This was published in the Holden Landmark on January 28, 2010.

We Have Faith, We Have Hope, and We Have Love

A family’s journey to Haiti to find their daughter

By: Faith Mayer

Faith594@msn.com

RUTLAND – As the days continue to pass with no news of their daughter Britney, Len and CherylAnn Gengel of Watson Lane continue their journey to find their daughter and bring her home.

Visitors, greeted at the door by Britney’s dog Bruno – an ugly mix of a dog with a heart of gold and a really loud snore –  then pass through the kitchen where the Happy Birthday banner still hangs alongside a wall of family pictures. Britney smiles out from many of them her spirit evident even in the still photos. The digital photos scrolling on a computer screen bring her to life even more. Britney was 20 January 21, but her family celebrated with her before she returned to school in January to prepare for her trip to Haiti.

Britney, who was in Haiti at the time of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, is still missing.

“We are preparing for the worst, but hoping for a miracle,” Len Gengel said while watching CNN in his family room for any possible news.

Len and CherylAnn invited the Landmark to their home to hear about Len’s recent trip to Haiti where he traveled to see the devastation first hand and to learn more about where Britney was last seen.

“There is no right or wrong way to go through this, you simply make a plan and stick to it. Our plan is to find our daughter and bring her home,” Gengel said.

Gengel was able to travel to Haiti last Saturday thanks to the help of Congressmen James McGovern and Senator John Kerry.

“You have to know that neither CherylAnn nor I are affiliated with any party, but God bless these two men, along with Lynn University, for making it possible for me to take this trip,” Gengel said.

Although CherylAnn would have loved to have gone as well, she didn’t feel she could leave her two sons behind. She understood Len’s need to go, and sent him off with a prayer.

“Len needed to finish the journey. He had to go or he would never, ever, have been able to live with himself. I’m so thankful that he went, and I’m just as thankful that he’s home now. Him going took that piece of the puzzle and helped us to make some sense of it,” she added.

“I came home with such a deep sense of peace. The people working there….this is their calling. They are so convicted. The only way I can say this is this is their vocation, and God bless them for all they are doing. I know now that they are working tirelessly to find my Brit and all the others and bring them home.”

The journey to Haiti was not an easy one. After arriving home from Florida late Friday evening, Len then turned around and headed back out at 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning. He arrived at the Hotel Montana site at 5 p.m. – An ironic twist as the quake started at 4:53 p.m.

McGovern, unable to fly on a charter plane due to government stipulations, paid for his own journey which began on a red eye at 11 p.m. Friday. He then took a three to four hour bus ride from Santa Domingo to an army base in Port-au-Prince where he met Mr. Gengel. They then took a three hour ride to Haiti and then another hour to the Hotel.

“It literally took us one hour to go four miles with armed cars on the bus and in cars in front and behind us,” Gengel said.

As for the conditions upon arrival, Gengel had this to say.

“Upon arrival, we went right to the U.S. Embassy where we were met by a group of armed guards. Although this surprised me because I simply wasn’t expecting guards, what I will always remember most is the smell. The smell of death and sewage is all around you. Take the smell that we all know from Blackstone Valley at the corner of 146 at Route 2 and multiply that times 1000. I will never forget the things I saw there.”

While in Haiti, Gengel had the opportunity to see the room where Britney was last known to be. The room is still more or less intact, compared to other parts of the Hotel.

“We know for a fact that she was in room 300 at the time of the quake, and she is not there now. When we got to the hotel, Commander General Cintral met us. He and I had a chance to spend some time together. He showed me a picture of his two daughters, one of whom is in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. We stood there  together, two fathers, sharing each other’s pain, and he promised me that he would find my daughter and bring her home,” Gengel said through tears.

Gengel also shares that they were told that there has been a U.S. armed guard on site since within the first 45 minutes of the quake.

“This lay to rest a lot of my fears about her possibly being carried off,” Gengel noted. “I came home with a great sense of peace knowing these people were working for my daughter and all of the others at the Hotel Montana.”

Today, back in Rutland, the Gengel’s continue to hold onto hope and remember their daughter with joy.

“We were both brought up with very strong faith, and it is what I’m counting on now. Our ultimate goal as Christians is to be with God in Heaven and do his work on earth. Brit was doing his work,” CherylAnn said.

 “I also want you to know that people around the world have given us faith and everyone, everywhere is praying. Going for a bagel the other morning, as I’ve done hundreds of times over the years, I kept noticing yellow ribbons. Suddenly it struck me that those are for my daughter. I was just so moved by that,” she added.

Len adds that CherylAnn has a great way of depicting Britney.

“Brit lit up a room with her spirit. She was beautiful from the inside out. An honest kid she’d tell us everything, sometimes, too much. I’d joke with her that I was her mother and she didn’t need to tell me everything because it could get her grounded. Her response was always, ‘but don’t you want to know the truth.’ She was absolutely a no BS kid,” CherylAnn said.

“We raised our kids to do things right and not to go telling people. It’s not about the notoriety, it’s about what we value,” Len added.

Britney was on a trip called the “Journey of Hope.” She was there doing God’s work, something that those who knew her wouldn’t find a bit surprising.

Back in the 8^th grade at Central Tree Middle School, Britney, all 90 pounds of her, took on a bully for a friend.

“A teacher once told me that one of the many reasons they love my daughter is because she’s a fighter. She’ll go to the floor for you. At CTMS, in the 8^th grade, a friend was being picked on by one of the more popular boys in class. Britney went up one side and down the other of the boy and when he started to fight back with her, kids came out of nowhere to back her up. She’s a fighter. We’ve taught our kids that dignity is the most important thing, and she honored that not only in Rutland, but Florida and Haiti as well,” Len said.

One of the last things Britney did that fateful Tuesday was to pass out toothbrushes and toothpaste to the orphans of Haiti. She had received them from a local dentist’s office on her last visit prior to going back to school in January.

“Her roommate, Lindsay, said it made her so happy to see how happy the kids were over such basic needs. It makes me think of Maslow and his pyramid and how even the most basic of needs are not being met there (Haiti),” Gengel said.

Gengel would like to see Haiti back on its’ feet some day, but states the only way this is going to happen is to start with water and sewer and worry about housing later.

“This is truly a world issue, and our kids went to Haiti to help. Haiti is hell on earth. It’s not just what you smell, but it’s what you see, taste, feel and sense. The only way for them to go forward is to take the money being donated and begin with a total new infrastructure and put basic needs in place – without sewers, water and food…it’s hell on earth.”

Will Gengel return to Haiti one day?

“I will go back to bring my daughter home.”

What both CherylAnn and Len want us to remember most about Britney is this:

“We don’t want to make her out to be a saint. She was a normal teenage girl who had all the drama, fun, friends, you could ask for. She was a great kid, she is our shining star.”

A fund in Britney’s name has been set up at the GFA located on 32-4 Pommogussett Rd.  Rutland, MA 01543. The fund is called Britney Gengel’s fund for the poorest of the poor. Donations are now being accepted.

“We did this because so many people have asked us what they can do. We really wanted to start this fund for the poorest of the poor because it’s something Britney loved doing.”

Going forward, the Gengel’s will move on with a positive attitude and faith. Finishing each other’s sentences, Len and CherylAnn had this to say.

“People whom we’ve lost track of over the years; have come to wish us well. I’ve received e-mails from old friends, college roommates, and people around the world saying they don’t know us but they are praying for our daughter. You get caught up in life, and lose track of people, but so many have come back and we’ve picked up right where we left off. We feel the love everywhere we go. The bottom line, Faith, is we have faith, we have hope and we have love.”