Earthquakes January 12, 2009

3 Earthquakes hit Port-au-Prince Tuesday 1/12/09, the first two about 5 pm and 6pm then one at 1 in the morning. The first was a 7.0. It was very scary, shook our house up a lot, but our house has no cracks or anything! Thank you God and thank you Pastor Hantz Bernard who had a very solid house built. Things fell and smashed, and it was scary running outside. The refrigerator opened and all the contents smashed on the floor, but the fridge did not fall over, tall pieces of furniture did not fall over either.

We are all fine. It's nerve-wracking to feel all the aftershocks. The first night we slept on the "roof"(flat top) of our house. Last night we slept in the living room near so that we could run out the door easily if we needed to. But we only went outside for one aftershock.

Our immediate neighborhood was not too badly hit. But nearby there was a tall hotel under construction and 5 or so stories fell and apparently crushed poor peoples' houses. All over the city people are hurt or have died. The first night Ricahrd took a lady who was pregnant and also injured (shoulder) to a hospital....he eneded up trying 5 hospitals before he left her at that one. All of them were filled with people who needed help. It's still like that. In some places doctors are trying to help people but they need materials. That same night Richard brought an injured man, Izidor, back to our house becuase he had no place to go. When the earthquake hit, he was injured trying to get downstaires from the 3rd floor with his baby in his hands. He did not know what happened to any of his househodl. The next day we took him to his mother's house where he found out his wife survived but not the baby. We gave some first aid, prayed with some people and then took Izidor to a friends house closer to his own crushed house. The plan was for him and his wife to reunite there.

On the way, we saw many dead bodies on the sides of the roads and many people working on getting people out of the wreckage. I have a lot of pictures but it's a miracle even to get to post this at the house of a friend of a friend. So i'm not sure when I can put up pics.

We had news as of this morning that the school has heard from all the staff and teachers except 2. That is, all of them are Ok, one worker had a son die, one had a neice die.

As far as our co-workers in AIS-Haiti, we ahve heard from Sylvain, he is fine, but not his house. We have not gotten any word on anyone else.

Please pray for Margaret who works at our house and her husband Mitou. We haven't heard from them & we don't know where their apartment is so we can't go check on them.

Please pray for the Vaillant family--Mrs. Vaillant, whom we call Mme Levy works at our house and their son Elysee is invovled in the AIS Haiti ministry.
Pray for Ronald William whom we have not heard anyhthing.
thank you
will post when I can