Regional Pastor Shares Thoughts on Haiti Earthquake

The following is an email sent by Don Hiscox, the Associate Regional Regional Minister for Congregational and Clergy Care of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest on the current situation in Haiti.

As I sit here,  I am literally weeping for the people of Haiti.  They had so very little and now what they had is likely lost.

We’ve all seen on TV the pictures of devastation and destruction caused by the 7.0 earthquake yesterday.  Just about a year ago, I was so very fortunate to spend two weeks on the island of Hispaniola.  I had opportunity to visit with Patrick and Kimberly Bentrout, our Global Ministries missionaries in Haiti.  They live in Puerto Prince, so they’re right in the middle of it all.  Glen Stewart, Regional Minister of Tennessee, at this very moment, is in Haiti with a delegation of Tennessee Disciples on a mission orientation trip.  Initial and very vague communications tell us that all those persons are OK, but the devastation, they say, is massive.

We’ve only seen the pictures from the city, and it really looks bad.  When we ultimately see the pictures from the countryside (in some places there are no roads to get to where the people live), the destruction will be much, much worse.  We will ultimately find out that of a population of nine million souls, in a country the size of Maryland, perhaps thousands will have died and the destruction will be unbelievably widespread.

Initially, I want to ask you to please keep all of these persons in your thoughts and prayers.

CONASPEH, the protestant church of Haiti, our mission partner organization in the country, will definitely respond to the very best of their ability – but their ability is drastically limited.

And the beautiful people of Haiti do not have the resources to respond to this disaster.  The government is corrupt.  50% of the population is unemployed.  70% of the people live on about $2 per day.  There are no building codes.  Some of the homes are just shacks, and the buildings are so poorly constructed that you and I would not have lived in them in the first place.  There are no national relief agencies.  Rebuilding?  Not an option.  Insurance?  Non-existent.  Raw materials?  None.

International relief through the Church is absolutely a requirement.

I’ve just been reminded that I’m going to be on vacation next week, and you know, I’m going to spend more money on that single week’s vacation than over half of the people in Haiti will earn in a lifetime.

As soon as I get home, I’m going to write my check to the Week of Compassion designated for Haitian relief efforts.  I invite you to do the same.  I invite you to ask the persons in your congregation to respond to the best of their ability.

The need in Haiti is beyond our imagination.

Please give with generosity.

Don Hiscox
(waiting in an airport)

Regional Minister for Congregational and Clergy Care
Christian Church in the Upper Midwest
PO Box 41217
Des Moines, IA 50311-0504
Cell Phone 515-577-9020
dh@uppermidwestcc.org

The need in Haiti is real.  Please consider giving to Week of Compassion, the disaster and development agency for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  You can give online.