Pastors are stretched to the limit trying to care for the orphans and vulnerable children in their congregations since the quake. One pastor has sold his car to buy food for the children. Another was asked “What would you need from a U.S. church in order to take in the orphans in your congregation?”
With great trepidation and humility, he looked at us and said “Could we possibly have three or four hundred dollars?”
Pastor Gaston lost his son in the earthquake and yet he perseveres, trying to serve the living children in his midst. The wall of his church is being held up by the wall of his home next door. The family, as well as several orphans in their care, is sleeping in tents and on the concrete floor of the church.
Pastor Gaston's church
Everywhere we went, beautiful children had assembled in the churches to sing us songs, believing we brought hope.
Baptiste Bethanie Church had 450 children waiting inside his church. About 30 minutes into our meeting, we asked the pastor “How many of these children are homeless?”
He looked at us incredulously and said, ”All of them. I thought you understood that.”
This toddler one of 450 homeless children we met today at Baptiste Bethanie Church.
Another five-year-old little girl told us her story like this: “My daddy was talking to a neighbor when the house began to shake. I went outside but he did not see me. He ran into the house calling my name, and it fell on him.” Stories like this were repeated to us all day.
Wisely, the youth pastor of a church that has existed since 1967 asked if we could consider providing counseling services to the children as part of the proposed church partnership. This is very important, he said, because he has known these children all their lives, and “they laugh no more.”
Jodi Tucker for HORT
Thanks Jodi for the update. This is amazing. I pray we can get all of the churches with one mind, body, goal as the CHURCH practicing PURE RELIGION...it is so needed global and in Haiti right now....thanks so much for the posts.
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