Haiti Relief Update

General

US Naval ships arrived in Haiti this morning with some much needed supplies like helicopters, hospital beds and operating rooms. Emergency crews are on the ground working frantically to still rescue people trapped in damaged buildings. They are striving to keep survivors alive, sheltered and fed.

Civil unrest and looting are a huge concern as the needs are massive and the resources on the ground right now are extremely limited. Haiti is a difficult and corrupt country normally and after such an immense tragedy the practical application of relief is going to come very slowly. The roads normally are horrific and now that they are mostly destroyed, getting relief to where it needs to go is going to be a slow process. However, the United States as well as multiple other countries and relief organizations from around the globe are mobilizing and rushing to get their resources to Haiti.

The estimated death toll overall is predicted to be upwards of 100,000.

Haiti has a population of over 9 million people with no national resources available. The country is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and totally depended upon foreign imports and aid.   A large percentage of the 3 million people living in the capital city area are without access to food, water, shelter and electricity.” And you can imagine if this is the situation in the capital city where aid is slowly getting to, that rest of the country which was also heavily hit is just as devastated.

This is a tragedy on a magnitude that we don’t fully understand yet.

What SGWM is doing

I was able to meet last night (Thursday January 14th) at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa with 20-25 other pastors and ministry leaders to discuss a joint strategy for a long-term relief ministry in Haiti. This was an amazing meeting and we were able to link all our resources together.

Where we are at:

  • Haiti is on total lockdown to civilians and is seemingly impossible to get in. However, God is able! There is a small team of eight guys attempting to cross the border into Haitifrom the DRC. This is an extremely dangerous road and there is no guarantee they will be able to cross the border. Pray that they would be able to get in and possibly establish a base for SGWM and all the other ministries we are linking arms with to work from.
  • We have connections with two ministry bases in Haiti. One just outside of Port-au-Prince and the other in Jacmel (on the southern end of the country). We are currently exploring options in both areas.
    • Pros & Cons – getting into Prot-au-Prince is going to be extremely difficult if we can at all. Then getting from Port-au-Prince to the Calvary Chapel base there is unknown due to road conditions, transportation, food, gas, etc… Getting to Jacmel might be a possibility. It is a port city which gives us access from the ocean and they have a small landing strip that we would be able to land planes on. We have connections with the local government in Jacmel that we are working with to try to get them to open the port and/or the air strip to allow us free access to bring in supplies. Probably one of the most strategic aspects of targeting Jacmel as our point of entrance and establishing a hub for ministry and relief is that no one else is going there; everyone is going to Port-au-Prince.
    • We are currently looking into the possibility of chartering planes from the DRC to fly teams and supplies into Jacmel. Also, we are looking into the possibility of chartering cargo ships out of Florida or the Golf Coast to ship supplies.

The Needs:

  • Financial – this is not going to be a one-month fix. This is going to be a long-term need and opportunity to show the love of Jesus Christ to the hurting people in Haiti. So we are seeking and asking for one-time as well as ongoing donations. You can sign up to donate through:
  • Supplies – Currently we are not taking in supplies. We will be opening this up shortly once we establish a storage base in Florida or the Golf. We are doing this strategically so that we do not have to truck supplies from the West Coast down there to connect with a ship or plane (if this is what the Lord has).
  • Teams – there will be a need for teams both long and short term in the near future. We will be posting more opportunities and instructions as soon as we are able to get on the ground in Haiti.
    • We will need Doctors, nurses, construction workers, water purifying specialists, and people with a heart to pray, cry and minister to/with hurting people.
    • Prayer – please be in prayer for all the ministries linking together. For wisdom, guidance, resources, and above all the Lord’s guidance.

Please continue to check www.sgwm.com/newsblog for the latest updates and developments. You can also post your thoughts and ideas in the comment section.

You can also follow SGWM on twitter at www.twitter.com/sgwmissions and/or facebook.

Ministries we are partnering with:

  1. Promise Child
  2. Ends of the Earth Ministries
  3. Tru Hope – A Ministry of Calvary Chapel Westgrove
  4. Parakletos International – A Ministry of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
  5. Committed Relief – A Ministry of Calvary Chapel La Habra

God Bless,

Mike Thiemann
Director
Saving Grace World Missions
“Reaching the Nations One Soul at a Time.”

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