As most of you are probably aware by now, the tiny Caribbean nation of Haiti was rocked by a major 7.0 earthquake this evening, utterly devastating the poorest country in the Hemisphere. My heart is torn as I watch the news coverage right now, the darkness concealing what dawn first light will most certainly reveal: massive death and destruction. It's a sad day for Haiti.
I was shocked tonight to see the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince in ruins. It was such a beautiful building. Seeing it was a highlight of my trip to Haiti in 1995. I even managed to snap two quick pictures of it from the back of a van as RMI ministries ferried my mission team through the city. It was Port-au-Prince's main tourist attraction and a historic building. But now it is totaled. Much like the nation, I imagine.
I was so relieved to hear this afternoon from several missionaries in southern Haiti who experienced the quake. They had not ventured out into the southern city of Les Cayes to survey the damage. But the mission compound they live in survived with little damage. My church has a sister church in Chambellan, a remote town near the end of the Haitian peninsula, that I'm also really worried about. Chambellan is located in a river valley, built on one side of the river against the mountains. The dwellings there are but shacks compared even to the poorest places of America. Tin roofs and cinder block walls for the ritzier places. Thatched roofs and mud for the poorer folks. I'm worried sick, to be honest. But God is sovereign and He will not forsake His own. They are in His hands and He will not drop them. So I wait for news and pray.
Will you pray with me for Haiti, especially the believers there? It is a beautiful yet poor land, a place populated with impoverished people, many of whom rely on outside help to make it to another day. Thank You.
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