West End Update October 2016--They're Alive!

Just to give our readership some news on the situation for our brethren in Haiti. We have some congregations with a little over 200 members that were right in the path of Hurricane Matthew. Just listened to an audio clip report that everyone of those members are alive. This is tempered only by the fact that many lives have been lost and for many survivors---other than their lives---everything else is lost. In one congregation they have been gathering loose pieces of tin to give them a covering at night to keep off the dew and the rain. However there has been the typical Haitian response that God is good and they are thankful for their lives, despite the destruction. We need to continue to pray and keep tuned in how we can help them rebuild their communities and their lives. Just imagine a 50 mile wide desert across what was once green with trees and vegetation--the greenest part of Haiti. Still waiting on an official report as it gets easier to reach the interior and access the disaster further.

Haiti 2016 West End Update

There has been a little word of what is happening in Haiti. Considering it is Sunday -- some would like to share to their congregations soliciting for prayer for Haiti---I will post this from our brother M. J.'s letter. 

There are also dialogues going on about what is the best way to operate disaster relief for the hard to reach affected area, involving Haitian brethren versus sending in so many Americans. Also it is better to send money than flood the country with any more free food which lowers the value of (existing) Haitian grown produce. Better to have a dollar bill buy local than put locals out of business. Long range we need to help our brethren develop a workable partnership that respects and uses their efforts to reach their own people than just bulldoze our own American-centric version of relief effort upon them. I am talking long range as in extended relief effort, rebuilding, boys units, deciding who and how one gets helped, etc. For now we need to get water and food to people that have been without for far to long. Let's pray. Times like these are where the power of the Gospel is meant to shine out through compassion and prayer. We must go in to relieve the temporal distress, but also we are there to offer the balm of the Gospel to hearts in need. The power of prayer cannot be over empathized.

Letter Excerpt:
"The west end congregations are in much worse shape. I got a report from Todd last night. It's a lot like a 50 mile wide tornado ( which it was) went through the island there. The Bontemp brethren were found trying to fix a shelter for one of their brethren. All of there houses are damaged, from just roof damage to houses completely destroyed. There was no deaths there. So far it sounds like the Lord has spared all of our members lives. The brethren have not been able to reach Abricot yet which is right on the coast. It sounds like it's a little worse there but again no deaths of our members. It is an interesting miracle but our Church building was spared there and it housed close to 1500 displaced community people. This is hard to imagine as it is not that big of building! Todd and Greg are trying to get to Preville today. Haven't had much report from there. 

Relief Efforts (Same Letter) :
CDR,CSI, and the liaison brethren Are working hard together with the Haitian brethren to formulate a workable plan of help. The logistics and many other factors make this a complicated situation to help. I know there are many people sitting wondering why we are not doing anything but it's not that simple. Large organizations are in the same dilemma. The most acute need right now in those areas on the west is food. It looks like some money quietly placed in their hands might be the most necessary thing right now. The hunger is coming for areas that were less destroyed but it is not as acute right now as in the west end congregations.

God bless you all today."

Waiting for more News from Haiti

   
   

(map is from www.freeworldmaps.net)

      In the spotlight of the Media, the far west end of Haiti has a coastal city named Jeremie. Scattered in the vicinity of this town we have a handful of congregations. There are roughly 200 members in that immediate area. This portion of our church has been through hurricanes and tragedy before and deserves our attention in their present plight. Around 1993, there was a ferry accident that took the lives of 29 of our church people. This undoubtedly affected those congregations to this day. The ferry was carrying staff and youth going to a conference; a lot of leadership and future were tragically lost. Upwards of 1,700 lives also perished on that same ferry and affected many in the community at large. Today we hear about a great calamity striking the West End in the form of Hurricane Matthew 2016. We pray that God would uphold them in this new test..
      In the middle of the peninsula there are another 200 members in the hard to reach area of Terrre Rouge. That would also include Jacmel and Villa. These congregations take a little more effort to visit so they would have a tendency to a little more isolated from the mainstream flow of visitors and church life in the central part of the country around Port. The peninsula is a rugged mountain range that jets out towards Jamaica. Port-au-Prince is in the middle of the country over on the top side of the range. So transportation is a time consuming effort in good times, not to imagine now. You have to cross the range come down to the southern coast and travel around to reach Jeremie. It is about just as convenient to take a ferry between Port and Jeremie along the north end of the peninsula.
The West End is one of the greenest areas of Haiti; less populated and a little more isolated from the capital and the rest of Haiti. So in the coming months it may be a challenge to open back up this region. May we pray for those people, because we know they were greatly affected by this hurricane.  

Pray for Haiti- Hurricane Matthews 2016

Just a quick summary for those that follow the clinic. I have heard that the Oriani Clinic that we have reported on in the past is doing fine. They were concerned for some of their day patients that had to walk hours in the rain to reach their homes before flooding got worse. They made them make shift rain coats. They seem to have only suffered some light roof damage.
I have not heard about some of the far west end places in Haiti that got hit by the brunt of the storm. Villa received some damage and trees down. Some sort of distress communications were heard from Jacmel Congregation asking for more assistance, but nothing that we would post other than we need to pray for the situation in Haiti. CSI is a good outlet for our Church members to give direct assistance to those of our friends there as they are presently accessing the damage there. So we just request prayer and an interest to those harmed by the storm. May God help them.