DULUTH — Shortly after the first images of the destruction of Haiti began to emerge, many immediately wanted to aid in the relief effort. But Stuart Lang, Georgia Baptist state director for disaster relief, offers a word of caution.

“This is going to be a very long-term response,” he said. “I understand that emotions run high and everyone wants to do something to help right now, but in the greater picture it’s not nearly as important to be the first to respond as it is to help for the duration.”  

A Jan. 26 meeting in Miami, Fla., featured reports from North American Mission Board and Baptist Global Response teams on the ground last week in Haiti. The information will help prepare short- and long-term response efforts. Long-term mission groups may not be able to deploy for three months.

Members of the Georgia Baptist Haitian community took part in an “Introduction to Disaster Relief” at Mitspah Haitian Baptist Church in Norcross Jan. 23. Their training will be complete with Phase 1 disaster relief training at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula in February.

Those with connections in Haiti, such as Henry Couser, missions pastor at Noonday Baptist Church in Marietta, made immediate plans to enter the country. Couser has worked with Haitian orphanages for years.

“I plan to get there about 3:15 tomorrow afternoon,” he told The Index Jan. 13. “Once there I’ll start an immediate assessment. Our hope is to get food, water, and medical supplies shipped by [Jan. 19] and begin distribution.”

Already on the ground in the mountains outside Port-au-Prince, David Bentley’s group prayer was interrupted by the rumble. Traveling with a group from Sandy Creek Baptist Church, an Independent Baptist church in Madison, Bentley and others had just finished helping put a new roof on a church.

“It happened minutes after we’d finished dedicating the roof,” said Bentley, a member of Union Baptist Church in Winder. “We saw the ground jumping up and ran outside. It only lasted about 38 seconds, but seemed to be much longer.

The roof and building held, but the death toll elsewhere left an imprint on Bentley. “It showed me how precious life is. So many people didn’t have time [to escape]. They were just gone.”