January 12th, 2010 disaster hit Port Au Prince Haiti. There was a 7.0 Earthquake, followed by a 5.9 Earthquake.
Now, if you would imagine with me, Haiti is the poorest country in the Northern Hemisphere and unlike many poor, “3rd-world” countries, Haiti does not possess the resources to function as a normal society in the first place, let alone to repair the catastrophe that has shook their small country this week.
48% of the population is children, and over 2/3s of the population depends on the agriculture sector and small-scale subsistence farming, even though they are very vulnerable to natural disasters (with a record of Hurricanes).
The country’s official religion is Roman Catholicism, but Voodoo is considered to be Haiti’s nation religion: as the majority of Haitians believe in and practice at least some aspects of voodoo.
Most Haitians are beyond desperately poor, and due to years of political instability, Haiti has no real construction standards. In 2008, after a school collapsed in Petionville, the mayor of Port Au Prince said that about 60% of the buildings there, were shoddily built and unsafe in even normal circumstances. I have see this, firsthand, and he is not exaggerating.
The damages from the Earthquakes so far account for an estimated 100,000 deaths that could explode up into the 500,000s according to one of their leading senators. Not to forget mentioning the hospitals, roads, buildings, and homes that were flattened across Port Au Prince.
In an article I just read on merinews.com, when commenting on the Haiti earthquake, Pat Robertson said, “It is God’s vengeance upon the Haitians for makign a deal with the devil to rid themselvse of the French.”
His quote reminded me of a documentary film I saw before visiting Haiti this last July. In the film, a Haitian man said that 200 years ago, Haiti was dedicated to Satan… which reminded me of the news reporter last night who said that Haiti has not suffered an earthquake of this magnitude for over 200 years. This disaster has been a good reminder and example of what living a sinful lifestyle will bring you: distruction.
I don’t believe that God is seeking vengeance on Haiti, but I do believe that this disaster is the result of the enemy;s work in Haiti. I believe God can and will use this for His glory. I believe that God is seeking the people of Haiti for His Kingdom. Family, we need to band together and pray that in these trying times, the Haitians will come to their knees and see what their lifestyle has gotten them. Jesus is the only Hope that the nation of Haiti has left. I am praying that Christians will take this time as an opportunity to intercede for the Haitians in prayer and in practical ways. In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus says, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” If that’s what Jesus said, then that’s what we need to do.
I just found out that, not only is Haiti one of the destinations for my mission trip this July, but that we are now going to be going into Haiti to help with the disaster relief. Today, a missionary by the name of Miguel is already heading to Haiti from the D.R. to begun setting up to provide relief and to set up long term relief efforts.
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