Yesterday, a new Sister Church arrived in Haiti for their first visit. How exciting! Today, they will be going out to their Sister Church in Boyer, Haiti. (Pronounced, Bwayay) Pray for the team from Church on the Cape. Pray for the church members in Boyer. Pray for our missionary team as they host and facilitate this visit.
Rob
September 27, 2008
The road is very difficult to get to the village. We had built a new road but now it has been washed away. The front part of Morency church has a section that was damaged also. It was the same for the district churches too. Many church members lost their gardens, houses and animals. Here are the details for each church in the district.
Morency Church:
· 15 damaged homes.
· 12 animals died
· 18 gardens washed away.
Bonodo Church:
· 6 damaged homes.
· 5 animals died
· 9 gardens washed away.
Laurent Church:
· 5 damaged homes.
· 6 animals died.
· 14 gardens washed away.
Bergeaud Church:
· 10 damaged homes.
· 12 animals died.
· 10 gardens washed away.
The main needs we have for the Morency District are home repairs and food.
Pastor Jean Robert Brunache
September 26, 2008
As is the case of many towns in Haiti the hurricanes caused a lot of damage in Ducis. The river was flooded and no one was able to cross. We had a lot of damage in all the district churches too. The school in Ducis is in very bad shape too. Here are the details for each church:
Ducis Church:
· 2 damaged homes and 4 flooded homes.
· 29 gardens washed away.
· No loss of animals.
Riviere des Mones Church:
· 30 gardens washed away.
· 10 damaged homes.
· The road to that church was totally washed away.
Bouette Church:
· The church had a section that leaked a lot and needs replacing.
· 2 damaged homes.
· 5 animals died.
· 30 gardens washed away.
Leprette Church:
· 1 damaged home.
· 10 gardens washed away.
· 5 animals died.
The main needs we have for the Ducis district are home repairs and food.
Pastor Jacques Anthony Moise
September 30, 2008
The road from Cafou Charles to Corail has had a lot of damage because of the different Hurricanes that affected Haiti. At the Corail church we had a section of the new construction on the church building that was totally destroyed by the Hurricane. The town was flooded and many of the church members had a tough time. This is true for all the district churches also. Praise the Lord, there was no loss of life.
Corail Church:
· 3 damaged homes.
· 100 gardens washed away.
· 10 animals died.
Fond Bayard Church:
· The parsonage was severely damaged as well as 3 other church members homes.
· 20 gardens washed away.
· There was no loss of animals.
Timassette Church:
· 10 damaged homes.
· 33 gardens washed away.
· 16 goats died.
Fondicaque Church:
· 2 damaged homes.
· 17 animals died.
· 12 gardens washed away.
Marion Church:
· 2 damaged homes.
· 18 gardens washed away.
· 10 animals died.
The main needs we have for the Corail district are home repairs and food.
Pastor Predelma Dor
September 25, 2008
The hurricanes caused many damages in the Coteaux district. Here are the details.
Coteaux Baptist Church:
· 30 damaged homes.
· 40 animals died
· 65 gardens washed away.
Roche a Bateaux Church:
· 20 damaged homes.
· 20 animals died.
· 50 gardens washed away.
Duval Baptist Church:
· 3 damaged homes.
· 20 gardens washed away.
· 15 animals died.
Damassin Baptist Church:
· 17 damaged homes.
· 15 animals died.
· 46 gardens washed away.
Lamarre Baptist Church:
· The parsonage was severely damaged as well as 4 other church members homes.
· 17 animals died.
· 50 gardens washed.
Muyette Baptist Church:
· 50 bags of cement was lost that was bought for construction work for the church.
· 6 animals died.
· 28 gardens washed away.
The main needs for the Coteaux district are home repairs and food.
Pastor Romelus Jean Tatho
September 25, 2008
We had some damage in the district of Cance. Many of the church members lost their gardens and some animals. Praise the Lord there was no loss of life. This a general report of the details:
Cance Baptist Church:
· 5 damaged homes.
· 21 animals died.
· 20 gardens washed away.
Miserne Baptist Church:
· 3 damaged homes.
· 15 gardens washed away.
· 6 animals died.
Foge Baptist Church:
· 5 damaged homes.
· 35 gardens washed away.
· 20 animals died.
Barthe Baptist Church:
· The church was severely damaged by the Hurricanes as well as 6 church member's homes.
· 38 gardens washed away.
· 15 animals died.
The main needs we have in the Cance district are home repair and repair of the church at La Barthe.
Pastor Maxilorme Moise
September 25, 2008
The town of Baradere was totally flooded during the Hurricanes. We had about 4 feet of water inside the church. We housed many church members in the Parsonage because their homes were severely damaged by the Hurricanes.
Baradere:
· 25 damaged homes.
· 100 gardens washed away.
· 50 animals died.
Pederin:
· 1 church member died as a result of the hurricanes. His brother is a deacon in Baradere church.
· 6 damaged homes.
· 75 gardens washed away.
· 25 animals died.
Grand Boukan:
· 15 damaged homes.
· 15 gardens washed away.
· 20 animals died.
Riviere Salee:
· The church was severely damaged by the Hurricanes.
· 8 damaged homes.
· 13 animals died.
· 63 gardens washed away.
The main needs we have for the Baradere district are home repairs and food. Please pray for us as there is still water in the town.
Pastor Leon Bonhomme.
September 25, 2008
We had a lot of damage in Beaumont and the district. Many of the church members lost their homes, gardens and animals. Praise the Lord there was no loss of life. These are details:
Beaumont church:
· 6 damaged homes.
· 8 destroyed homes.
· 100 gardens washed away.
· 8 animals died.
Aucentre Church:
· 25 damaged homes.
· 32 animals died.
· 105 gardens washed away.
Belance Church:
· 19 damaged homes.
· 9 animals died.
· 200 gardens washed away.
Dilagon Church:
· The Parsonage had some damage as well as 4 church member homes.
· 78 gardens washed away.
· 28 animals died.
Debarriere church:
· The church was totally destroyed.
· 55 gardens washed away.
· 20 animals died.
Larrieux Church:
· The church was totally destroyed as well as 3 church member homes.
· 28 gardens washed away.
· 10 animals died.
Chadonnettes Church:
· 15 damaged homes.
· 25 gardens washed away.
· 10 animals died.
The main needs for the Beaumont district are home repairs and medical care. Some people have disease after hurricanes by the water they are drinking.
Pastor Emmanuel Visene
We had a lot of damage in Picot and the district churches. We had some damage to the road that goes to the district churches. Here are the details for each church.
Picot Baptist Church:
· 35 damaged homes.
· 57 gardens washed away.
· 17 animals died. Praise the Lord there was no loss of life.
Laroche Baptist church:
· 42 damaged homes.
· 61 gardens washed away.
· About 20 animals died. No loss of life.
Les Rois Baptist church:
· 26 damaged homes,
· 39 gardens washed away and
· About 19 animals died.
Bouffard Baptist church:
· 24 damaged homes.
· 47 gardens washed away and
· 9 animals died. There was no loss of life.
The most important need we have for the district of Picot now is home repairs.
Pastor Calixte Dorval (MEBSH)
September 21st, 2008
The hurricanes caused a lot damage on the road to Astruck. Praise the Lord we did not have any loss of life but many of the church members lost their gardens and animals. The details are below.
Astruct Baptist church:
· 8 damaged homes
· 23 gardens washed away.
· 5 animals died.
Morisseau Church:
· 3 damaged homes.
· 3 animals died
· 3 gardens washed away.
Moinson Baptist church:
· 4 animals died.
· Many gardens washed away.
· The road from Astruct to Morne Occo has been damaged.
Clery Baptist church:
· 1 home destroyed and 1 damaged.
· 3 animals died.
· The Church members lost all their gardens.
Ravine Sable Baptist church:
· 13 damaged homes.
· 2 animals died.
· 3 gardens washed away.
The main needs we have for the district now are home repairs and food.
Pastor Romelus Guillaume.
September 20th, 2008
As you know the road was severely damage by the hurricanes. It is very difficult for a vehicle to get from Port-a-Piment to Tiburon. However we have heard that the company that was paving the roads here in the south are going to repair it. Now we have about 1200 people living in the church.
In the whole district there are:
· 197 damaged homes for the whole district
· 49 homes have been destroyed.
· 600 hundred animals died.
In the Kass district there were 2 kids who were not church members that died.
The most important needs we have for Les Anglais and the district churches are the home repairs.
Pastor Dieusseul Jean Pierre
September 19th, 2008
The town of Chambellan was severely touched by the different Hurricanes that flooded Haiti. Many church members lost their animals and gardens. Five people died in the town. There is a section of the road from Cayes to Jeremie that was washed out by the river water but we think that vehicles can still use it. Below are the details of the affected churches.
Chambellan church:
· 15 damaged houses.
· 2 houses that were destroyed.
· 5 people died in the town of Chambellan but there were no deaths in the church.
· Many church members lost their gardens and animals.
Source Chaude church:
· A section of the church was damaged.
· Two people died but none from the church.
· 5 damaged houses.
· 28 animals died.
· Many church members lost their gardens.
For Chainault church:
· 8 houses damaged.
· 2 houses destroyed.
· 16 animals died.
· The Church members lost all their gardens.
For Julie Church:
· 6 houses damaged.
· 2 houses were destroyed.
· 10 animals died.
· The Church members lost many of their gardens.
The most important needs we have for Chambellan district is food and home repairs.
Pastor Jean Benoit
September 19th, 2008
The road from Miragoane to Anse-a-Veau had lot of damage. In the Anse-a-Veau church, we have had some damage in the parsonage. The roof leaked a lot and we need to replace some of the tin.
For the whole district including Anse-a-Veau we have:
· 33 damaged houses in the district, one of them is the parsonage in Perrien church..
· 39 animals died in the district and 11 of them belonged to church members in Anse-a-Veau.
· 36 gardens were washed away in Anse-a-Veau and the district..
The most important needs we have for Anse-a-Veau church now is home repairs and food.
Pastor Dieusseul Malbranche
09/18/08
We have had a lot of damage in Abricot and in the district. However, the road from Jeremie to Abricot is still in good condition. We had a lot of water inside the church as a result of the rains. We also lost many gardens and animals in the district.
To summarize:
· 4 damaged houses in the town.
· 3 damaged church member homes.
· 55 gardens were washed away.
· 19 animals died.
The most important needs we have for the church and the district now is home repairs and food.
Pastor Yves Renous Mathurin
At the Lacolline church we had a lot of water inside the parsonage.
In Lacolline:
· We have 6 damaged houses.
· 22 animals died
· 3 gardens were washed away.
Labatre Satellite Church:
· 2 damaged houses.
· Many church members lost their gardens and animals.
Mapou Satellite Church:
· 3 damaged houses.
· Loss of many animals and gardens.
Bel-Air Satellite Church:
· Many damaged houses.
· 35 animals died.
· Many church members lost their garden.
The main needs we have now for the Lacolline area is home repairs and food.
Pastor Destin Dorval
September 18th, 2008
The road from Aux Coteaux to Tiburon has a lot of damage and it is very difficult now for vehicles to use. Praise the Lord, the government has a foreign company that is working on road repair. A section of the wall that protects the church from the river has fallen down. Many church members have lost their homes, gardens and animals. Here are the details.
· In the entire district we have had 3 people die. These people were not church members.
· 45 houses were destroyed.
· 59 damaged homes.
· 203 lost animals.
The main needs in the Tiburon district now are home repairs, and food.
Pastor Roland Lundy
The road from Vieux Bourge in the Aquin area to Lievre is in very bad shape right now. We have had a lot of damage in the Lievre area. Praise the Lord there was no loss of life but many of the church members lost their gardens and animals. As a general report for the whole district we have:
· 60 damaged homes.
· 70 gardens washed away.
· 65 animals died.
The most important need we have for the District Church and the Satellite churches now is home repairs and food.
Pastor Onor Toussaint
The road from Les Cayes to Jeremie had some damage because the floods washed it away in some areas.
The MEBSH church at Les Irois has some leaks in the building and the outhouse is almost gone. We had 20 damaged homes. The members lost all their gardens and animals.
In the Mandou area 4 members' homes were damaged, 10 animals died, and all the gardens were washed away. The Parsonage at Mandou is very bad after the hurricanes. Praise the Lord they are working on the new parsonage.
In Kakas there were two members' homes that were destroyed, 5 damaged homes and 8 animals that died. All of their gardens were destroyed.
In the Miyonne area the church and the parsonage were totally destroyed. The floods totally washed the buildings away. The members had 16 damaged homes, 18 animals died, and all the gardens were washed away. Miyonne area is really in bad shape.
In Jorge, there were 19 damaged homes, 6 animals died and the gardens were washed totally away.
The greatest needs in the Les Irois district are home repairs and food.
Pastor Sainprival
The road from Cayes to Port-a-Piment has a section that was washed out. Praise the Lord, we have a company that is working on the road now to repair it.
This is a general report I have for the whole district:
· 6 church members' homes were destroyed.
· 38 members' homes were damaged.
· 24 member's animals died.
· The Port-a-Piment school had two class rooms that leaked a lot.
· The church of Zoren had a section of the roof that was destroyed during the Hurricanes.
The greatest needs in the Port a Piment Church District are house repairs and food.
Pastor Yvon Vertue.
WOW! One of our missionaries, Jenn, just forwarded this to me. The video was put together by an orphanage group in Jacmel, Haiti. I think this will give you some idea as to the destruction that Haiti has experienced recently.
Rob
From: MEBSH Church at Astruck, Haiti. September 16, 2008
To: Arlington Heights E. Free Church, USA
Subject: Introduction.
I greet you in the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How are you doing? I hope that everything is going well for you.
I am very happy to write you this letter just to congratulate you for the good work you have done through the MEBSH mission in the Sister Church Program.
My name is Pastor Louinel Guillaume, I was born on the July 24th, 1970. I have been a Pastor for 10 years. I was Pastor of three churches before coming to . I have been here for about a month. I am also a technician in Agriculture and Veterinary medicine. My wife's name is Jeanine Orgella. She was born on March 9th, 1970. She loves the Lord and serves Him here at our church as well as in nursing. God has richly blessed my family and has given us 6 children. Two of our children are adopted.
Our children are:
1- Robert Milord Guillaume was born on August 13th, 1985 and is in the second year of high school.
2- Eveline Guillaume was born on August 13th, 1995, and is in the third grade in primary school.
3- Anne Beraca Guillaume was born on September 4th, 2000 and is in the third grade in primary school.
4- Louis Orphe Guillaume was born on March 14th, 2002 and is in the first grade in primary school.
5- Louimene Noa Guillaume was born on September 4th, 2004 and is the second year of kindergarten.
6- Christella Guillaume was born on June 26th, 2008.
Again, I am very happy that God entrusted me to be the pastor of the MEBSH Church at Astruk because I see that they are very good people there and they have worked well in partnership with you in Arlington Heights. I am looking forward to working with you as my sister church as we seek more people for Jesus.
Pastor Louinel Guillaume
September 15, 2008
From: Pastor Saint Julien Hyppolite
To: Calvary Baptist Church
The new Pastor at Dame-Marie is Pastor Saint Julien Hyppolite. He has been in Ministry for 19 years working with MEBSH churches. His recent church was near Bon Finn at Ka Mark where he spent 4 years. His wife's name is Magda Domnique Hyppolite and she is a servant of the Lord. She likes working with her husband in the Ministry. She teaches students how to cook and also teaches art work. They have eight (8) children, five (5) girls and three (3) boys. Four children are living with them in Dame Marie, three are in the Dominican Republic and one is in Port-au-Prince. They are grandparents to one grandson.
Pastor Saint Julien is very happy for his new assignment in Dame Marie that God has entrusted him. Pastor Saint Julien is happy to be a witness and obey God in whatever is asked of him. He has been at Dame Marie for a short while now and likes the town very much but realizes he has a lot of work to do in the church. Please pray that he will be guided in how to lead the people of the MEBSH church in Dame Marie.
Pastor Saint Julien knows you are coming with a team in November and it looking forward to meeting you all and sharing a good time with you.
Report prepared by Benjamin Altima
September 15, 2008
Dear Our Savior’s Lutheran Church,
As a result of the hurricanes that passed through this area we have had a lot of damage in the town of Les Anglais. Part of the church wall was broken. Many of the church members lost their homes, gardens, and animals. Praise the Lord we had no loss of life. We received many people in the church because their houses were totally destroyed by the Hurricanes.
Please pray for the church members in Les Anglais because there are many needs however, we believe that God will provide.
May God bless and protect you!
Pastor Marc Dieuseul Jean Pierre
This is a shot of the broken area of the wall at the back of the church yard.
This is a shot of where the wall is broken up near the little house that the pastor is building for himself.
This is another shot of the broken wall near the pastor's new house.
September 15, 2008
Dear Hope E. Free Church,
As a result of the hurricanes and tropical storms in Haiti we now have many problems in the Beaumont area. Many church members have lost their gardens and animals and some have lost their houses. Praise the Lord we were able to receive some people in the church as well as the Hospital too. We have had many houses destroyed in the district churches too. The two churches at Dilagon and Grand Barriere were destroyed by "Hurricane Hanna" also.
Please pray for us that God will provide our needs here in Beaumont.
May God bless you!
Pastor Emmanuel Visne
September 13, 2008
Dear Calvary Baptist Church,
We have had damage in Dame-Marie and the district churches as a result of the recent hurricanes in that have passed through the northern Caribbean. In Dame-Marie there were 11 houses that were destroyed. Petit Riviere district had 7 houses destroyed by the storms. In Bariadelle another 11 houses were destroyed. Please pray for us because our situation are very difficult.
Please pray for us that God will provide our needs.
May God bless you!
Pastor Hyppolite Saint Julien.
September 13, 2008,
Dear Grace Lutheran Church,
I am Pastor Romelus Jean Tatho, the Pastor of Coteaux Baptist church. I am taking this opportunity to share with you about the damages caused by the different hurricanes that affected Haiti. We have had a lot of damage in Aux Coteaux. The town was flooded and we had about 16 houses that were damaged with two of them being destroyed. Many of the church members lost their gardens and lot of animals. They also lost many of their personal possessions.
Many people are concerned because they don’t know how they will provide for their families and school will star soon to add to their financial burden.
The same thing happened at many of the district churches too. I was talked to several of the pastors by phone and they said that they have suffered a lot of damage as a result of the hurricanes also.
I know there are problems almost everywhere in world, but the situation in Haiti is very difficult. Please lift Aux Coteaux in prayer, not only our church but the whole town. Please pray that God will provide our needs and protect us from any more storms.
May God bless you and protect you.
Pastor Jean Tatho Romelus
September 13, 2008
Dear Drycreek Bible Church,
We have had a lot of damage in Lacolline and the district churches caused by the Hurricanes that have passed through Haiti recently. We have 6 church members’ houses that were destroyed and several more with damage. Many members lost their gardens and animals. We also had some flooding of the church and parsonage. The school toilet was destroyed also. Three classrooms were destroyed too.
The district church at Bazelais was damaged too. Many church members in that area lost their gardens and animals also.
Please, pray for Lacolline district. We are trusting God to provide our needs.
May God bless you and guide you.
Pastor Destin Dorval
Lacolline Baptist Church.
Pastor Gerard Formond
Bazelais Baptist Church.
September 13th 2008
Dear Sunrise Community Church
As a result of the Hurricanes that have passed through Haiti this year we have many problems in Morency. The storms destroyed many of the church members’ gardens and killed their animals. Also we have had 35 houses that were destroyed by the Hurricanes. We had made a new road down the mountain for cars and motorcycles but the road was totally destroyed. The front part of the church was damaged too.
Please pray for the Morency Church members as they are in a difficult situation now. We believe God will take care of us and provide our needs.
May God bless you and protect you!
Pastor Jean Robert Brunache.
September 13, 2008
Dear Second Cape May Baptist Church,
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Port-a-Piment has a very difficult situation because of the different Hurricanes that have passed by Haiti. The Port-a-Piment church had water all around it. We had 6 church members’ houses that were totally destroyed. We also had some homes in the area that were flooded and everything got wet inside. We now have 5 families living in our school because water destroyed their homes.
In the satellite churches of Zoren, Guillaume and Dolian church there was the same problems. However the Pastors of those churches still cannot cross the river.
Please pray for the Church members who lost their homes that God will provide them a way to rebuild them. We are praying for you that God will bless you and protect you.
Pastor Yvon Vertu.
Dear Crossroad United Methodist Church,
September 12, 2008
As a result of hurricanes that have moved through this area of the Caribbean, Tiburon has received a lot of damage. The storms washed away many of the gardens and many animals have been killed. The people here now have many problems. It is very difficult for the men and women of Tiburon to provide the needs of their families. There have been a total of 45 houses that have been destroyed in the area and another 59 that have had damages. Part of the wall that surrounds the church was broken also. We have had a lot of damage in the district churches too. The road from Port-a-Piment to Tiburon is in bad shape now and is impassable. Praise the Lord the government says they are going to repair the road before you come in October.
Please, pray for us here in Tiburon. We are trusting God to provide our needs and we are praying for your trip and believe that God will give us a good time together again this year.
Pastor Roland Lundy.
As you are well aware, Haiti has undergone the worse flooding probably in its history. The flooding and destruction has been nationwide. I cannot remember this happening before. The reports we are getting from our sister churches are heart wrenching as we hear of the complete destruction of crops and the tremendous loss of livestock in so many areas. Many have lost their homes and belongings. Some have lost loved ones. Thankfully, it seems the loss of life has been minimal in the areas where we minister.
Our team in Haiti has been meeting with as many pastors as they can to get information as well as find out how we can best help them in this time of need. They have also met with the Executive Committee of the MEBSH to gather their input and advice as to how to best help their churches during this very difficult time. As they have gathered this information, one theme has been echoed by many. The pastors have shared that although food is a great need for the people, it can be bought in most every area at this time. Rice, beans, etc are available locally.
The real issue is the funds to purchase the food. Another aspect that many brought out is that many people might have greater needs than food at this time. Many have had their homes damaged or washed away entirely. Many have no problem with their home, but due to water getting into the home have lost many of their possessions, clothes, etc.. Again, funds would be a better solution for them than a bag of rice at this time. Another consideration is that funds can be distributed much more quickly and in a more orderly fashion than can food. Still another consideration has been the local economic benefit that an influx of funds would supply.
After several conference calls between the team in Haiti and Rob and I, we have determined together what we feel is the best course of action.
Therefore, we are now asking our Sister Churches that are desirous and able to help with relief to send funds through RMI to be distributed to each Sister Church. As mentioned before, to help join the relief effort, RMI will not be assessing our typical 10% administrative fee.
The RMI team in Haiti will get the funds exchanged into Haitian currency and then distribute the funds to each Sister Church Pastor. The Pastor will then meet with the church leadership committee to determine how the funds will be divided up depending on where the greatest needs are.
Recipient families will be given money to help them with their specific needs. A report will be given back to RMI from each Sister Church on who the funds were given to and how the funds were used. These reports will then be forwarded back to each donating church. As you can imagine, we are working hard to address the issues of security, transparency and accountability throughout this effort.
How much aid is needed for each church? I am afraid the answer is whatever God provides. One way to present this to your people is for a family to help a family. A 50lb bag of rice, a 20lb bag of beans, and a gallon of cooking oil together would cost about $110 US. So for $110, a family here in the US can potentially help a family in Haiti with food that would last quite a while for them. Again, please be aware that the funds will be divided up on site according to need and situation and not exactly according to the above. The funds could also potentially be used to purchase other food items, clothes, transportation, medical care, agricultural supplies, livestock, roof and house repairs, etc.. Yes, the needs are great! Hopefully this gives you a guideline for you and your congregation as you seek to “do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." ”.
If you are a member of a Sister Church, please contact your church's RMI Sister Church Program Coordinator to find our if your church is collecting funds. If so, you can give through your church.
If you are not able to give through an RMI Sister Church, you can give individually by sending a check to RMI or by giving online. Your funds will be used to provide relief as our RMI team in Haiti deems appropriate.
Dan
Happy Birthday McKenna Moses!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to McKenna, Happy Birthday to you!
May the Lord richly bless you this day.
As we move about in Les Cayes today, we see the sun shining, people are going about their business and things seem to have returned to normal. However, this is not the case.
We thought that when it quit raining, the rivers would subside, the roads would dry up, and things would return to normal...well at least normal for Haiti. We received news yesterday that in the town of Miragoane there is a big problem. Miragoane is on the northern coast of the southern penninsula about halfway between Les Cayes and Port-au-Prince. Some of you might remember it as the place where they had a restaurant in the middle of the road. About 2 miles outside of town towards Port there is a river that flows across the road and into a large lake. That river flooded, the lake filled and flooded, and the road has disappeared. For a while people would arrive there and shut down their engines and then pay to have their vehicles pushed across the river so as not to flood out their engines. Then it got too deep for that and the people would ride across in buses. Then it got too deep for that. The next solution was to arrive at the river/lake and pay to be ferried across in a boat where they would then board another bus and continue on. Not too many days ago a boat capsized because there were too many people aboard and two people died. Now the UN has completely shut down the road there, even to the extent of putting up chains to prevent people from trying to cross.
The problem is that the lake has no outflow. There is no drainage for the lake. The water will stay across the road until it evaporates. Unless they come up with some kind of solution it could be a long time until the road opens again.
What does this mean for Les Cayes and southern Haiti? This means that all traffic going out the southern penninsula will shut down. As a result everything in Les Cayes and southern Haiti will be in short supply and more expensive. We tried to fill the tanks of our vehicles today and there is no diesel for sale. We also tried to fill our gas cans with gas and they will not sell gas that way. They will only sell gas if you put it into a motorcycle or car. We are going to town today to try to stock up against shortages. This is the first I've ever heard of stocking up after a hurricane. Please pray for RMI missionaries and staff and for your Sister Churches as we don't know what the next days will bring.
God bless you!
Dear Centerpoint Church,
I am writing to report the situation of the MEBSH Church at Corail. We have had some problems in the town of Corail as a result of the hurricanes and tropical storms that passed through Haiti. The town was flooded and some of the Church members had to stay in the church and in the school. Praise the Lord we had no loss of life. Please, pray for us that God will provide our needs.
May God richly bless you!
Pastor Predelma Dor
Dear Harper Church,
We have had many serious problems in the Les Irois district. There were a lot of damages caused by Hurricane Hanna. To begin with the road into Les Irois has suffered a lot of damage. Several of the members of the MEBSH church lost their gardens and their houses. Some of the people in Les Irois died but we don’t know yet how many. We have a report that one member of the Miyonne church died and that the church and parsonage were destroyed. Also the church and parsonage in Galette Potonier were totally destroyed too.
All the people in the Les Irois district are facing difficult times right now. Please pray for us and the district churches that God will provide our needs.
May God bless you and protect you!
Yesterday morning we took a trip out to Boyer to see how the roads are and to visit with the Pastor Soni about the U.S. Sister Church's upcoming trip. We had a great time with Pastor Soni and he showed us all around.
The road out was very good. Most of the way is paved. When we left the paved road, the dirt road was in surprisingly good condition. Only the last few miles after we passed the town of Seant Jan (pronounced Saint Jean) were bad. And they weren't that bad. A couple of places we drove through some standing water and then slid along in a little mud. However we never had to put the vehicle into 4-wheel drive.
Below are some pictures that Gary McLaughlin took.
When Jimmy Buffet wrote the song "Lone Palm", I don't think he was talking about this one.
There was some wind and rain but the road is in pretty good shape.
A market on the road to Boyer. Yes, that is a rearview mirror in the middle of the picture.
MEBSH Church at Boyer
Planning for the U.S. Sister Church visit.
Some school rooms may be used as a dining hall & sleeping area.
Area between parsonage & church.
Boyer Yacht Club: Sorry rentals are a little slim!
Only one way out to the Ocean.
Pastor Soni, Jules, and Billy ask,"Now where are we going to put all these people?"
A school room will work...nice and cool!
They have a nice big church building.
Pastor Soni and Madame Pastor are preparing for and looking forward to you visit.
The sky outside is gray. The sounds I hear are chirping birds and water dripping. Yes, it's another soggy day in Cayes, Haiti.
Hurricane Ike passed to the north of Haiti yesterday. We were spared the wind, but we got plenty of rain...again.
There wasn't flooding like there was during Hanna, just a muggy wet day. It was cooler, but when I looked at the digital read out on my gage for humidity, it just said "high".
We are headed out to visit one of the churches close by. They are a new sister church whose team will be coming at the end of September. We will see a bit of the country as well as the general condition of the roads. I hope to post more this evening.
This morning, the RMI Board of Directors joined together over the airwaves for our monthly conference call for Prayer.
As you can imagine, we spent time praying for the flooding situation in Haiti. We prayed for friends of RMI that have struggled with medical challenges. We prayed for our missionaries. We prayed for our US Sister Churches.
Would you join us in praying for RMI and our brothers and sisters during these days?
Rob
Wilfred Fanfan is RMI Haiti's man for the project. He and another man rode out to Dame Marie and spent some time working on the roof of the church.
Wilfred says that there are no leaks but that all the tin for the roof should be replace. Below are some pictures of the work they did.
Looks Great! But there are problems.
Lots of sweat in this project!
A Haitian Sawhorse. (On Sunday we call them pews)
Treating the wood with Zincomat to protect it from termites.
Repairing the main beam.
Replacing the wood.
Who needs a shade tree? Just wear a big hat!
Men anpil, shay pa lou (many hands make light work)
Teamwork!
Just another day at the office.
Now where did that nail go?
Crowning the church #1
Crowning the church #2
A warm thank you from the pastor's family.
My heart and my mind are troubled. As may be the case for you, I have been thinking, feeling, and praying for the Haitian people. Names come to mind of people I have met in the context of my own Sister Church Partnership. They are undoubtedly struggling making it through each day.
Close your eyes, Imagine what it might be like, paint that picture. (It will be hard to imagine if you haven't been with the Haitian people in Haiti). Your home flooded. Everything you own has been saturated with water. You have no resources to go and replace that which this has been ruined. Cooking is difficult with wet charcoal. Supplies (gas, food) reaching your area has been cut off by washed out roads. Vehicles have been flooded out and our unusable. Your animals and crops have been obliterated. From my comfortable chair in my living room, I can't begin to imagine.
I read Galatians 6:9-10. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
It is within the context of a RMI Sister Church Partnership that we are able to do exactly this!
Note: we are working on a plan to provide relief. We will certainly post when we have something to share.
May He lead us as we seek to do good, especially to our extended family...
Rob
I received this letter fro the Port a Piment pastor.
From: Port-a-Piment Baptist Church.
To : Second Cape May Baptist, (USA).
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
In the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the deacons of our church here and I greet all of you.
We are very happy each time we have the opportunity to write you and share some information with you. We always pray for you that we will a good ministry together, because we have one purpose. That purpose is to work for the kingdom of God.
Last week we had "Hurricane Gustav" here in Haiti. We praise the Lord that there was no loss of life. However, many of our church members lost their animals and their gardens. Please pray for them.
I don't really have enough words to thank you for your help and your support. Also thank you very much for the recent gift you sent for us here. The Pastors of the district churches are very happy for that and they say thank you very much.
May the Lord who has all the power bless you more everyday and give you good health and protection.
Once again thank you very much.
Pastor Yvon Vertue
After the craziness that was Hurricane Gustav, and then the surprise that was called Hanna, we have had a nice day. The temperature was warm and the humidity was high. We have a mission center and a steam bath, all in the same location.
We have had one problem. The pump that brings the water out of the well and up to the cistern for our houses went out. We have been trying to get it replaced for the last several days, but it's hard to get someone to work on the well while there is a tropical storm. The water quit about 6pm last night and it is now 6pm. The power just came on and I will go and check it out...well so far still no water. We are surviving by using water that we are trucking up from our depot in drums. It is a pain, but you do what you have to...especially when you want a cup of coffee in the morning.
I just looked at the radar and though it still shows Hanna lurking about and still sucking up moisture from the Caribbean we have somewhat of a sunset out to the west. However if you look to the North there are some strange cloud formations. Will it ever stop? Probably not, but then again we are just 'Tryin' to reason with hurricane season". Tune your guitar and play that one for me parrot heads.
Billy Moses
I was glad to hear of the receding flood waters today. The rain has stopped for the moment in the Cayes area. The rivers are starting to go back to their banks. However, it is now raining in the mountains and more rain seems to be on the way as we look at the Caribbean Satellite view.
http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm15/caribbeansatellite_large.html
Several of our Haitian staff had water come into their homes, some over 3 feet deep. With no where to go as their neighbors are in the same situation, it means much loss of personal effects. What a tough place to be. As you have read below in other posts, the whole area has been inundated with flood waters.
So keep praying for our Christian brothers and sisters. Their misery is just starting as they try to salvage what they can from their homes, their crops and their animals. This is the situation for the ENTIRE country.
Pray for us as we figure out how best to provide avenues for you to help your sister churches and RMI in the midst of these difficult times in Haiti.
One of the biggest problems will be getting around as roads will be washed away, blocked by mud slides, high rivers, etc. What a mess it will be for a while.
Keep praying!
Dan Shoemaker
I got this letter from the Pastor of the church in Baradere.
From: Baradere Baptist Church.
To: Creekside Comm E.F Church, USA.
Subject: Information.
Dear friends,
I greet you in the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How are things going in your church? I hope that everything is well with you.
Our activities here are going very well. We still have good spiritual activities in our church and they are going very well. All the groups in the church are working well too. We keep working very hard in our parsonage project and have made good progress, but we still have lot to do.
Hurricane Gustav caused many problems in Baradere. The town flooded and many people had no place to stay. All the gardens were washed away many animals were lost. Praise the Lord we were able to use the parsonage as a safe place to receive many people for one week.
In one week school is going to start. The parents thank you very much for the help you provide for school. Thank you for your prayers and we trust God will provide for our needs. Please continue to pray for us as we continue praying for you too.
We are looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.
May God richly bless you and protect you.
Pastor Leon Bonhomme.
This is a report we just got from YWAM in Gonaives, north of Port au Prince. Quite a long way from our missionaries and sister churches, but it paints a picture of the current situation right now all over Haiti.
"Hanna is not letting up. There are heavy rains and winds in St. Marc with trees coming down and flooding, but in Gonaives the news is very bad!
Maula, YWAM Director there, just called very concerned as homes near them have collapsed! It had many people on top of it seeking refuge from the high flood waters. Maula estimates that the waters are 15 foot or higher and rising as of 4pm Eastern Time. The first floor of the YWAM Base has been submerged since 2:30 last night! The YWAM Centers three story building is standing solid for now but water were cresting the second floor now and the rains are continuing with great strength!
Pray for the YWAMers and citizens of Gonaives.
Reports are coming through phone calls that the countryside is being divested! Homes are being blown away and large numbers of homes have lost their roofs. The people have no shelter and are hanging on to whatever they can find.
Pray for Haiti!"
We just received the following email from Rod Wray. The pictures were taken by Tim Wray. The Wrays are fellow missionaries working in Haiti that live on the mission center with our RMI missionaries.
"Poor Haiti is really suffering this year, having been hit by Hurricane Fay, Hurricane Gustav and now by Hurricane Hannah. All three of these storms have deposited a lot of rain, but over the past 12 hours Hannah has dumped so much rain on Haiti that people in our area are saying that this is the worst flooding that they can ever remember.
These pictures are all courtesy of Tim Wray.
These are the corn fields down below our house
This is the college where we just poured the new sports courts. You can see the volleyball nets in the background
hundreds and maybe thousands of homes are completely flooded
The flash floods came so fast that some people are stranded
Most all the main roads are flooded
The flood waters are almost flowing over the bridge.
People were stranded at the half finished cement block house on the right
Even churches were not exempt.
A group of crazy guys out exploring during the flooding..
Please continue to pray for us and the people of Haiti. So many people around us have no food, no dry clothes or shelter, and no charcoal dry charcoal to cook with."
bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang
Here are some pictures that we took this morning as we floated around town. Someone told me that Noah passed by Cayes this morning but was afraid to stop.
La Ravine - River close to our house. Normally this is a gully about 35 - 40 feet deep.
Another shot of the same river.
The situation of flooded homes.
An area where a road/river and a river meet.
Carrfou Simon where you turn onto the main road to go to town.
One of the houses in the community of Simon near our homes.
The road through the community of Simon.
Please pray for us and the Haitian people as we ride out Hanna and prepare for Ike and Josephine out in the Atlantic. It looks like it will be a wet September.
