A Long Week :: Images from the Earthquake Aftermath

One Week Later, What Now?

Tuesday, January 19 - The whole world knows about what happened in Port-au-Prince one week ago, the devastating earthquake that has left a city in ruins and brought all of Haiti to its knees.

But no one knows exactly what is coming next.

At Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, we have seen the far-reaching toll the events of January 12 have taken on all of Haiti. One week out, hundreds of families in the northwest are still anxiously awaiting news about loved ones in Port-au-Prince they fear are missing or dead. Prices of commodities like gas, diesel, water and food are rising and, in some areas of the country, those items are becoming very hard to find.

One thing seems certain: This country’s fragile economy, largely dependent on Port-au-Prince, has been decimated. The effects of that will reach everywhere. In a census we conducted recently in one of the communities NWHCM serves, we found that nearly 50 percent of families there received financial support from relatives in Port-au-Prince. Now that support is gone, and the story is the same in towns and cities across Haiti.

For us at NWHCM, there are many unanswered questions about how our response will evolve in the coming months. What we do know is that, in many ways, our ministry here will go on as it always has. We will continue to feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for orphans, and empower communities. We will share the gospel and grow churches, just as we always have.

Right now, the need for such actions is greater than ever.

The need in Haiti will surely grow, and we pray that our response will grow with it. We praise God for the blessing of being spared major damage, and we plan to be good stewards of that blessing by showing Christ’s love in life-changing ways this year. We hope that in 2010 we can reach out to more people in the northwest zone than ever.

In the short-term, many of your generous donations toward our earthquake relief efforts will be used for shipping in badly needed food and medical supplies. Over the long-term, we will continue to assess the needs in Haiti and seek God’s direction for our aid efforts.

The media frenzy that has engulfed Haiti will eventually fade. Long after it does, Haitians will still be in desperate need. And NWHCM will still be here. We’ll be working quietly in the background, as we always have, sharing the good news with the Haitian people and showing them love in practical and life-affirming ways.

In short, what comes next for us is that we’ll be loving our neighbors as ourselves in Jesus’ name, just as He commanded us to.

Thank you so much for your overwhelming support and continued partnership with us.

- Andy Olsen, NWHCM Media Director