PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A blue tarp tied to what’s left of
Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, serves as a safe haven for some
members who survived the Jan. 12 earthquake.
BP photo IMB missionary Mark Rutledge prays with members of Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Several families who lost their homes during the quake are living underneath a blue tarp tied to what’s left of the church building. |
A few dozen families who lost their homes are living outside the church under
the tarp. The earthquake damaged the building, collapsed the church’s school
and took the lives of their pastor, Bienne Lamerique, and three other church
leaders. One member said that, of the 2,000-member congregation, only 100 have
been accounted for since the 7.0 magnitude quake that is believed to have
killed hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti.
This week, International Mission Board missionaries Dawn Goodwin and Carlos
Llambes, Baptists from the Dominican Republic and a missionary from another
organization visited Shiloh Baptist and other churches in the area to review
damage and encourage members.
Many pews at Shiloh Baptist remain overturned and support beams appear to be
damaged.
Metal rods in the beams were bent from the shifting weight of the roof
during the earthquake. The church building was under construction, so the
congregation had been meeting in an open-air auditorium.
Twenty-five-year-old Pierre Anderson and several other church members were in
the auditorium when the earthquake hit. A few members were injured, but none
seriously, Anderson said. He and the others later learned that their pastor and
three other church leaders had died in the disaster; Lamerique died of injuries
sustained when his house collapsed.
Anderson and a handful of other church members shared their stories with IMB
missionary Mark Rutledge Jan. 18. Rutledge, currently on stateside assignment,
is in Haiti to help translate for a media team as they report on the damage.
“We don’t know where our future leaders will come from,” Anderson told the
missionary.
Rutledge paused while translating for Anderson, who speaks French Creole, the
heart language of Haitians. He turned and cried for a moment while members of
the congregation watched.
“One of their remaining leaders told them that they just need to hold on a little
longer,” said Rutledge, who served in Haiti for 26 years.
When Rutledge and his wife, Peggy, began serving as career missionaries in
1987, the couple attended Lamerique’s first church start, which met in a small
house in a Port-au-Prince slum. The Rutledges became close friends and prayer
partners with Lamerique and his wife.
BP photo Members of Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which lost four key leaders in the Jan. 12 earthquake, gather outside what’s left of their church building. As church members recount stories of that horrific day, they ask for prayer that God will raise up new leaders to guide their church. |
Anderson also told Rutledge he lost his two sisters in the earthquake. One of
the bodies has yet to be pulled from a collapsed building.
His faith is what is getting him through the crisis, Anderson said.
“It’s been the church’s encouragement that has helped give me strength,”
Anderson said. The church has been holding services every day outside the
building since the quake.
“No matter what happens in life, the only thing that matters is Jesus Christ,”
Anderson continued. “If you have faith, He will sustain you.”
“The same God that allowed this to happen can rebuild it,” added Roseman Louis,
who lost a cousin and a sister.
For now the church continues to move forward, but Anderson admits they are
struggling for direction and to meet physical needs since water, food and other
supplies are limited.
Thousands of displaced people — like members of Shiloh Baptist Church — are
living on the streets, in parks and just about anywhere there is open space.
Bodies still can be seen lying on the street or partially exposed in the
remains of collapsed buildings.
Amid the dire situation, “a revival could happen…,” Rutledge said. “… If
the focus is on Jesus, that kind of change can happen … a change that is more
than skin deep.
“I think there is huge potential for revival,” Rutledge added. “I believe there
is hope.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — James writes for the International Mission Board.)
Related stories
Editorial: How do we best help Haiti recover?
First-person post from Haiti: ‘Unbelievable’
Spoke’n: Finding the first question
Raleigh pastor clings to news, phone, hope
Haiti conditions bad, but relief pipeline opening
Haiti response may require $2 million
Quake shakes ground but not Haitians’ faith
Haitian church ‘holds on’ after loss of 4 leaders
Baptists confront Haiti challenge
Missionaries heartbroken over tragedy
Baptist pastor confirmed among dead in Haiti
Florida convention staff missing
Haiti teams focus on urgent & long-term needs
Baptist worker in Haiti reported safe
N.C. Baptists gathering response effort for Haiti
Spoke’n (Editor’s Journal): Haitians were 1779 allies
Spoke’n: Finding the first question
The Way I Hear It (blog): How to Handle Haiti