You know those TV shows that brag about building a house in a week for a family? We need those folks to go do an extreme makeover at the port in Haiti. Listen carefully to the reporters questions… the aid that we can fly in to Haiti is temporary. In order to get large, sustained support to the country we need to help them rebuild their port of entry.
6-12 months to rebuild the docks there? Any way we can do a temporary one in a month so we can get shipments in while a new, earthquake-proof dock is built?
In other news, I received this update from Tim See. He was a missionary from our former church in Romeo who grew up in Haiti. He is headed back soon to help in the planning/logistics efforts since he knows the language and culture well.
Surely, there are thousands of stories like this. Forgive me if this feels like a repeat.
The pictures on TV are so familiar to us – the presidential palace – the shacks – the airport – lots of people. Then there it was on ABC – the mission station on the side of a mountain and the seminary building that my Dad had built on the Bolosse campus over 50 years ago. The earthquake had taken out the front porch and you could see all the rubble. This building was much closer to the epicenter than the totally collapsed presidential palace that we have seen on TV.
I spent most of my first 13 years in Haiti, and 3 of those were right there at Bolosse – only 9 miles from the epicenter. Since then, this training center has equipped many hundreds of Pastors to reach out to their own people – and even to other people groups as far away as Africa. The campus normally houses just over 100 people but as of tonight they are hosting over 2000. Almost everyone is sleeping outside. Food is in short supply but water is critical right now. Yet it is not uncommon to hear the people singing praises to God!
Chris and I enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon in Haiti 37 years ago. Then we returned and lived with my older brother Roger and his family (with Crossworld – formerly Unevangelized Fields Mission) for three months. Roger and I designed and built a large school for Haitian children about 50 miles from the epicenter.
Roger spent most of his life in Haiti. I just spoke to him on the phone this evening. He is planning on flying back to Haiti this Tuesday. Roger is fluent in French, and Creole – both of which are spoken in Haiti, and he is an excellent organizer – a skill that is in desperate need in Haiti right now. All commercial passenger flights to Haiti have been cancelled, but Roger is planning on flying into the country in a small mission plane with Missionary Flights International. Roger said that he has his flights paid for already, but he would like to take enough cash with him (in small bills) to help provide critical supplies. Please ask the Lord to provide for that need – and pray for Roger’s safety especially as he crosses the entire city of Port-au-Prince to get to Bolosse.
New Tribes Mission does not work in Haiti, but if you would like to get more information about what is happening to the believers in there, check out www.crossworld.org . They are updating their web site daily with information they are receiving via satellite from the campus where Roger will be working.
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