February 2010

Dear friends,

Without a doubt we have never sent a letter such as this, with so much death and bad news involved — and so much doubt about the future of this country. I was there the evening of January 12, not far from the palace that now lies in ruins, as does most of what was the city of Port-au-Prince. I was asked by a report what it sounded like, and I said it sounded like hell coming. It lasted maybe only 30-45 seconds, but in that amount of time the destruction was complete. I have since read that it was 35 times more powerful than the first bomb dropped on Japan.

Houses were completely destroyed, walls had collapsed, and the streets were littered with the dead and dying. The guest house where some of you have stayed was gone, with people crushed inside as it fell. Women who sold goods or food along the walls outside homes or businesses were killed when those walls fell on them. Cracks with dust spewing from them had opened up in the streets. Hundreds of those who had lived through the first round were in the streets, not knowing where to go or what to do. To say the least, it was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced.

Ministry-wise, two of our schools/churches have been destroyed. Most of those in the outlying areas suffered some damage. The home of the pastor of one school was destroyed. One teacher has both feet broken. But, thankfully, school was out and no children were in the buildings.

We are not even sure what to say or ask of you. We do know that at some point in the very near future, everyone in Haiti will be at risk of starving to death. While I was at the airport waiting to be evacuated, food and supplies were being flown in at an unbelievable pace. Unfortunately for those who live in the villages, all the roads have been cut off; one of the main bridges going out of town was severely damaged and all traffic across it has come to a halt. At this point we know of no deaths among those working with/for us and no deaths among our kids. We are very thankful for that.

Help is needed, friends, and we need help to provide it for them. We certainly can’t help or touch everone we see, but we can help those who are suffering in our villages.

Thank you for your prayers to all who called Terry in the days after; and thank you to those who have already given. We appreciate all of you who help do these things for our friends in Haiti, especially now.