7.0 Hits Haiti (230,000 Dead)

[Mimi]

Update from Haitian SDA ...

Hi

Earlier it was reported that Pastor Sylvain Blaise and his wife were believed dead, because the house in which they lived collapsed. But today it seems like there are signs they've escaped the collapse. The Haitiansda.com will report a story like this, even if the bodies have not been found, because thousands of bodies are believed to have been dumped in mass graves. This story is unique because Pastor Blaise is the president of the federation in the Port-au-Prince area, and many people are waiting and looking for his leadership. As soon as his presence has been completely confirmed, we'll let you know.

[LindaRS]

While I would not normally link to Spectrum, they have published an update regarding a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who has made it into Haiti through the Dominican Republic and is already operating on patients. Read the article here.

Also NYT has published a map of the earthquake area showing the different areas of Port-a-Prince here.

Our church took up a special collection today to go toward the relief efforts.

[Richard Myers]

The magnitude of the ordeal is just beginning to dawn on many in the world. Hope for the trapped is dwindling, but the thirsty and starving masses will also die without aid. The Dominican Republic may have its own problems soon as the hungry exit Haiti into their country. They do not have a lot of resources themselves.

"This is a historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in UN memory. It is like no other," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Hope of finding new survivors was fading fast but Callaghan said US search and rescue efforts would continue until at least Sunday.

After isolated reports Friday of machete-wielding gangs terrorising survivors overnight, there were growing signs Saturday of unease in a country with a chequered past of rioting and unrest.

Barricades of burning tyres, rubble and corpses blocked the main road out of Port-au-Prince to nearby Carrefour on Saturday as residents called for piles of putrid corpses to be removed.

"They already took some bodies away, but there are more, many more," said Charles Weber, a 53-year-old voodoo priest in the crowd surrounding a smouldering roadblock.  source

[Richard Myers]

.....the shortage of clean water was emerging as the new focus of the unfolding disaster.

The scale of the catastrophe was underlined by the efforts to clear the streets of the dead. "We have already collected around 20,000 dead bodies," the interior minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, said. "We anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number."

Another concern has been the problem of security, exacerbated by anger at the apparently slow pace of the relief effort. "There have been incidents of people looting or fighting for food. They are desperate, they have been three days without food or any assistance," the UN peacekeeping chief, Alain Le Roy, said. source

[Richard Myers]

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Haiti before earthquake:
Eglise indigene Haiti 38e AN    source

[Richard Myers]

Among the many victims of Haiti's earthquake was the country's own government, with its Belle Époque downtown palaces reduced to rubble and many of its officials either dead or homeless. One of the homeless: President Réné Préval.

What's left of the government is now trying to coordinate a chaotic relief effort from the mango-tree shaded courtyard of a police station, where Mr. Préval now works.

Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, in an interview in the station's concrete waiting room, said his government had picked up 20,000 bodies from the city's streets. All were destined for mass graves. He expected many more. source

[LindaRS]

There are a few bright spots. Rescuers are still pulling live people from out of the rubble.

[Richard Myers]

Yes, there are still some being rescued from the rubble.



Hunger & hope grip Haiti

Hope of finding survivors fading by the hour

Sunday, January 17, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

Precious water, food and early glimmers of hope began reaching parched and hungry earthquake survivors yesterday on the streets of this shattered city, where despair at times turned into a frenzy among the ruins.

"People are so desperate for food that they are going crazy," said accountant Henry Ounche, in a crowd of hundreds who fought one another as US military helicopters clattered overhead carrying aid.

When other Navy choppers dropped rations and Gatorade into a football stadium thronged with refugees, 200 youths began brawling, throwing stones, to get at the supplies.

Across the hilly, steamy city, where people choked on the stench of death, hope faded by the hour for finding many more victims alive in the rubble, four days after Tuesday's catastrophic earthquake.

Still, here and there, the murmur of buried victims spurred rescue crews on, even as aftershocks threatened to finish off crumbling buildings.

"No one's alive in there," a woman sobbed outside the wrecked Montana Hotel. But hope wouldn't die. "We can hear a survivor," search crew chief Alexander Luque of Namibia later reported. His men dug on. Elsewhere, an American team pulled a woman alive from a collapsed university building where she had been trapped for 97 hours. source

[Richard Myers]

Another good sign is the huge international effort to aid in resuce . Because there is more help trying to access Haiti than is logistically possible, there are hurt feelings as to who gets to land at the only airport.

The Caribbean Community's emergency aid mission to Haiti, comprising heads of government and leading technical officials, failed to secure permission Friday to land at that devastated country's airport, now under the control of the USA.

Consequently, the Caricom "assessment mission" that was to determine priority humanitarian needs resulting from the mind-boggling earthquake disaster last Tuesday had to travel back from Jamaica to their respective home destinations.

On Friday afternoon, the US State Department confirmed signing two Memoranda of Understanding with the Government of Haiti that made "official that the United States is in charge of all inbound and outbound flights and aid offloading".  source

[Richard Myers]

Haiti's leaders struggle for post-quake control

Sunday, January 17, 2010

With the National Palace uninhabitable and his own home destroyed, Haitian President René Préval is trying to run his country from a dilapidated police station near the heavily damaged national airport.

The US military controls his airport. International aid workers fret about a lack of Government control. The Haitian police force is severely overworked.

Yesterday brought Préval's troubles into sharp focus. He convened his Cabinet ministers in a circle of plastic chairs under an open sky and hustled to welcome US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Préval also urged aid donors to stop arguing.

"This is an extremely difficult situation," he told The Associated Press after one meeting. "We must keep our cool to co-ordinate and not throw accusations at each other."

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with a history of corruption, political infighting and negligent administrations, resulting in decades of poor-to-mediocre services for ordinary Haitians, half of whom live on less than US$1 a day.

The country slowly had been regaining its footing in the last couple of years, thanks largely to the presence of 9,000 United Nations peacekeepers sent to help restore order following the violent rebellion in 2004 that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. New businesses were opening and former US President Bill Clinton, now the UN special envoy for Haiti, had been working to attract foreign investment.

The earthquake has turned back the clock. For days, quake survivors and aid workers have complained about a lack of police. Law-and-order needs have fallen completely to the 9,000 UN peacekeepers and international police in Haiti -- themselves coping with tremendous loss. source]

[Mimi]

From the Hatian SDA website:

BREAKING NEWS
Posted on 01/19/2010

    * Contrary to what was previously reported, we are elated to know that Pastor Sylvain Blaise and his wife are alive and well. Several members of his family in the U.S have recently been in touch with them, and even their home has been spared. We thank the family members for their diligence in trying to locate the pastor and his wife.  For those who might have been affected by the previous news, we are sorry for the inconvenience. The Haitiansda.com depends on people on the ground for information; however, due the unprecedented chaos caused by the quake and the fact that thousands of bodies have been dumped in mass graves and most will never be found, we quickly forgive the various sources in Haiti who reported the news to the Haitiansda.com.  The reporters and the haitiansda.com are glad that this time we were incorrect. We wish we were also incorrect about the death of Pastor Joseph Germain. Again, this story is unique because Pastor Blaise is the president of the federation in the Port-au-Prince areas, and many people were frantically waiting and looking for his leadership. Again, we give praise to God for allowing Pastor Blaise to continue to be an effective leader in such a time of need. In fact, the Adventist community around the world would be pleased to hear a word of consolation and hope from Pastor Blaise. As soon as we receive a word from the pastor himself, we'll report it to you.

    * Auditorium de la Bible, which is one of the biggest churches in the Port-au-Prince area, is packed with more than 700 people—most of whom are either members whose homes have been destroyed by the quake or those who fear that their homes pose a greater threat than the church. While Auditorium itself has been partly damaged, it stands as a symbol of hope and a place of refuge to the people who are staying there. But the little food and water they’ve been living on is getting very scarce. Those who have been playing the role of Moses and Joshua are no longer able to find enough food and water to feed over 700 people. According to a few leaders there, the people need food and water urgently. There are those who would be willing to use their cars or other means of transportation in search of food, but there is no gasoline, which is a major restraint. One of the leaders admitted that even if they were brave enough to take to street by foot in search of food and water, they would not be able to bring enough for 700 people. Keep in mind, we focus on food and water because they’re basic to survival. But there are other critical needs such as toiletries and other sanitary needs. I have alerted CNN and MSNBC to inform organizations such as ADRA and Food for the Poor about the situation. I have also been in touch with the Inter-American Division office in Miami about the urgent situation at the Auditorium de la Bible.  

[Richard Myers]

A 69-year-old ardent Roman Catholic who said she prayed constantly during her week under the rubble and two children saved by a New York rescue team were among the unlikely survivors of the epic Haitian earthquake. One full week after the magnitude-7 quake killed an estimated 200,000, left 250,000 injured and made 1.5 million homeless, search-and-rescue teams were emerging from the ruins with improbable success stories. Ena Zizi had been at a church meeting at the residence of Haiti's Roman Catholic archbishop when the quake struck, trapping her in debris. On Tuesday, she was rescued by a Mexican disaster team that was created in the wake of Mexico City's 1985 earthquake.

Elsewhere in the capital, two women were pulled from a destroyed university building. And near midnight Tuesday, a smiling and singing 26-year-old Lozama Hotteline was carried to safety from a collapsed store in the Petionville neighborhood by the French aid group Rescuers Without Borders.

A joint New York City Police-Fire rescue team in Haiti pulled out two children. The 8-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl had been trapped for a week and were severely dehydrated. The children were rushed to an Israeli tent hospital where they were being treated.

The United Nations said Wednesday that about 120 people had been pulled alive from wrecked buildings by international search-and-rescue teams since the disaster struck. Efforts continued, with dozens of teams sifting through Port-au-Prince's crumbled homes and buildings for signs of life.
source

[Mimi]

Adventist Church President Jan Paulsen speaks to Haitian Adventists: 'Don't lose courage'
Church donations exceed $1 million; more to come, Paulsen says
20 Jan 2010, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Mark A. Kellner, News Editor/Adventist Review with Megan Brauner/ANN



In a statement aired on the Seventh-day Adventist Church's television station, the Hope Channel, church President Jan Paulsen urged Haitians to not lose courage in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Seventh-day Adventist world church President Jan Paulsen addressed the struggles church members in Haiti face, saying the church has not forgotten them. So far, donations for organizational rebuilding in Haiti exceed $1 million. [photo: Megan Brauner/ANN]

"Your brothers and sisters around the world, they think about you, they pray for you, they want to be involved and want you to know that they are your family," Paulsen said during the televised statement.

Paulsen's words came hours after a magnitude 6.1 aftershock struck Haiti, renewing anxiety among survivors.

"The scale of the suffering that has been inflicted on the nation and the people [of Haiti] is unimaginable," Paulsen said. "We want to be involved, we want to participate and show our sense of brotherhood with the people of Haiti." Paulsen added that every church member has something to contribute, whether it's money or service.

Paulsen urged Adventists to encourage their children to participate in aiding the Haitian community.

"Tell your children about this -- help your children to discover that even in these tragedies that we share humanity," he said. "When something happens anywhere in the world on this scale ... we have a responsibility."

Paulsen concluded by saying his hope and prayer was that "the future of Haiti be better than its past."

Relief agencies estimate that 200,000 people may have died as a result of the January 12 earthquake.

Reports about deaths among Adventist Church members in Haiti are still trickling in, said Orville Parchment, assistant to Paulsen.

Parchment said two choirs were practicing in a church when the earthquake struck. Fourteen bodies were found, but the number of survivors is still uncertain, he said.

Children at an Adventist school in Haiti escaped their collapsing building when they ran outside to investigate a loud noise, Parchment said. He added that while no children were reported dead, one janitor was trapped and killed in the school when the quake hit.

Structural damage to Adventist property includes numerous churches and the church-run hospital and university.

The Adventist world church is raising money to help with organizational recovery, leadership said. Earlier this week, the world church administrative committee voted a donation of $200,000 to help rebuild churches and other facilities. The North American region voted to send $600,000 to Haiti, with other local offices in North America adding at least $175,000.

After his televised comments, Paulsen added that he had spoken with the president for the church in Inter-America, Israel Leito, about the total church donations so far.

'The donations have exceeded $1 million," Paulsen said during an interview with Adventist News Network. "This is specifically for church recovery, and there is more to come from other divisions. [The Adventist Development and Relief Agency] works with even hands to help everyone, but this donation is given specifically to our churches in Haiti. It signifies how intensely our church family feels about the situation."

A special offering will be collected February 6 in North American congregations for Haitian church relief, said Fred Kinsey, communication director for the church in North America.

Other world regions plan to hold their own offerings for Haiti, church leaders said.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America has set up a special fund account specifically to assist church members. Donations may be sent by check to the Inter-American Division, Re: Haiti Catastrophe Fund, 8100 S.W. 117th Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33183.

Donors can also e-mail catastrophefund@interamerica.org.

For updated news on Haiti, visit interamerica.org.

For more information about general relief work or to donate to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), visit adra.org.

[Mimi]

Thousands fleeing Port au Prince: Source

[Mimi]

From Haiti SDA website:

January 20, 2010 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti...Libna Stevens/IAD

Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Haiti reported that 304 church members were killed by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake which struck last week. More than 55 churches were destroyed, 60 churches partially damaged and some 27,000 church members left homeless in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

The official report came as local leaders met with top church leaders of the Inter-American Division earlier today. It took leaders one week to account for their ministers, church employees, members, and temples in the wake of aftermath which left leaders virtually without communication for a few days.

"This is very, very sad," said Sylvan Blaise, president of the church in the Central region of Port-au-Prince where the effects of the quake were the worst and where 300 members lost their lives. Among the dead were 14 who were in choir practice when the roof and walls of Adventist Temple No.1 near the Presidential Palace collapsed on them. Other choir members were able to escape.

"We have more than 12,000 church members who lost their homes and were left with only the garments they were wearing and nothing else," he said. Blaise, whose home suffered damage and left him and his family sleeping outside his home, also reported that more than 300 members were injured. The thousands left homeless are taking shelter on the grounds of the 50 habitable churches and centers in the 30 districts in the Central Haiti Conference. Several schools were destroyed and damaged.

Two church members in the South Haiti Mission were reported dead when a church fell down on them, according to Pastor Jean Bernard Banatte, president for the church in South Haiti. Some 15,000 church members were displaced, four schools destroyed, an Adventist Book store destroyed, and about 280 injured. Twelve temples were destroyed and 30 more received extensive damage, reported Banatte.

"We are saddened for the members we lost in this tragedy and yet are so thankful that the Lord spared you, and the number of the deaths were not greater" said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America, as he spoke to top local church leaders in Port-au-Prince. "We were so afraid for you and our church members when we couldn't hear from you," he added.

Pastor Leito was joined by Filiberto Verduzco, treasurer of the church in Inter-America. Together they visited affected Adventist institutions, offered guidance in attending to the members affected, began the process of assessing damaged churches, established plans for the flow of relief funds, planned the rebuilding of churches and coordinated with efforts the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) as the agency aids in the relief efforts of approximately 20,000 on the campus of the Adventist University.

"The world church wants to know how the church has been affected in Haiti and the world church is here to help you," said Pastor Leito.

As of early this week, the North American Division promised $500,000 in tithe and the General Conference $200,000 to be used to aid the Adventist Church in Haiti. In addition, the North American Division has donated $150,000 non-tithe funds and other divisions have pledged a total of $150,000.

"The church has not abandoned you, we are with you in this and so we must organize well our system here to manage these funds and rebuild our churches and take care of our church workers and members as well," added Pastor Leito.

"We thank God that He took care of most of our people," said Theart Saint-Pierre, president of the church in Haiti. "Everyone is traumatized, yet we praise God for His goodness." Saint-Pierre added that they were saddened by the loss of their publishing director last week and the daughter of a church worker in the Northwest Haiti Mission. The union office received some damage to its structure and will need to be evaluated for safety.

Church leaders in neighboring Dominican Republic have been helping in the coordination of relief supplies through non-government agencies. Arrangements are being made now to provide food and other supplies to the thousands of church members taking refuge on church grounds.

"After hearing the magnitude of the denominational losses, what we must assess is the property damage to all our churches and institutions," said Verduzco. "It is also very important that our financial system is working properly here to channel the funds."

"Our main concern is to take care of their basic needs, yet we need to move fast and work on rebuilding our temples," said Pastor Leito.

For now, church leaders in Haiti said that last Sabbath the church's Radio Esperance conducted a special church service. Church members will be meeting in small groups while pastors from other unaffected church regions will join the pastoral force in the city to minister and offer spiritual support, leaders said.

During the 2-hour meeting with church leaders, there were growing concerns with the extensive damage the Adventist University received to its buildings and the management of the 20,000 people taking refuge on campus.

ADRA International and ADRA Inter-America, along with ADRA Haiti, began coordinating relief efforts through their assessment team just hours after the earthquake struck.

"The ADRA team came with 24 people and other NGOs joined our convoy," said Wally Amundson, ADRA Inter-America director, who arrived in Dominican Republic within two days of the quake and crossed the border into Haiti.

"We helped the hospital during the early stages to organize and transport medical doctors into Haiti," said Amundson. ADRA moved quickly to establish water purification systems, distribute food and relief supplies, and oversee the refugees on campus, he added.

"The whole world has wept for Haiti, the Adventist World Church has wept for Haiti," said Charles Sandefur, ADRA International director, to church leaders. "I am happy that ADRA is able to respond to humanitarian need here. ADRA is going to be here for the long run to partner with you through this."

Sandefur said that some donors from around the world are willing to commit to helping the people in Haiti for three years. "We want to focus our humanitarian efforts right here on campus with the thousands on the grounds and surrounding the campus. It will be complicated and will take much energy but by God's grace we will do it."

So far, churches across North America collected a special offering of over 1 million dollars on Jan. 16 to benefit the efforts of ADRA in Haiti. These funds and the support of a network of 14 countries will help in the humanitarian efforts ADRA will be managing here, added Sandefur.

The Adventist Hospital, which is within minutes from the university, did not receive major damage to its building. However, medical teams resumed some operations outdoors. In spite of that, medical activities have continued non-stop, said medical director Dr. Lesly Archer.

"We have been working 24 hours to assist patients," he said.

Medical teams have now been coming in to help care for the nearly 400 patients staying outside on hospital grounds in makeshift tents and the new patients arriving everyday, said Dr. Archer.

Dr. Elie Honore, health ministries director for the church in Inter-America, immediately after the quake hit requested the help of Loma Linda University Hospital and Florida Hospital to coordinate doctors and channel medical supplies into the hospital.

"We are thankful for all the physicians who have poured in to help us here," said Dr. Archer. "Our greatest need right now is for orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologists."

Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America are committed to supporting the church and its organizations in Haiti from here on.

"We will continue to support and reaffirm our church with regular visits here," said Pastor Leito. "The one thing we strive in circumstances like these is for people to feel that they have a value, that they are not just thrown aside."

[Richard Myers]

Donations may be sent by check to the Inter-American Division, Re: Haiti Catastrophe Fund, 8100 S.W. 117th Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33183.

[LindaRS]

Horror in Haiti: What does it mean?

“And there shall be … earthquakes, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.” —Matthew 24:7, 8

The world has been truly stunned by the apocalyptic images that are flooding in from this massive earthquake, which violently shook the earth’s crust just beneath Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.

It has been heartbreaking to see desperate quake survivors working feverishly, using sledgehammers and their bare hands, to free victims trapped beneath the concrete rubble and pleading for help.

The devastation is compounded with confused despair, as dazed victims wander the streets realizing their meager hospitals, government buildings, and emergency services are also paralyzed.  Clean water, electric power, and telephone service are virtually nonexistent.

Kindness in the Midst of Catastrophe
It will still be some time before the full scope of this disaster and loss of life is fully assessed.  Thousands have died.

Nevertheless, it has also been heartwarming to see the international outpouring of charity, sacrifice, and humanitarian aid. And now it is especially important for Christians to offer their service, give sacrificially, and to pray.

Why?
Some have already asked the question, Did God send this cataclysm as a divine punishment upon the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere?

Just a day following the disaster, Pat Robertson said on CBN that the nation of Haiti was devastated because its people “made a pact with the devil.”

We need to be very careful not to rush to judgment at times like this. Commenting on a local disaster back in His own day, Jesus explained, “Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4, 5).

The devil would like to snuff out every human life and, according to the law, that’s what we deserve.  It’s only by the intervening grace of God that any of us are alive.

So what can we learn from this tragedy?

For one thing, as we near the end, powerful quakes like this one will strike with increasing frequency and intensity.  The death of Jesus was itself marked by a significant earthquake, as was His resurrection  (Matthew 27:54; 28:2).  The Scriptures also tell us that the second coming of Christ will be accompanied by the largest earthquake in history (Revelation 16:17, 18). Only the redeemed will survive this seismic event!

There is something else we have seen from the earthquake in Haiti.  The whole economy and political freedom of an entire country can be instantly altered when a massive earthquake reduces a major city to rubble.  How quickly global prophetic events might activate if an earthquake of this magnitude — or bigger — should strike New York City, San Francisco, or Los Angeles.

It is only the patient mercy of God that has preserved the United States from “the big one” so far.

Amazing Facts Can Broadcast Hope
We can be sure that the Lord can bring positive blessings even from a devastating disaster like this one.  “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
 
It’s a fact that people are more open to the gospel following a disaster.

Amazing Facts is in the business of saving souls eternally.  As people everywhere behold these increasing natural disasters, their hearts become sober; they long for peace and security.

Remember, it was following a powerful earthquake that the jailer asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).

Friend, in just a few terrifying moments the probation of thousands was forever closed for the victims in Haiti.  Their eternal destinies are sealed.  But for the living, there is still hope (Ecclesiastes 9:4).

That’s why it is so important for us to use these twilight moments of grace to broadcast the gospel.

As heartbreaking as this earthquake is, it offers us a tremendous opportunity.  The people in Haiti will be hungering for hope, a hope that can only come from the Word of God.  Together, we can help them find Jesus.

Amazing Facts is not set up to send bandages or bread to countries in crisis.  There are many other fine charities that specialize in these areas, and I hope you will support them.

But there is something that this ministry can do that will make an eternal difference in the lives of these poor people.  We can send them Christ.

How can you help right now?
Obviously, the people of Haiti are still reeling from the effects of this tragedy, and will be for months.  But as they begin to piece their lives back together, we want to be sure to place the truth within their reach when they are ready.

The primary language in Haiti is French.  Amazing Facts has already recorded two evangelistic series in French, and we also have a complete set of evangelistic lessons, the Storacles of Prophecy, translated into French and prepared to advance the Word of God in that nation.

The average annual income in Haiti before the earthquake was only $300.  These dear people have no money.  That’s why we would like to send these materials to Haiti for free and also grant the pastors and church members there permission to freely copy the DVDs and reprint the French lessons.

In addition, with your help, we can broadcast the gospel via satellite to Haiti and to the millions of others that live in the surrounding Caribbean nations.  I have seen in these countries where one person in a poor community will have a satellite dish and a small TV.  In the cool evening, all the neighbors will gather in the streets to watch the programs together.

When you give today, you will help us broadcast many more messages of hope and understanding to countless souls in need of it more than ever before.

Please Help Us Offer Hope
And at times like this, I know that the work of Amazing Facts is more important than ever before.  This sudden natural disaster is a sober reminder of just how quickly the end can begin.

Jesus foretold that the horrific scenes the world has witnessed following the massive earthquake in Haiti will only increase as we near the end of time.  Our whole planet is convulsing and crumbling under its burden of sin.

“We know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22).

So whether you can give $15, $25, $50, or $100 or more to support this evangelism ministry, God can use it to bring peace and purpose to His suffering children in Haiti and around the world.  I’m asking that you take a moment to pray.  Ask Jesus what He would have you do regarding a gift to support His message this month.

Your friend in Christ,

Pastor Doug Batchelor

Amazing Facts

[Mimi]

Fox News on SDA Church in Haiti

[Richard Myers]

Based on the information we have received, Florida Hospital’s response will fit into two categories: Outbound (sending supplies, equipment, and possibly personnel to Haiti, if requested) and Inbound (preparing for the possible influx of Haitians coming to Central Florida who will need medical attention).

We have some specific information about our outbound efforts that we can share with you:

   1. We have arranged to send medical supplies to ADRA in Haiti via chartered jet, scheduled to leave Thursday, January 21. As mentioned, these supplies are based on specific requests and will be delivered safely and securely by U.N. personnel to the compound of the Adventist hospital near Port-au-Prince.
   2. In addition, ADRA representatives will be setting up a ‘headquarters’ at the Orlando campus. Starting this week, Florida Hospital will be working with ADRA to facilitate further shipments of supplies to Haiti.
   3. In the event a request for personnel comes from officials in Haiti, we would like to have a team of medical professionals ready and able to go with short notice. We have also begun to see evacuees from Haiti, some of whom have been hospitalized. We anticipate this number will grow, creating a need for qualified medical volunteers right here in Florida. If you are interested in joining the team of volunteers, please visit http://www.floridahospital.com/HaitiHelp (this site will be operating by 5:00p on Wednesday, January 20, 2010)   source

[Richard Myers]

The following is a report prepared by the president of the Inter-American Division:

Wide Spread Damage to Seventh day Adventist Churches in Haiti

This is the report sent by Israel Leito to Elder Paulsen President of the World Church, regarding
Haitian Union situation.


Dear Elders Paulsen and Schneider,

We have concluded our visit to Haiti (Elder Verduzco and myself), and
the situation is very bleak. However the outpouring of support and
sympathy shows the appreciation and love we have for one another. I want
to thank the GC and the NAD for the strong support for the church in
Haiti. Honestly, this is beyond any one of us and all of us combined.
We are so thankful for the gift of the NAD churches to ADRA for Haiti,
and the extraordinary support of tithe and non-tithe funds from the NAD
and the GC.

Ironically, the fields having suffered the most are the richest field
and the poorest field in Haiti. I perceive that the Central Conference,
the only conference in that union, will have very difficult days ahead,
because it's tithe base has virtually been wiped out. Next Monday the
25th the workers must be paid, and there is no banking system and no
money to pay the workers. The IAD has decided to help the workers with a
stipend consisting of only the basic wage factor, until the situation
normalizes.

The Dominican union has put all its resources and personnel at the
disposition to help the members in Haiti. This union has become the
nerve center to provide assistance to the church and the Haitian public.
the Puerto Rican union, having the facility of a ferry from Puerto Rico
to the Dominican Republic, has shipped hundreds of thousands of aid to
Haiti. They have receive two vans from the public in Puerto Rico that
they have given to the effort to help. They are setting up kitchen in
Haiti to feed the members with at least one hot meal per day, all at the
cost of the Puerto Rican Union and the public.

1. Insurance of church properties.
As mentioned before, the union was so wise to promote for all entities
to have earthquake insurance coverage. However, this catastrophe could
bankrupt any insurance company. Because of this, the limit of insurance
is one million dollar for all the properties combined. The extent of
damage and destruction is of such magnitude, that each building can get
only a little more than 10,000 dollars from the 1 million after the
deductible. 115 churches have been totally destroyed. 60 others have
sustained significant damage, so much so, that the union administration
believes they have to be inspected before allowing the members to
worship in them. Others have also sustained repairable damages. Five
schools were totally destroyed. If you have seen the piece on Fox News,
the church mentioned in that piece is the church just across the
presidents palace, where the school we thought so many children perished
is located. In that school, only the watchman died, he was taking a bath
at the time of the quake, and could not leave the building. When the
church collapsed, the children ran outside to see what was happening,
and at that moment the school collapsed.
Fourteen bodies were recovered from another large church, where two
different church choirs were rehearsing at the time of the quake. What
took so many years to build as church infrastructure has been laid to
waste in matter of a few seconds.

The university has lost the roof of the Girls dorm and has suffered
damage to other buildings. Most of the industry section of the
university has been greatly damaged, thus causing other means of income
for the university to be gone.

2. Membership casualties and situation
Thus far, it has been verified that nearly 600 members have died in the
quake.
There are around 600 having suffered serious injuries with many
amputations.
There are countless others having sustained minor injuries.
Around 15,000 Adventist families have lost their home. Around 27,000 are
in refugees centers, mostly on church premises and other places.There
are over 50 such places of concentration of Adventists who are in great
need of help. We are happy for the organization of the Haitian union and
its local fields, because by so identifying the Adventist members, it is
easier to get help to them.
Around 16 pastors have been affected, three of them have been injured
and four pastoral families have lost everything they ever had, we praise
the lord that their lives have been spared. However, the treasurer of
the North-West Mission has lost a daughter who was a student at our
university, but was visiting her grandmother at the time of the
disaster, and perished along with her grandmother and other relatives.

3, ADRA's involvement.
Again, we praise the Lord for ADRA. ADRA International has taken over
the critical situation with the thousands of refugees on the campus of
the university, and is of great help to the general public and the
church. Proposals are being prepared to secure funding for the
rebuilding of the lives of the Haitian people. We had a meeting with the
union and Local Fields leaderships, along with Chuck and other ADRA
professionals. Every thing is in place for ADRA to handle the situation
at the university. Many of the refugees at the university are church
members, and we are so glad they can get the help they need.

4. Situation at the hospital.
The situation at the hospital is at the verge of getting worst. We are
so grateful to Loma Linda University that has virtually taken control of
coordinating all the medical assistance coming from the Adventist
medical community in the NAD. We thank Oackwood University, NAPS, and
other organizations for their rushing to help. There are scores of
organizations helping the local doctors and other doctors from the IAD
territory. Most of the patients are sleeping under a sheet in the yard.
Some have the luck of securing a small tent, but most are virtually at
the mercy of the elements. One, because the hospital is so full, and
also, because many prefer to be outside for fear of another quake. On
Wednesday there was an after shock of 6.1. The hospital has run out of
money, earlier in the week were about to run out of fuel for their
generators. ADRA could help them with much needed fuel to continue
serving. They have run out of food to feed the patients, However, the
government of the Dominican Republic has promised to feed the patients
at the hospital with at least 400 warm meals per day. The hospital has
lost two nurses, and over twenty of its workers have lost every thing
and are counted among the refugees on the campus of the hospital, and
still working. There is no money to pay the workers, but they are still
working. ADRA has promised to try to find funding to help the workers.
Montemorelos has sent two docters, who are doing an extraordinary work,
especially the orthopedic surgeon sent by Montemorelos. We have a team
of French paramedics and Fire fighters working on the premises, and the
Turkish police is providing security. Also our hospital in the Dominican
Republic and Puerto Rico have medical teams working at the hospital.
Surgeries are being done outside under a tent for lack of space inside.

We are so glad that the administrations of the union and its local
fields have survived this tragedy, thus having the leadership of the
church in Haiti intact, and gives leadership and guidance to the church.
However, the house of the union treasurer is so damaged, that he and his
family cannot live in it, and are sleeping in tents.

Dr. Henry is being replaced by Dr. Honore, our Health Director, to help
the union administration and ADRA. We plan to rotate a Division worker
to Haiti every week, until this is stabilized. We understand commercial
flights into Haiti may start next Monday according to American Airlines.
If this happens, I am planning to go back next week to help the
administration.

On behalf of the church in Haiti, I want to thank you for your support,
any little bit helps. As we get more information, I will share this with
you.