Happening now....we were able to have a video conference between the Haiti staff and missionaries, Rob in NJ and Dan and Kim here in the Florida office this morning. It was amazing to get that much internet since access has been so limited (and will continue to be for a while). They had a good time of catching up to date on how everyone was holding up, what they were currently involved in as well as planning for the future. They are distributing food aid and relief supplies as best as they can. Fuel can be bought in Cayes, but is scarce or non-existent in the remote locations they need to get to so their trips are limited to where they can go one one tank of gas. Organizing rebuilding teams was also discussed since so many churches, parsonages and schools have either lost their roofs or been completely destroyed. We know that as reports come in, the next question that our C3 Partners will be asking is, "how soon can we come in to help with our partner church's reconstruction?" We're excited that the big organizations are finally arriving, including the US military as well as 500 trucks filled with supplies and aid coming from the Dominican Republic to the areas west of Cayes. Cholera is becoming a serious issue since so many of the wells, springs, and rivers have become contaminated. Many have said that this catastrophe is worse than the earthquake. The long term effect is not only confined to southern Haiti, but for the entire country. The south was the breadbasket of Haiti. It provided so much of Haiti's food...staple vegetables, rice, fruit and much more. This has ALL, as in 100%, been wiped out. Some crops had just been harvested - those are gone. Some were to be harvested in December - those are gone. Large trees like mango and breadfruit are gone or severely damaged and those, in particular, will take many years to come back and begin to produce again. 80% of livestock is gone. Some say that 90% of homes in the entire peninsula have been destroyed and those that weren't were damaged. Businesses were destroyed and the jobs that go with it. The places that people gathered to worship and go to school were destroyed. It's utter and complete devastation -- for millions of people in the western portion of Haiti. It's hard to wrap our minds around it. The Haitian people are resilient. They've been through many disasters and suffer an incredible amount on a daily basis. For the Christians, their hope is in the Lord. God has placed RMI and it's staff in a unique position to help in multiple ways and we are going to do our best to meet as many needs as possible. Please give what you can! http://ift.tt/2dVXzME #hurricanematthew #rmihaiti #rmibridge #Cayes #rmi #haiti
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