updates from Haiti after the earthquake
From Calvary Chapel in Port-au-Prince where I served last year, see my story here.
Pastor Seige called this morning and he is fine. The kids and the staff at the orphanage are fine, but the church and orphanage buildings are cracked, so they are staying out of the buildings. He was able to reach some of the people who attend the church and they were fine also. We'll keep you posted. Pray for Haiti!
From the Livesay family.
The few things we can confirm – yes the four story Caribbean Market building is completely demolished. Yes it was open. Yes the National Palace collapsed. Yes Gov’t buildings nearby the Palace collapsed. Yes St Josephs Boys home is completely collapsed. Yes countless countless - countless other houses, churches, hospitals, schools, and businesses have collapsed. There are buildings that suffered almost no damage. Right next door will be a pile of rubble.
Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people.
I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them. For us.
When the quake hit it took many seconds to even process what was happening. The house was rocking back and forth in a way that I cannot even begin to describe. It felt fake. It felt like a movie. Things were crashing all over the house. It felt like the world was ending. I do not know why my house stands and my children all lie sleeping in their beds right now. It defies logic and my babies were spared while thousands of others were not.
There are friends and co-workers that are missing. People whom no-one can account for. People we work with and love. There are more than I can name, but in particular we wait on one single friend who lived near the Hotel Montana – which has reportedly collapsed.
The horror has only just begun and I beg you to get on your knees – I truly mean ON YOUR KNEES and pray for the people of this country. The news might forget in a few days - but people will still be trapped alive and suffering. Pray. Pray. Pray. After that - PLEASE PRAY.
From a Catholic orphanage, Hope in Haiti.
The news from Port-au-Prince is very bad. Few could get through as the cell phones are either not working or the lines are jammed with everyone attempting to call. Heard from Andy Topp who is down here with a group helping out another orphanage in the area and they are all well. The focus right now is to help our sisters and brothers in the capital. Getting in and out of Port-au-Prince may not be possible as I've heard that the road has become impassable. As all of us down south depend on food shipments (and all other commodities) from Port-au-Prince, this could become a major crisis for us. Please do what you can for the Haitians and keep us all in your prayers.
No updates yet from medical missionaries, the Bentrotts though who live in PaP. Update: They are safe as well.
Dear Friends and Family,
I will write more later, but just want to let you all know that Patrick, Solomon and I are safe. We had just gotten home when the earthquake hit, our apartment building went from 3 stories to 2 in once sickening crunch, but our space stayed miraculously in tact and the people on the first floor got out in the nick of time.
We had a group working with CONASPEH here with us from Tennessee. All members of the group were safe. Had they been on time for dinner, this note would have a different tone. Not all people in the guest house got out alive. We took the group to the embassy yesterday and they should be able to leave the country via the Dominican Republic in the next few days.
CONASPEH has been flattened. All my nursing students were inside. Yesterday we helped pull bodies out of the wreckage and heard some voices within the rubble. Efforts continued frantically all day to reach them.
Patrick and Francois Villier are safe. Their house seems to have held. They lost one of their foster care children in CONASPEH.
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