Brief update from Phyllis Schmid

We had another "shock" again last night that woke me up. I was just falling asleep. It was later than usual for me but I was trying to stay awake for dad to come home. He and Bruce were out for a long time last night because there was trouble on campus. Things finally calmed down but it took a while. The group living on the basketball court has been the most unruly and there was a big problem there. He finally got home and we were able to sleep without getting called out again.
Mom

This message is from someone who visited with Radio Lumiere:

FRIDAY IN HAITI

I spent the morning visiting pastors and churches. Rain has turned the dust to slop in the streets. Pedestrians are splashed to their knees with the white glop, but the human swarm continues unabated.

For 2 months now, folks have been digging themselves out of the rubble. I
know I’m only seeing a cleaned up version of the disaster, but the more you see, the harder it is to imagine what a terror those couple of minutes must have been.

I visited Pastor Napoleon’s house. All that’s left is a slab of concrete with recently-laid white tile covering it. He showed me where his mother was pinned by falling concrete, and he spent from 6 pm til midnight digging her out. She underwent two surgeries, but died of infection. I asked how his slab was cleared, when all around were sites where the houses still lay in ruin. He told me that the youth group from church had come and cleared it for him. It’s a crazy world when the greatest service you can render a friend is to haul the rubble of his house away. It’s even crazier when you realize what a precious gift that was – it’s not easy to get rid of rubble in a city where that is all that is left.

I went to see Bellevue Salem Church #2 at Delmas, now a gravel pile. Pastor Villemar lived upstairs. His wife and two sons were seriously injured when suddenly their whole house fell down into the church below. They are being cared for at Cayes, and he is staying in town at Delmas to take care of his people. I asked “How are you doing emotionally?” He answered, “Avec le Seigneur, ça va.” With the Lord, all is well. I asked “How is your wife?”
He answered, “Others are worse off.” Those are answers I heard through out the day.

Since the quake, 1700 people have accepted Christ at Côte Plage. 1000 more accepted Christ at Bellevue. That’s just two churches. How can a church give a proper foundation to so many new believers? That is the challenge. They need to train thousands of disciple-makers. Radio Lumiere might be part of the answer...

But Radio Lumiere is broadcasting from under tarps in their courtyard. Most of the staff his moved on to the property and are living together in tents. I’m sure it’s not all fun and games, but it will be a time that people now living will be telling their grand kids about when they are old and grey.