A Southern Baptist disaster relief assessment team arrived in Haiti Jan. 20, according to Baptist Press via an email from Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global response and a member of the team.
Getting on the ground By Scott Barkley, Production Editor Published January 28, 2010
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.
Southern Baptists' response to the Haiti earthquake will be a long-term commitment, much like the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to Baptist leaders.
The devastating earthquake that shook Haiti Jan. 12 has claimed the life of a leading Haitian Baptist pastor in Port-au-Prince, according to reports received from the vice president of the Baptist Convention of Haiti.
"It's a miracle from God," exclaimed Joel Trimble, a Haiti for Christ missionary on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince after two truckloads of food, water, fuel, and medical supplies arrived in his driveway Sunday evening, Jan. 17, thanks to the perseverance of a Mississippi Baptist pastor.
As Southern Baptist disaster relief officials were heading to Haiti Jan. 19 to assess needs, International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries in neighboring Dominican Republic were providing immediate relief supplies, medical aid, and spiritual counseling to survivors of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti the week before.
A blue tarp tied to what's left of Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, serves as a safe haven for some members who survived the Jan. 12 earthquake.