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Haiti: Heart-breaking report from Miguel

I talked to our country director, Miguel Santiago. He just returned from Port-au-Prince with this report:   Miguel passed by a school that was full of students at the time of the earthquake that completely collapsed, killing most of the students. He said the stench was unbearable. They h…
By Seth Barnes
By Seth Barnes
I talked to our country director, Miguel Santiago. He just returned from Port-au-Prince with this report:
 
Miguel passed by a school that was full of students at the time of the earthquake that completely collapsed, killing most of the students. He said the stench was unbearable.

They had turned the large cement slab in front of the school into a triage center for the living right next to that place of death because there was no more space to put them.
 
A pickup truck with four crushed but living people showed up. There was no room for them there. The man driving it said, “Where else can I take them?”

There was a woman crying beside the body of her sister who couldn’t get treatment and had just died.

A mass of people is fleeing Port-au-Prince. It was hard to move. People are being tended for medical needs all along the way from the capital to the D.R. border.  The capital is becoming like a war zone.

Last night, for example, according to unconfirmed reports, there were five D.R. police officers there to keep the peace who were murdered. The tension between the two nations is going to be exacerbated. It is possible that missionaries going in could be killed. We as a ministry will not be sending groups in until we have better assessed the security situation.

Miguel describes the situation as “on a knife’s edge.” But he adds that this can push the country to a place of dependence on God. The pastors are saying that people are turning to God in an unprecedented way.
 

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Comments (17)

  • Please excuse my ignorance, but why does this tragic event make relations between Dominican Republic and Haiti worse?
    The D.R., of all nations, is positioned better to render assistance than any other. Are there political groups in Haiti who feel threatened by the presence of any foreign assistance? Or is it just Haiti/D.R. rivalry?

  • Dear Daddy Seth,
    We are praying and we were weeping to see this pictures.Please God help them and provide things which they greatly need in difficult time.Please give them comfort to those families their family memebers lost in the earth quake.
    We and all our churches Pastors and their congregation are also praying for you and Miguel.May God bless them and use them for His glory in Haiti people.
    God bless You.
    Emmanuel Sadiq

  • Carey,

    When I lived in the D.R. in the 80’s, you couldn’t miss this issue. It’s like a lot of countries that share a border. Mexico and the U.S. for instance. We’re building ever-more-secure border fences and immigration is a hot button.

    As Haitians overrun the border in search of food and water and shelter, my bet is that the Dominicans will feel it is a threat to their national sovereignty.

  • Father, we have faith in your plans and unconditional love for all those who are in pain, physically, emotionally, and spiritually in Haiti and the DR. Let them open up their hearts completely to your healing power and grace.

    Shield your soldiers with complete armor and passion to bring nations together in peace and understanding.

    Open the eyes and hearts to people of the world to hear your voice for their part in the healing that is needed. Activate them to embrace their part and show the joy of your love to activate those around them.

    Pappa, you are the almighty healer in so many ways, teach us all in these times to receive, accept, and pay forward your word and plan.

  • Seth and all AIM folks,

    We knew you’d be there and we trust God to work ministry through AIM in Haiti. We will be praying for and supporting those efforts.

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Seth Barnes

I'm motivated to join God in his global reclamation project. He's on the move, setting his sons and daughters free from their places of captivity. And he's partnering with those of us who have been freed to go and free others.



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