Couple tells story of survival after nearly buried

THE DALLES, Ore. - Having dug themselves out of the crushed concrete of their destroyed apartment after last week's devastating earthquake in Haiti, a Northwest couple told their harrowing story of survival now that they're back in the United States.

Rachel Colbourne-Hoffman and her husband, Joel - working for human rights in Haiti - had just gotten off of work last Tuesday and were preparing for a run and a shower on the top floor of their five-story apartment complex when the quake struck.

"When everything stopped, we were laying in the ground in a tiny pocket probably just big enough for two people to lay down in, and [we were] just choking on the dust that was all around us," said Joel on Monday.

Almost naked, the couple staggered through the devastated streets of Port-au-Prince trying to find their way to the American Embassy. Joel's head was split open, and he had a large gash on his left foot. Rachel had suffered a gash on her left arm.

"We were worried about infection, so I made Joel wear one of my shoes on his foot that had this huge open wound on it," Rachel said. "Eventually, he agreed."

They got help from several people along the way but also helped an injured friend.

They said the image of people helping them will stay with them the most.

"A woman driving by gave me a sweatshirt," said Rachel. "A man ran back into his house - it wasn’t stable, there were tremors still going on - to get a shirt. And [the man] gave his shirt to Joel.

"That’s what we experienced: Love and a sense of community and brotherhood from the Haitian people," she said.

They said that out of the more than 60 people who lived in their apartment complex, only five made it out alive.

The couple was four months into a three-year contract in Haiti and said they want to go back, but they are still waiting for their injuries to heal.

"There’s just so much infection and disease right now," said Rachel. "If our wounds got infected, we’d just be another liability there."

"It’s easy to feel a twinge of guilt for leaving, but I think for us it was the right thing to do," said Joel. "We really don’t want to be people who run away and say, 'Hey, I'm done with it.' We want to be invested in Haiti still."

The couple said they'll wait for the Mennonite Central Committee, the human rights group they're working with, to give them the OK to go back.