Hope Church

This hurricane season has been very active.  Names like Ike & Gustav have taken on new significance.  Major US cities have taken hits.  There is much to be done for those in the path of these storms. 

But one place that has received little new coverage has been the places outside of the U.S. that has been affected by the storms. 
One place is Haiti, a small war-torn, impoverished "half-island"country in the Caribbean.  With the lack of infrastructure and finances these places are especially hard hit.

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail from a Pastor in Haiti:

Tomorrow, I was supposed to go pick up about 20 people who needed rescued from Gonaives. 13 of them are orphans.  They called me around 4"00 in the afternoon to let me know that they cannot come because there is a river they need to cross that is too high to cross.  They are going to see if the water goes down tomorrow.  So, we will pick them up on Friday. They are supposed to stay with us for the remainder of the month at least until order is restored in Gonaives.

Let me tell you a story about these orphans.  In 2004, Hurricane Jeanne destroyed Gonaives and several thousands people lost their lives.  Those orphans are children who lost their mom and dads during Hurricane Jeanne. One pastor friend picked them up off the streets and put them in a rent house.  This pastor has been a visiting speaker in our church.  Those children have been going through the same ordeal and are now staying in a house full of mud and sleep on top of a roof at night.  We will be happy to help them for a period of time in Jesus' name.

I also went today to the culligan plant and bought drinking water.  I was able to purchase 12 5-gallons of water.  We also were able to purchase 90 gallons of diesel fuel to be used for our trucks, generators at home and at the Cap Haitien Church, and to pump water.  In time like these we can pump water and share it with others.

I should be able to communicate more with the available internet.  Thank you for praying for us.  We are blessed that there are those who love Jesus who share this burden with us.

In the name of Jesus,  

Henoc Lucien

What can you do?

Be informed.Here is a story to better understand the situation.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters as they struggle for life. And pray that these might be a great opportunity for the gospel!

Be Involved. If you would like to be involved check out the Hurricane Relief efforts being organized through the EFCA.

UPDATE (9-18-08):