Dear Family and Friends of Haiti Bible Mission,
I thought you would be blessed by a communication I received from my Dad last night.
Dave wrote:
TEARS...this story is hard to tell...I get choked up now just thinking about it. I talked with a friend yesterday that came back from Port au Prince on one of the free boat rides. His house was destroyed and he escaped with just the clothes he had on. He came back to Jeremie where he has family he can live with and try to get back on his feet again. He had a hard time stopping crying the first day home...he tells of having friends and neighbors who had a leg or arm trapped under heavy concrete and they were calling out for someone to come and cut off their arm or leg (which someone did) so they could get free. He said people did not want to do it but they cried out and insisted saying they could live without an arm or leg but they wanted to live! I have to admit I have cried twice today just thinking about things.
REFUGEES...Folks are coming from Port au Prince by the thousands. One boat carries about 1500. That boat is supposed to arrive again tomorrow. The road is now open and the busses are bringing all they can. Some busses don't make it to Port au Prince...they pick up enough people walking as they flee the destruction. These people arrive in Jeremie just like my friend...with only the clothes on their backs.
SUPPLIES...I went around town today looking for rice and beans. Rice is about gone. Can still get beans. Plenty of other food in the market. We are low on diesel for the truck and gas for the motorcycle and generator...but we will survive..
AFTERSHOCK...you may have seen or read that there was an aftershock this morning at 6:03 that registered 6.0 on the richter scale. It did some more damage in Port au Prince as I heard and here it just made the house shake a little...but I admit when the house started shaking I was running to the door. I did not want to be under the concrete.
PRAYER...The most important thing right now is prayer! We just keep crying out to the Lord...not knowing what to do or what will happen. Isn't it comforting to know that when we don't know what the future holds (even tomorrow or later today) we do know He holds the future!!!
TEACHING MINISTRY...In the midst of all this I continue to give seminars to church leaders and churches. I preach in a different church in the country every Sunday. I was in one last Sunday where I had never been before....no building, just some poles stuck in the ground and some ladies came early to hang sheets on the poles to protect us from the heat of the sun (my North Dakota family & friends sorry to have to say that...smile).
ME...I feel like the most blessed man in the world to be able to be exactly where the Lord wants me to be. To do what little I can materially and spiritually to help these dear, suffering, needy people is a great blessing to me.
EARTHQUAKE UPDATE
Jeremie may still need emergency supplies in the near future, so the Haiti Bible Mission team spent alot of time and energy these past 2 days trying to figure out ways of delivering food to Jeremie. This has been very difficult and I have hit alot of dead ends while thinking outside of the box. I even made plans to fly into the Dominican Republic and travel by truck to Cayes (just south of Jeremie) with a another group of believers in order to depot supplies for the future. At the last minute, those plans evaporated. I will continue planning contingencies and believe God will not disappoint.
Haiti Bible Mission is also preparing for emergency aid in Port au Prince. In order to get this job done, HBM is partnering with others. Here are some examples:
Agape in Action - Medical Mission: My assistant Mike Zurn has been working diligently with the dedicated staff at AIA to put together a medical mission team for Mission of Hope Haiti. Doctors, nurses, paramedics and others, along with hundreds of pounds of food, medications and medical supplies are planning to land together at Port au Prince on February 6th and minister there for about a week. The team has been forming for only a few days, but some very generous, zealous and competent professionals are coming together to live the difference. Thank God.
Convoy of Hope - 40' Container: The kind and generous folks at New Beginning Resources, Inc. have committed to filling a 40' shipping container for Port au Prince. The container will be leaving Houston in a few weeks and will be shipped through the Dominican Republic. Praise God for the passion at NBRI and Convoy of Hope to bring relief to the people of Port au Prince.
Missionary Flights International: Haiti Bible Mission has its name on stand by with MFI to deliver emergency aide to 2 ministries in the heart of Port au Prince. So far, we have not been called, but I have over 200 pounds of supplies for Haiti in my living room, ready to go, when the call comes in.
—— — Haiti Bible Mission and its affiliates can only do these things - and more - because of our gracious
God and your generous support. Thanks for your sacrificial financial support.
Feel free to pass this message along to friends and family interested in Haiti earthquake relief efforts in Port au Prince and elsewhere.
Urgent needs are prayer and financial support. I hope you can feel certain that 100% of your contribution to Haiti Bible Mission for Haiti Earthquake Relief will make it to Haiti - providing relief to some very hurting people.
To donate online, please click the donate button to the right of this page. Finally, please join me in praying again for the people affected by the earthquake, for Dave as he ministers in and around Jeremie and for those who will travel to Haiti to help with the relief efforts.
God bless,
Mark Stockeland, Executive Director
Haiti Bible Mission