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Haiti Mission Service *The Church with Answers* Teaching the uncompromised word, walking in faith and victory, where excellence is a way of life. *living faith ministries / our working vision / community door*

Pastor Preval Meritil, seated at bottom right, at Columbia Furnace Church of the Brethren surrounded with friends. Pastor Bill Fitchett and wife Nancy standing top right, Michael, Pastor Geordany's son, is seated next to Pastor Preval .	Pastor Preval Meritil at Columbia Furnace Church of the Brethren, VA February 12, 2010
	January 12, 2010, a deadly earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. 250,000 dead. Hundreds of thousands homeless. Political and social chaos. Pastor Bill Fitchett convinced Pastor Preval to come to the United States at this time to enable friends and supporters to be able to grace him and Haiti Mission Service. We met with pastor Preval on February 12, at Columbia Furnace Church of the Brethren. Pastor Preval shared about the effects and aftermath of the earthquake and shared an uplifting message to us! While many in the United States are distraught over our friends in Haiti, Pastor Preval knew he had to minister to us, although our initial intent was to minister to him, and through Pastor Preval to the people he represents. Doug Southers, from the Rileyville COB, Luray, Virginia, was with Pastor Preval at his home when the earthquake struck. Pastor Preval shared how his concrete block house was lifted and tossed by the quake. As the house was lifting, Pastor Preval cried, "Jesus, help us!" and the house was reset back into its proper alignment. Minor damages were incurred to the house, but the foundation remained firm.
With two of the walls surrounding the property collapsed, Preval, Tulle, and Doug slept in the bus parked on the property, each aftershock being announced as the bus springs reacted to the humanly undetectable tremors preceding each aftershock! Many houses in the community were collapsed. Soon after the initial earthquake Pastor Preval's cell phone rang continuously until the phone towers were taken out of service. Pastor Preval knew the transmission towers had been repaired when his cell phone started ringing again, non-stop. Pastors show up at Pastor Preval's home day and night reporting and seeking help for their congregations. Because Pastor Preval's trip was a quick one, information about specific churches is spotty. Sixteen of Pastor Preval's churches were destroyed, but the loss of life among the members appears to be minimal, 45 is the known number. Pastor Preval says the final national death toll will never be firmly established as records are often incomplete. Pastor Eddie's church is one that was destroyed. Pastor Lionel's church in Delmas structurally held up, but the front and rear walls and the balcony down from the Haiti Mission Service Office collapsed. They were having a Church service when the 7.0 earthquake struck and only had a few injuries. Pastor Preval shared that the houses that surrounded the Delmas Church were totally destroyed. At least one body lay in front of the church after the quake. Pastor Regala had one of his schools south of Port-Au-Prince collapse, but the new three story school building in Port-Au-Prince withstood the quake. Many Port-Au-Prince residents have fled to the mountains stretching their resources, but they have shelter and safety. Pastor Preval and Pastor Lionel have brought 2,000 church members to a place north of the capital where they are feeding them and seeing to their medical needs. Many are emotionally distraught as they have lost everything and have no way of knowing when they will be able to return to where their homes used to stand. It is unknown how many people Haiti Mission Service Church's are feeding and caring for as many of the churches are being used to provide aid to peoples in their area. The water treatment plants in Haiti are functional, so clean water is not a problem. Food also is apparently not in lack, although distribution is another matter. Pastor Preval shared that the pictures we see of Haitians standing in line for food only allows them to receive food in small measures for a family. With being responsible for 2,000 people and more Pastor Preval needs trucks of food daily! Standing in a line does not allow him to get the food necessary to feed a multitude of people. Money is necessary to get this quantity of food. We should not be discouraged to support the "first responder" agencies, but former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have said that there will come a time when these agencies will have done all they are able to do. Then the job of rebuilding, the long term efforts will really begin! This is where Pastor Preval and Haiti Mission Service become so vital. Earlier I said Pastor Preval ministered to us. Pastor Preval spoke from 2 Samuel 22:29-37. Pastor Preval shared that the event in Haiti can still be used by God to "drive us to live closer to Him, to love Him more." Pastor Preval shared that even in difficult times, we must continue, knowing that God is with us! God is our light in the darkness; God is our rock, our strength and power; we are made great through His gentleness! PTL! Haiti Mission Service is an organization of Haitian churches. Haiti Mission Service operates orphanages, schools, food programs, job training, and anything else you can imagine. But most importantly they preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a people trapped in voodoo. A board of native Haitian Pastors, with Pastor Preval as the President, oversees and coordinates the work of the various churches. Made up of hundreds of Pastors, Evangelists, and churches, HMS, in 2010, represents approximately 500,000 people in Haiti. Over the last few years HMS has established churches in the Dominican Republic and in the United States among Haitian communities. Living Faith Ministries has been working with Pastor Preval and Haiti Mission Service since 1988. Make A Difference If you would like to make a financial contribution to the rebuilding of Haiti through Haiti Mission Service, you may send your support, either one time or monthly, to: Living Faith Ministries 1 North Main Street Keyser, WV Write your checks to Living Faith Ministries. Please mark your gift for HMS. This is tax deductible. If you are interested in joining in a mission trip to Haiti contact us. There are a variety of opportunities to serve the people of Haiti through preaching missions, construction missions, and medical missions. We would be glad to connect you with a mission that will change your life! While several Mission Teams have to be rescheduled, Old Furnace Church of the Brethren is leading a joint construction and medical team to Haiti yet this month (February). Columbia Furnace Church of the Brethren, VA, is taking a team in March. Living Faith is also leading a preaching team in March. Other teams from our area will soon follow.
Pictures of the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 Earthquake in Haiti A picture of Pastor Lionel's Delmas Church in Port-Au-Prince after the 7.0 earthquake. Compare the tower on the right with the picture of the same church above. I believe this is near the Delmas Church. Note the body in the street near the car. This is a picture of the same car above from a different angle. Even if you thought you were safe in street, debris from collapsing buildings could injure or kill you. Seeing the total collapse of the buildings, we are reminded that only the grace of God prevented more deaths. Haitian President Preval estimates as high as 300,000 deaths. Other agencies are lowering their estimates to perhaps 125,000. It will take years to rebuild the homes and longer to recover from the emotional losses. Our prayers are with the Haitian people. Our final picture is of the airport and the planes bringing in the aid so desperately needed. My thanks to Doug Southers who took these pictures and who was with Pastor Preval at Preval's home when the quake struck.