Out of the Ashes
Souls won for Christ
Since the evening of Jan. 12, life for those living in Haiti has drastically changed. The 7.0 earthquake that rocked the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas caused more than 150,000 deaths. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless and without food or water. It has been a heart-wrenching time for many as loved ones’ bodies have been inhumanely dumped into common graves out of sheer necessity.
In the midst of this indescribable devastation, thousands of relief workers from many countries have poured into Haiti to bring hope to those who are unable to help themselves. Our One Mission Society team, based in Cap Haitien, (approximately 150 miles north of Port-au-Prince) has joined many other mission organizations to show Christ’s love by taking food, water and supplies to the needy. Our missionaries in Haiti have transported several large trucks filled with rice, beans, sugar, water and cooking oil, along with needed medical supplies. A trip from Cap to Port takes seven hours one way due to the poor road conditions, yet they continue to send truckloads of supplies almost daily.
We have a medical clinic set up near Port. OMS sent in a medical team of 11 on Saturday, Jan. 23. During the first day, they treated 256 people, and 20 people accepted Jesus (many Haitian Christians, including six our seminary students and staff, have come alongside the workers to share the Good News). In day 2, the medical team treated 311 people, with 11 conversions. The team is staying in the OMS guest house, known as “The Villa.” We have several more medical teams planning one-week to 10-day trips in the coming weeks. These include: 14 leaving on January 30, 9 leaving on Feb. 3 and 9 leaving on Feb. 9. We have not scheduled more trips beyond this as we are waiting to hear what the field requires. Please pray for these medical personnel as they minister to these hurting people.
OMS also has a medical clinic in the north in Cap Haitien. We are seeing our patient load increase daily because of displaced survivors from Port that are fleeing to Cap, Haiti’s second largest city and a major center of ministry for OMS. This migration has created a food problem in the north, so we are now providing food through our Emmaus churches (the denomination that OMS works with in Haiti) to feed thousands of people.
In February, we will begin sending in trained trauma and grief counselors. Prayer is vitally needed. Pray for all those who are working in these heartbreaking conditions, assisting those who survived. Pray for the scores of people who have been left without family, home or food. Pray earnestly that God will continue to enable the many Christians in the country to show the love of Christ and lead people to faith in Christ, which will give them hope for the future. We will also be monitoring the emotional, mental and spiritual needs of our OMS team. It is almost impossible to describe what they are facing daily.
Our radio station in Cap, Radio 4VEH continues to be used of God to bring hope and comfort to the many listeners who have depended upon this station for up to 50 years as their main source of news and Christian programming. The station is fulfilling a vital ministry at this time. It has been broadcasting in Port daily from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., in addition to its schedule in Cap. Please pray with us that God will supply the additional funds to buy the fuel needed to keep the station on the air for these additional hours.
In addition to your prayer support, we continue to need your financial assistance. We are using the money to buy much-needed food and medical supplies. As God directs you, would you send a generous gift to OMS today to enable us to continue helping in Haiti. You can give online or you can mail your check to: One Mission Society, P.O. Box 1648, Monument, CO 80132. Please mark your gift for project #405120.
NOTICE: People giving donations for Haiti relief between Jan. 12 and March 1, 2010, may be able to claim it as a deduction on their 2009 tax returns.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous gifts. To date, more than $85,000 has been given for Haiti relief efforts. We will keep you updated here as new information becomes available.