Today at Titan

Well, that’s it…my final attempt to get to Haiti on my own was thwarted again by the inability for the Haitian government to open the airspace over Port au Prince. I have been on a 3 week stall from the practice because I have scheduled, then rescheduled, and then now have had a final cancellation on my trip.

I was very disappointed to receive that news yesterday, but very excited to see an email this morning from my church that they will be going on a mission trip to Haiti at the end of February via the Dominican Republic. I have already signed up for it and look forward to finally getting to go and give aid in whatever way I can.

Until I can document the good works that we will do there, here’s a great story of a 7 year old boy in London that raised over 100,000 pounds for Unicef by setting up a website advertising a charity ride for Haiti around his neighborhood park. Enjoy and have a great weekend!!!

So I got a ticket to travel to Haiti Monday January 18, 2010, and I’m still here and on standby…Thank God because I would have been caught in the 6.1 “after shock” earthquake.

Monday afternoon, the day I was supposed to travel, I got word that the Haitian Government has closed their airspace due to destruction of the airport and prioritizing the landing strip for the military and for aid.

I’ve been rescheduled to travel this upcoming Monday, January 25, 2010, and so far I haven’t gotten any word of any cancellations or reschedules. I have also been watching the news and seeing celebrities going over there to provide help wherever they are needed. It’s nice to see that the motive for keeping themselves in the spotlight is going to a worthy and selfless cause, and not just self serving to their career. Their presence alone will raise or keep awareness of the dire conditions and keep Haiti in the media, which is notorious for callously moving on to the next big story.

This clip with Wyclef Jean and Matt Damon shows a Haiti that is destroyed, but also a strong and proud Haitian people that are down but definitely not out.

I’ll keep you updated about my flights…

Everything happens for a reason. We have to rejoice about all of the bad things that happen, and not just for all of the good things. What happened on Tuesday in Haiti was certainly bad from a humanitarian point of view. Up to 50,000 have been estimated to have perished because of an earthquake that measured 7.0 on the Richter scale.

But the silver lining on the horizon in the aftermath of this natural disaster is that we have become a global community again, putting aside conflicts with other countries and a rebounding economy for giving attention to our brothers and sisters on that destroyed little island that need us.

I have an free flight voucher from getting stuck in Hong Kong last summer that I’m going to see if I can use and pay the difference to fly to Port Au Prince to give my help.

Pray for Haiti.

If you want to get fitter and healthier in 2010, we’re going to help facilitate that new year’s resolution for you. We have partnered with the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Medical Association in promoting their new program Exercise is Medicine.

The basic goal is to get Americans off their butts and get active not just for your body, but for your well being as well. Exercise will not only get you healthy, but it will keep you healthy and prevent illnesses. The standard recommendation for adults under the age of 65 is 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise, 5 days a week.

If it sounds a bit rough, don’t worry, we won’t let it be. As a commitment to the Exercise is Medicine program, not only will we help to set goals for you, but we will prescribe the proper and safe exercise routine for you, and we will monitor your progress each visit.

For additional information and reference resources, check out www.exerciseismedicine.org

Happy New Year and our best wishes for a successful and healthy 2010!!!