PASTOR'S MESSAGE

On Tuesday, January 12, Haiti experienced an earthquake that measured 7.0 on the Richter scale. This natural disaster is reported to have killed an estimated 200,000 people, injured over 150,000 and displaced between 900,000 to 1 million people, just in the area around the capital city of Port-au- Prince. The loss in property damage caused by the earthquake is in the billions of dollars. The two aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 in magnitude have wreaked havoc to an already mentally frail people. The psychological and emotional damage this experience will have upon the Haitian people won’t be known for many years.

After viewing the scenes on television and reading about this calamity, I was burdened by a need to respond in a tangible way. I wanted to go and see it for myself. After viewing the scenes on television and reading about this calamity, I was burdened by a need to respond in a tangible way. I wanted to go and see it for myself.However, I was leery because I knew that Haiti was unstable. Because of the shortage of food, water, and shelter, little or no infrastructure to take care of the dead and the injured; the possibility of being exposed to all kinds of diseases would be high. Still, I knew that I needed to see it for myself.

On Feb. 12, I left with Deacon Carl Biggs, two medical doctors and a minister for Jacmel, Haiti. We departed from Dulles airport to JFK airport. From JFK we went to Santiago, Dominican Republic because there were no commercial planes landing in Port-au-Prince at the time. We stayed overnight with a missionary family. Then the next day, after waiting in the airport for 5 or 6 hours, we took a nine passenger airplane to Jacmel. Upon landing in Jacmel, we discovered that the airport, such as it was, had been taken over by the Canadian military. We were met by members of the Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH) team already in-country. We were taken to a rented house, where about ten members of the team stayed. I was pleasantly surprised, because I had mentally prepared myself for sleeping in a tent without any of the conveniences of a house.

On our first full day in Haiti we got a chance to see the devastation of the earthquake. Jacmel, located about 22.5 miles south of Port-au- Prince, did not sustain major damage as did the cities closer to the epicenter. There were thousands of people living in tents. Some people whose homes were not destroyed were still living in tents in their front yards a month after the quake. We were told that the people were still fearful of another earthquake, so they would not sleep in their homes.

Our first stop was at what they called “the depot”. It was a building located on a school campus where the medical supplies were kept. Some people who had come from other locations who were working with CCH, lived on the grounds in tents. There were stacks of medical supplies on the floor, some sorted and some unsorted. Our second stop was the hospital that is currently being managed by the CCH staff assisted by Haitian doctors, nurses, and support people. When we arrived, there were hundreds of men, women and children, lined up for medical care. My heart was overwhelmed by the number of people and by the desperate look on their faces. I had a sinking feeling of how Jesus must have felt when he saw the multitudes “that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed…..” (Matt. 15:31). Jesus said, “I have compassion on the multitude….” (Matt. 15:32). Then He took action. My heart was moved by this mass of broken humanity, but unlike Jesus, I felt helpless. (This is the first of a two or three-part series on my trip to Jacmel, Haiti).