From the beginning of our ministry in Haiti three weeks ago, we have been blessed to co-labor with CC Delta (PA).
Here’s a portion of a recent report from their pastor (edited for security).
Please pray for the people of Haiti, and for our own team on the ground there even now:
Beginning soon after the earthquake, our ministry team in Barahona, Dominican Republic, began hosting teams seeking to help the people of Haiti. When traveling through Santo Domingo, Barahona is on the way to Haiti. Thus we’ve have the privilege of being included in some awesome ministry through the various churches that have passed through our house. I flew down last week to spend time with the overseer of the child sponsorship program that we started about 3 years ago. As I was seeking God’s will for our participation in helping Haiti, I thought it was important for me to see the situation and to get input from our staff….
As you know the needs in Haiti are huge. Walking through the “tent cities” and sharing the gospel, our team didn’t experience or observe any situation where they feared for their personal safety. In our limited time in the city, we observed no violence or unruliness. The people were receptive and hospitable to us and several people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was not difficult to find translators.
The people we talked to were hungry. I personally witnessed only two limited food distributions over the four days I was in Port-au-Prince. Many containers of relief supplies have arrived and continue to arrive every day and the people are wondering when and how the supplies will be distributed. Along the roads and in the tent cities, food is available for sale (at greatly inflated prices) but the people have very little money, if any. Almost everyone is unemployed. As a result of the widespread destruction, people are living in tents which are, for the most part, made of sheets & blankets and have been set up in parks and limited open spaces. The rainy season is coming. Sanitary conditions are poor and there are only a few latrines. Limited cleanup work has begun. Many buildings that were not destroyed are damaged and structurally unsound. Traffic is horrible as some roads are blocked completely and others are partially blocked. The hospital where our team of nurses worked was initially disorganized lacking leadership. Food is not provided for patients in the hospital. The families of patients in the hospital are responsible for providing food, so many patients are hungry.
CC Port-au-Prince has established a base camp outside of the city. It is located on a property owned by church members. This property has water, electricity (provided by a generator and inverter), 4 toilets (connected to a septic system), an outside covered area designated as a kitchen, a storage facility, and showers which were under construction when I was there. They are setting up tents to provide protection from mosquitoes and these tents will provide shelter from the coming rain. They are beginning to bring church members out of the city and into the camp as the tents are set up. Their goal is to provide a clean, safe, healthy environment for his church so they can help one another and effectively reach out to their community.
CCOB is one of several CC’s involved in shipping tents and other resources to assist CC P-a-P in this effort. Please check back daily as we post updates and prayer requests from our team!
