Shortly before 5:00 PM on January 12, 2010 a massive earthquake rocked the tiny island nation of Haiti. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused catastrophic damage and killed hundreds of thousands of people. An earthquake of this magnitude would naturally cause a lot of damage but one significant factor in Haiti's buildings made this earthquake more deadly...flat, concrete roofs. Haiti's homes and buildings were covered with inexpensive, inflexible concrete. When the earthquake hit and the walls began to shake and sway,the solid, concrete roofs had nowhere to go but down. So down they came. All over the affected area roofs came down...on the people who built them, on the people who worked under them, on the children who were meant to be protected by them.
The rubble from the roofs and buildings are strewn over the cities, villages, and roads of Haiti. Almost 6 months later with thousands of volunteers cleaning up, the sight is still apalling. 40-50% of the buildings in the capital of Port Au Prince were destroyed. In Leogane, where the epicenter was, 80% of the buildings collapsed, including a nursing school where 300 nursing students died. In the ensuing weeks 212,000 victims were buried in mass graves. Another 150,000 to 200,000 wil never be identified or even found. In total, 4.5% of the population of Haiti was wiped out in one of the worst disasters in decades.
Statistics can't tell the full story of such devastation. Even pictures and testimonies can't tell the whole story. Death and destruction on this scale are hard to get a grip on. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing the stories of destruction...and hope in order to share how God is working, even in the midst of tragedy and to challenge you to join in what God is doing in this country.
The Prague City Team, TouchGlobal, and ZMA (Czech Foreign Mission Agency) are partnering to send short term teams from the Czech Republic (and America) to help with the relief effort in Haiti. To this end, Prague City Team members Curt Mobley and I joined the head of the Czech mission agency, Daniel Hejzlar with his wife Daniela, and Paul Brown, videographer from Kingwood Bible Church in Texas, on a vision trip to Haiti. Our goal was to choose a project, create a promotional video, and recruit teams of Czechs (and Americans) to serve in Haiti in early 2011.
The relief effort will require millions of dollars, thousands of people, and decades of work. One missionary with TouchGlobal, welcomed us to "the land of opportunity" when we arrived. In Haiti there is boundless opportunity to show the love of Christ through construction, care of people, and many other projects. TouchGlobal is sharing hope in a hopeless situation and strategically thinking about church planting in the "aftermath" of a concentrated effort in relief and development. Over the next years, thousands of roofs will be built on new homes, schools, churches, government buildings, and orphanages. And you can be involved!
We visited a school, an orphanage, and a site where temporary shelters for those living in tents were being put together. These are three typical opportunities to help and I will be highlighting each of them in the next 3 blog entries. ZMA, the Czech mission agency, will be choosing one of these projects (or one like it) and sending teams to serve in Haiti. As you read about these opportunities, would you prayerfully consider joining the Czech team in Haiti to bring hope to those who have lost everything?
Here are a few random pictures of the first half of the trip http://www.flickr.com/photos/pack926/sets/72157624218941661/show
Next up, a visit to a Christian school where close to 300 students are meeting under tents.
No comments:
Post a Comment