boats for the kids.

"They literally just grab onto you — they just want to hold your hand," she said. "All day I kept hearing Emily, Emily, Emily."

And it's the happy and sad moments that bring Tallman back. Though she has four kids and a husband at home, the family knows that sacrificing mom for a week is important.

"Emily has a genuine care and a genuine heart for people who are suffering," Brent Tallman, Emily's husband said.

Jami and Kevin Wray, her weekend employers at Peterbrooke Chocolatier, agreed with Brent.

"Emily is the most selfless person I have ever met," Kevin said.

Brent also goes on missions, and the two "tag team" going away. He will travel to Egypt in July.

Though her husband will be at home with the kids, Emily won't be on her trip without friends. The Wrays will be going too.

"I'm nervous because I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to help enough," Jami said.

That's something that Tallman struggled with when she got home, but knows that her small contribution did make a difference. That's why she decided to go back the minute she got home.

"Meeting the people and knowing the people makes me want to go back," she said. "They're the most resilient people I've ever met in my entire life … they're so strong."

Trip funds

Emily's trip costs $600; to make a contribution visit Donate.northlandchurch.net/emily-tallman, or stop by Peterbrooke Chocolatier. They're also asking for toys.