Gonaives Update

(pronounced G-oh-naive) was the area in Haiti that seems to have been hit the hardest during the hurricanes and tropical storms of last month. While areas even this far north have dealt with a lot of lost property and animals, large areas of Gonaives, as you can tell in these pictures, are still underwater.

(all that is left of a sister church in Gonaives. The benches, pulpit, everything was washed away.)

Our friend and fellow professor headed South to survey the damage on Saturday, taking with him our camera and $2000 Haitian (a little under $300 US) that he and several other mission employees had given from their salaries for churches there. They visited three different pastors of three different churches. Upon his return, Guenson could not say enough: "You just wouldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I've never seen such widespread devastation."

There are still many people living there, all relocated to roof-tops, living in muddy makeshift tents and trying to find and salvage all that they can.

"I'd like to leave," one of the pastors told him. "I have family in Cap-Haitien, and want to go there. But I am a shepherd. And my people, the people in my church, they are still here. And many of them have no place to go. If I leave, who will guide and encourage them?"

(A makeshift tent built on the roof of a pastor's now unlivable home. He, his wife, several children and several friends and neighbors live here.)

Another pastor told him the story of their "hurricane plan", which included moving his family up through the house, level by level, as the water rose. When they stood on their roof, and the water rose around their feet, he didn't know what they were going to do. He saw a man sweep by the house, and took he and his family stopped worrying about what they were going to do and began fishing people out of the water around them, gathering several people who then lived on the roof with them for three days until they could descend.



"Everyone is hungry," Guenson said, "and everything everyone has is gone or destroyed. Everyone is also worried about sickness and malaria, with mud and corpses and water and garbage everywhere. How do you start over when everything looks like this?"

( a washed out bridge that is still being used as the main route between Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien)

The pastors and churches, however, were thrilled by Guenson's presence and help, greatly encouraged by any small amount of help or encouragement and prayer from brothers in Christ.



As soon as an effective and safe method of taking larger amounts of aid to these areas is determined, we'll let you know. Meanwhile, please continue to be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Gonaives and across Haiti, especially those who are seeking to be Christ's hands and feet to many hopeless people.