by Ruth Clark, IM Board President
Trip dates: March 17-19

Flying into Port-au-Prince, my first impression was a sea of blue – the tarps atop the tent cities. After surviving the chaos of trying to retrieve our luggage – no baggage carousels in this airport, just workers tossing bags through a hole in the wall with a crowd of travelers all attempting to find “their” black bag – we  wrestled my  large bag filled with 50 pounds of medical supplies through the masses to emerge into the stifling heat and dust of Port-au-Prince and the loving welcome of our missionaries Dr. Steven and Nancy James and Herb Rogers, and Emanuel Pierre, general secretary of the Haitian Baptist Union, as well as the president of the Union. Around us were street children calling out, “Sister, Sister.” When that didn’t provoke a response, they switched to “Mom!” What mother doesn’t immediately respond to that cry!

As we waited for our vehicles, we saw US military transport, UN vehicles, a German ambulance, and Red Crescent vehicles as well as people from the more than five thousand non-governmental agencies working in Haiti, all trying to make two lanes widen into four or even six! The wait for our cars and trucks lengthened as we discovered someone, in typical Haitian fashion, (according to Nancy James) had locked the gates to the parking area and left! A hole in the fence allowed us to push the bags underneath where they could be moved to the vehicles.  We were ready to slide ourselves under the fence as well, but they opted to have us walk around and meet the drivers further down the road. With some of us inside the vehicles and others perched in the bed of the truck, we made our way through the ruins of Port-au-Prince where we came face-to-face with the reality of the situation – throngs of people walking through the streets carrying things on their heads or toting buckets of water, rubble, collapsed buildings that recalled Ripley’s Believe or Not sets, dust, garbage and trash everywhere, and tent city after tent city. While the damage to the buildings was overwhelming, seeing people leaning against fences and sitting on the curbs was heartbreaking, their despair palpable.

We had begun this trip with a minimum of detail about where we would be staying and what our itinerary might be since our Haitian partners were making the arrangements.  As I thought about the uncertainty of not knowing where I would be sleeping, when or what I would be eating, and what might be asked of me, the analogy was shocking. Most of the people we would be meeting had been living that uncertainty for the past two months – and had no idea when life would hold any clear-cut certainties!

We wound our way to the La Plaza Hotel, a gated facility across the street from a tent city, to be greeted by Ketley and Vital Pierre and Deliris Carrion-Rose, three of our missionaries who have come to lend their gifts and support to our brothers and sisters in Haiti. We were weary, we were hot, we were struggling with the challenges of checking in and language glitches, when I realized the missionaries had disappeared. I was touched when they reappeared – with bottles of water for us in hand! Their compassion and concern for us is only a glimpse of their servant hearts!

Moments later we were back in the vehicles to participate in a service with about 300 Haitians gathered in the basement of the demolished Eglise Baptiste Siloe’ de Demas (Shiloh Baptist Church of Demas), one of two congregations who lost their pastors in the earthquake.  The building had walls open to the air and rubble for a floor with a dais covered with Turkish rugs. When we arrived, a familiar tune met my ears – “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” Several pastors shared words of comfort and encouragement, challenging the people to move toward the goal of a new Haiti. The youth choir sang, “He is Exalted.” What a thrill to be invited to speak a word to them and remind them we were there to partner with them during this time! The widow of one of the pastors lost and the son of this congregation’s pastor shared movingly of God’s grace and blessing during the disaster. Touched as I was, it was when Saphir,  a group of young adults from a neighboring church began to sing “There are Many Reasons to Glorify God”, their arms around each other for strength, that my tears began to fall. As the service closed, they sang “Count Your Blessings,” and I marveled at the strength and spiritual power of these people.

The darkness of the streets in Port-au-Prince as we returned from the service was a bitter reminder of the hold that voodoo and poverty have over this people. We sat in the relative coolness of the hotel’s restaurant and ate dinner together, only too aware of the tent city’s occupants across the street. I returned to our room and had a shower, talking to myself about being such a wimp about the cold water when the people in the tent city were bathing in buckets when I recalled that in French “C” stands for hot!

Traffic is a nightmare in Port-au-Prince. Lane designations are only suggestions and people fearlessly cross in front of traffic with only a raised hand asking you to stop. Stop signs are ignored. Merges occur with inches to spare and honking horns signal “Watch out! I’m coming through!” Some places, the roads are cracked, there are impossible pot holes, and piles of rubble or tent houses set up on the street. Amazingly, we never saw an accident, not even when we had six oxen pass us on the darkened street in Port-au-Prince. People are everywhere, shopping at the sidewalk stands, sitting on the sidewalks, or digging and sweeping in the blue or yellow T-shirts designating UN or Haitian government paid young people. The city sits in a cloud of dust as rubble is moved or swept or sifted for usable material.

We made three stops in our tour today – Petit Goave where we met the pastor, his wife, and their three young children. Their house stands, but the walls and roof of the adjoining school and church are gone. They have not slept in their home since the quake. Madame escorted us graciously to the stone latrine, toilet paper in hand, and brought liquid soap, water and a towel for us to use.

Our second stop was Grand Goave where Herb Rogers and Tori Wentz and Scott Hunter (CBF) have created a staging area for work teams who began arriving in late March. We sat down and talked to the Haitian Baptist Union leadership about their plans and what we could do to help meet their needs. They have proposed a three-part plan: relief (immediate needs for food and shelter), recovery (helping get students back in school – all schools are still closed), and rebuilding (churches, homes, and schools).

The final stop of the day was Darbonne, near the epicenter. The church there was demolished, but they have cleared the rubble and are looking to rebuild. A women’s group of about twenty was gathered nearby under the shade of the trees and we met with them. They sang for us – “We are Baptist women. This is no time to be lazy!” I greeted them through Vital’s interpretation. They proudly led us to the new site for their church. I was taken by their resilience and courage.

As I have thought about our experience there, I give thanks for Herb Rogers whose great love for and knowledge and understanding of the people and culture was a graduate level seminar for me during our visit. It is that history of relationship that allows us to partner effectively and give support and aid. American Baptists have been there for Haiti for the past 87 years. They trust and know us. Repeatedly we heard, “You not only heard about our troubles, you came to see!” International Ministries has a holistic approach to doing ministry that does not just arrive to “fix” the situation, but seeks to partner with those already there to accomplish more than either of us could do independently.

Mental snapshots continue to come to mind – Dr. James with his arm around one of the persistent street children at the airport; Ketley Pierre’s ringing endorsement of her fellow Haitians as “survivors” and “spiritual”; houses and buildings pan caked to the ground against the singing of praises of fellow believers.

Bringing Haiti back to what it was before January 12th will not be enough. We must partner with our brothers and sisters to bring about a new land with opportunities for all to live in hope. A small step has been the scholarship aid to 94 students to attend the University of North Haiti, helping to establish strong new leaders for a new Haiti. We are providing more help with missionary appointments to shore up the work.

I am grateful to be part of International Ministries’ work for the Lord in this part of His kingdom and for the sacrificial giving from around the world that is helping to make it possible.