I woke up this morning singing Praise to the LORD the Almighty the King of Creation. Why? I really don’t know.  The day dawned somewhat dark and dreary. It did rain about .06 inches on this dry and thirsty land last night. The temperature is about 72° as was the water for the morning shower.   Why then should I have this exultation? Perhaps my inner being was relishing the experience of seeing the movement of God in the lives of so many people in Haïti, North America and Europe. Perhaps it was seeing the antithesis of what I have been reading in the newspapers and hearing on radio about Haïti. Oh, the journalists are correct in what they say, BUT they are not seeing the whole picture. Yes the ‘tent cities’ still exist and will for a long time even before January 2010 there was a severe housing shortage in Port-au-Prince. People are working seven days a week with track hoe and bull dozer to remove the rubble, some of it going to fill in swamps and low places for building sites some of it being used to build family dwellings in outlying regions. Roads and bridges are being repaired or replaced. One year ago it took me two and a quarter hours to get from P-au-P to Grand Goâve- Sunday we did it in one and a half.

With anticipation I traveled over familiar but improved roads to the town of Grand Goâve making the usual turn on to Rue A. Petion but I was not prepared for the sight that greeted my eyes. There, where a humble little church had stood was a magnificent edifice to the glory God. A building that is light and bright, a strong and spacious building, a Temple to God’s Power to unite His people in a common cause, of ministry, to alleviate the suffering caused by the January twelfth 2010 earthquake.

Three years ago representatives of three organizations met with the leaders of the local congregation to see what they, the local people, wanted to do. The local leadership was clear: They wanted the school for their children as soon as possible, then the rebuilding of homes and them their temple.  There under that tree amid the dust and rubble and aftershocks a partnership was formed: The Convention Baptiste d’Haïti, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and International Ministries of the American Baptist Churches –USA with People of Grand Goâve. In the intervening three years that partnership has grown to include: Baptist General Texas Convention (BGTC), Baptist Mission Society (BMS, UK), Belmont University – Educator and Medical education, Canadian Baptist Mission (CBM), Conscience International, Edge Ministries – water and pumps, Fuller Center for Homes, Haiti Housing Network, Volunteers of America (South East).

Last year 300 children of the Siloé Baptist School attended classes in the morning so that they could share their class rooms in the afternoon. To date 134 rubble house have been built and are occupied, two more will be finished next week.

Yes the journalists are correct in what they say, there are still tent cities, rubble still exist There is corruption, mismanagement of the relief funds, price gouging,   BUT they are not seeing the whole picture. God is at work through you and the many others who love and care for the Haitian People. There is a Haitian Proverb that is appropriate to recover efforts… Piti a Piti  zwaso fé niche Little by little the bird builds its nest.