UPDATE: “Ali McMutrie and the children from the Brebis de Saint-Michel de L’Attalaye (BRESMA) orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, arrived safely at Pittsburgh International Airport a short while ago.  Jamie McMutrie will be following behind shortly.” More details will follow when the family releases a full statement.

On Wednesday, CNN began chasing a story that started long before they posted it on their Twitter site. Two Pittsburgh natives, Jamie and sister Ali McMutrie, were running an orphanage in Port-au-Prince when the Haitian disaster struck. Though the sisters were in a car when the quake hit, they were left with rubble where the orphanage once stood. Not only that…suddenly they had 150 infants and children to care for. With no food. No clean water. No diapers. Planes offered to come and pick up the sisters, but they refused to leave the children alone in a time when riots and chaos is on the brink. These children are not just orphans…they are children who have already been placed in permanent adoptive families in the U.S. They have parents who are waiting for their precious kids to come home. Jamie and Ali are still in Haiti, holding tight to hope for those parents, with little regard for themselves.

When their story broke on the blog of Virgina Montanez, people started to understand. The sisters, who have limited Internet and phone access, have given small bits of information, including this email, sent Jan. 13^th:

“Our housé is falling b two also. Adoptions stoppéd five yrs at least. We are living in yard no food water bank stores phone mostly. Only idéa is if u no anyoné important who can give réfugee status to all thé bresma u.s. kids. We trùly cant keep babys alive water contaminated. This is our only hope -
only private planes allowed. We know its cràzy but can évryone come togethér and find a person to help us like obama? Thé kids r almost américan and will have homes. We try to call all day and cant. Sending this from a strangers blackberry.”

The nation started listening. And the nation said yes.

People started moving, using connections to government officials, social networking, and news networks to raise awareness about the dire need for help. People started moving the seemingly unmovable mountain, and now there’s hope.

Right now, miraculously, the children have been granted admittance to the United States, and organizations (including the Red Cross) are scrambling to get water to the site. Time is running out, though. The children still need a plane to get them from Haiti to the U.S. These children may get their miracle.

Keep saying “yes” to the plight of these precious orphans and their heroic caretakers by visiting www.thatschurch.com to see how you can help.

If you have a plane and are looking to help, email virginia(at)thatschurch.com.

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