Pics: Caiman's youth group on a prayer tour and the Mompremier's expanding household.Dear friends;
In the last couple of days, 2 planes came in from FL with supplies and money for us to distribute to refugees. The community has a committee in place that has identified the families that have opened their houses to people from Port-au-Prince. They have been dividing the supplies and delivering money. The money is given to the families so that they can start to participate in taking care of their families. The committee has a list of 887 people that our area has received! And every day the list gets longer. It is wonderful to have the community band together. From our experience, people of the community have given of their own stores. We have received cabbages, oranges, sugar cane, coconuts, etc--whatever people have to share, they are sharing. UCI has also been able to hand out a lot of food to families in need.
Since the response from you has been so great, we are going to be able to expand our area of influence. JeanJean has been in contact with all of the pastors that are associated with UCI. Each community is in a similar situation to ours. We will be able to send money and food to these churches as the need is assessed.
Today, one of the pastors that we know in Port came back for a funeral and stopped at our place on his way back to Port. He has been in the city with his church members since the quake. He gave us a report of his church today. Their church is barely standing and no one dares to enter. But, Pastor Tessechrist has opened up the yard. He has about 200 church members sleeping on the ground. He says that they pray every night that it doesn't rain. The eat day-to-day. Many people go long distances to stand in lines waiting to be handed some food. Then they have to take it back to the church and try to find charcoal to cook it. And then they have to divide the food up between everyone that is there. We thank you so much that we are able to send them food from the relief money.
In one of my newsletters, I wrote about a young man that came back from Port with severe shock. He has since gotten some treatment at the hospital. He was released yesterday to return to his parent's home. He sent a message to us saying that he wanted to pray with us to receive Jesus. We traveled to his home this evening. He is living with 18 other people in a little 12' x 12' house with dirt floors and a roof that leaks. All of the adults of the house came to listen as we read the Bible, sang songs, and prayed with this young man. When JeanJean asked the young man, Jean Renel, if he wanted to pray; 6 people in the house committed their lives to Christ! Please pray for this family, the Saintils, who still have to deal with sickness, the trauma of surviving the quake, poverty, and a father who believes in voodoo. While we were there, we felt another aftershock. But, it didn't cause the people that survived the quake in Port to become scared--rather they felt that God was displaying His grace.
UCI has been trying to continue with their project of putting in cement floors for people that have been sleeping on the dirt. One of the houses that we are cementing is for the family that lost a 24-year old son in the earthquake. Besides UCI's help, they also had a huge outpouring of community support to help them. Actually, the community decided to gather rocks for them in their time of need. Their house is small and one wall is crumbling. So, as a sign of how much the community loved this family, they decided to dig all the rocks and gravel and sand and cut the wood needed. This family will be getting a whole new house!
We have 35 people in our house and probably more coming but God has sent us such great people. Everyone wants to help out. I haven't washed a dish since all this happened! Everyone is family already. But, keep praying as we just don't know what the long term looks like. But, it is always good for all of us to trust our tomorrow's to God.
I wish I had a photo of the Wed. morning prayer and fasting and our Friday early morning service. There are so many people turning to God at this time! People that haven't set foot in church are desperate for Him. People that have let their faith slip are convicted to give all of their lives to Jesus. People are praying and believing in prayer. I wish it didn't have to take an earthquake for this to happen, but I know that God is in total control and that He loves us all.
God bless all of you!!
JeanJean, Kristie, Tana, Kerri and the rest of the extended Mompremier family
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