A Note from Joe in Haiti

Our team of four arrived in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, February 3, then flew in a small Cessna to Jacmel, Haiti on the morning of the 4th. A coastal town of 40,000 two hours by car southwest of Port-au-Prince, Jacmel swelled to 80,000 in the days following the earthquake. Many buildings in the downtown area were flattened, and Coleman tents line the downtown streets. Thousands of displaced people are also squatting in a tent city inside the town's soccer stadium.

In the midst of the chaos, a Christian church is thriving. Some members of the congregation, too frightened to sleep inside their damaged homes, are camping under crudely-erected tarps in a field adjacent to a small, ramshackle church building. Remarkably, the children and adults squatting outside the church have been gathering three times a day to pray and worship. There is a tone of resolve in their singing, a spirit that seems to be saying: "We shall overcome." One of the most popular songs is one written in English by a musician from Antigua with the chorus: "Haiti, I still love you." Twenty three people have come to Christ in this church since the earthquake, including eight who came forward yesterday following a message by one our team members, Nick Rogers.

After yesterday's church service in Jacmel we headed north toward Port-au-Prince. The magnitude of the disaster became increasingly apparent as we approached the capital city. We passed mile after mile of collapsed homes, schools, church buildings and businesses--a level of destruction we had a hard time wrapping our minds around. Every quarter mile or so, sprawling tent villages appeared, jammed with people struggling to survive--literally. We've heard that 99% of the population in the area affected by the earthquake are sleeping out of doors, too afraid to sleep inside their homes, if they still have homes. When the rains come, the situation will be even more desperate.

Last night we camped inside a walled-in girls home where 52 girls are camping outside their heavily-damaged facility. Just outside the walls, 17,000 people are squatting in tents or under large plastic tarps, people who were not there before the earthquake. The Christian directors of the girls home have been distributing food to the squatters--food that they are receiving from the U.S. military and other aid organizations.

I believe Forward Edge will be mobilizing hundreds of volunteers from the U.S. and Canada to help in a variety of ways. We can help sort and distribute food in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince, a need that will exist for months. We can set up more permanent shelters in Jacmel for the people living in tents. We can send doctors and nurses to work out of the hospital in Jacmel. And, eventually, we can help repair or rebuild homes, orphanages and schools.

The need is great, and the recovery will take many, many years. But the opportunity to demonstrate Christ's love to the people of Haiti is also great. Soon, FEI will be providing opportunities for thousands of Christ followers to do just that.