Disaster in Haiti

I learned late last night of the earthquake in Haiti. I've been following it today, watching live news feeds from the Miami Herald website. I also checked the CSI Ministries website to get updates. My missionary friends and the local pastor and his family that I know well are all safe. Their homes are livable. The CSI guest house is still standing but has widespread damage. The Caribbean Market, which we called the "Haitian U-krop's" is gone. That market was well-stocked, had caffeine free diet coke which was a plus for me, and air conditioning. When we needed a break, we would walk over there in the evening and enjoy the cool air. There are many ravines in Haiti, deep valleys filled with homes and people from top to bottom (homes built on the sides of the mountains), and the one very close to the guest house is nearly destroyed. The missionaries have reported that only about 20% of the homes are still standing. I've walked that ravine, going round in circles from the top down. I don't know that I ever got to the bottom, but I remember the sights, sounds, and smells of humanity living on top of each other. I met quite a few of those precious people, too.

The children's hospital, the main hospital, and another smaller hospital in Port-Au-Prince are all gone. Many of the clinics, schools and churches that local groups here built have sustained serious damage. I have worked in many of them. I understand that the rescue groups from the U.S. and around the world will be setting up make-shift hospitals. China and Taiwan have already mobilized teams, and Israel, France and Great Britain are doing the same. The U.S. military may be sending a hospital ship -- I'm a bit fuzzy on those details. Local missionaries and missions groups are scrambling to get relief supplies together, as well as teams of folks who can help.

Please pray for the people of Haiti and for the people who will be providing disaster relief. The Port-Au-Prince area still hasn't totally recovered from the damage caused by hurricanes and flooding in the past few years. This on top of that will seem insurmountable to them. Right now, the focus is on rescuing people, as it should be. After that will be the clean-up. There is so much crumbled concrete that I can't imagine where it will be put when the people do try to clean up. It's such a horrific situation.