January 20th Up-date

Sorry that we are posting this late.

Greetings in the Name of our Lord,

Another week has gone by and we are still serving those in need as best that we are able.

Or new long bed truck has been a real blessing and a money saver. We have already delivered over 120 12 ft. sheets of corrugated tin, 120 - 1x4x16's,  and 80 - 2x4's. Also, we have used it all week picking up food supplies at a warehouse, bringing it to our depot and delivering it to the 8 churches in our mission.

The topper for our truck is complete. You will find an attached picture of our new truck with the topper on it. You will see that we have tarps down on all sides of it so that people will not see what we are carrying. People are desperate and if they see you delivering food they could hold you up and take all that you have. This week as I was carrying a load of food to be distributed to the needy, I saw a truck in front of me that was being robbed of sacks of food as the truck was still in motion. I had to dodge six people as they toppled off the truck in front of me with 50 pound sacks of powder milk in their hands. I was truly thankful that our truck was closed in, locked and covered up.

We are still giving away tents and tarps. Because we don't have very many we try to give to those who need them the most. Today a friend of ours brought a man to me whose home was totally destroyed.  He was sleeping on the ground with a sheet draped over a few sticks. He told me that he was desperate because his wife was almost nine months pregnant and would be delivering any day now. Another person who was living under a sheet shelter on the street came to us and said he needed a tent because he had a wife, a 3 year old, a 2 year old and a 3 month old, and they were getting wet every time it rained.  It rains now most every night and many thousands of people stand in the rain all night or seek shelter under some half destroyed building.

We have now gathered a complete report on the 8 churches that are under our ministry.
1) 3 churches were destroyed.
2) 3 pastor homes were destroyed.
3) 73 church members homes were destroyed.
4) 156 church members houses were damaged.

As far as Bible School teachers and staff, we have 3 who had their homes destroyed and 6 damaged out of 16 people. We still have not been able to locate all of our students at this time. We will not be reopening the Bible school until September.

We thank you all for your prayers and generous gifts, and for continuing to stand with us as we stand in God's grace. Pray that God gives us the strength and wisdom we need.

Yours in Christ,
Roger & Margaret Clark

Mixed Blessings

Dear Friends & Family,

 

It rained last night...

 

In the wee hours of the morning, while everyone was sound asleep, the rain came.  It wasn't hard and only lasted about an hour.  But thousands of people are still sleeping in "tents" made of sticks and bed sheets.  The water flowed down the steets soaking people from underneath as well as from above.  I awoke to the sound of the rain, cried and prayed for the people.  Continue to pray that some decent camps can be set up for the thousands of displaced, homeless people.

 

We have had several blessings this week. 

1. Pastor Eric Scott's work team did a great job on Pastor Jeanty's house.  Roger is delivering the tin & wood for the roof today.  They will be in their home by next week.  That makes 1 house, now on to number 2.

 

2. We received a dump truck full of food supplies to distribute to those in need.  There was rice, beans, dry soup mix, canned meat, protien bars, oil, tents and sleeping bags.  We will distribute it in our neighborhood and through our 8 churches.  It will provide about 40,000 meals in all.  We hope to be receiving more soon.

 

3. As I am writing this update...we just got our city power restored!!!!!  Yeah!!!  We have been without city power since Jan 12.  We have been able to find fuel to run the generator and for that we are thankful.  But city power is better.  It is also a sign of progress and restoration in the city. Praise God for POWER!!!

 

Tomorrow marks the one month anniversary of the earthquake.  The President of Haiti, Rene Preval, has called for a day of mourning for those lost.  He has asked us to fast and pray for Haiti.  Many churches across Haiti are extending this for 3 days to include the entire weekend.  Won't you consider joining us in fasting and prayer for restoration and revival in Haiti?

 

We are thankful for those who have given and continue to give of their prayers, time and finances.  Haiti is on a long road to recovery and we need you to stand with us in it.

 

Serving in His strength,

Roger & Margaret

Struck Down but not Destroyed

Looking at a Tent City of 8000 People

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior!

We want to thank all of you for your prayers and gracious support of our ministry and the people of Haiti.
                         

We are presently between teams. We have been trying to get a little rest, but it is somewhat difficult. It is hard not to be stressed and very saddened by what we see, but God is giving us strength for each day.

Most recently, we have been helping one of our pastors rebuild his home, Jeanty Osnac. They are in the process of re-doing and strengthening the foundation.Pastor Jeanty is the pastor under us who overseas the spiritual needs of our pastors and churches. He and his wife are powerful ministers of the Gospel. They are founders of our mother church which runs around 500 people every Sunday. At present, their church has been destroyed and they are meeting in an open area under the elements of God's creation, yet, we know God will meet their needs according to His riches in glory. We have a church coming in this week to put up the walls and roof of his home.

The devastation here is great, but God is greater. Many pastors and Christians have lost their homes and our hearts weep for them. Yet, we know God will bring good out of this seemingly hopeless situation.

We thank the Lord we have not had any considerable quakes now for four days in our area. As result, we are sleeping with more ease in our home. Yet, every night most of our neighbors sleep in the street, fearing to go in their homes even though they are undamaged. Fear still grips many here.

As of today, many of the victims have not received the basics of life like shelter, food, and water. There is a Christian organization here who tells us they have many supplies available, but are not able to get them out of the ports and customs. They will give us some of it when they are able to obtain them. This is frustrating and heart wrenching as we know of many personally who are in great need.

A verse that comes to mind is 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 -

 ^"7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

P.S. - I am attaching some articles that might help you see the picture more clearly.

Yours in Christ,

Roger & Margaret Clark

Helping an Orphanage and Churches

Update – Haiti Jan 18 PM

 

Well, I haven’t felt any aftershocks for 24 hours, although Roger felt a small one when he was about an hour from here this afternoon.  

The picture here is of our food distribution team. 

 

The morning started with searching out fuel.  The diesel Roger had gotten on the street was really clogging up the generator.  But, Praise God, there was one gas station open in our area today.  It was mobbed with people wanting to fill gallons with fuel. There was no way a car could even get close.  Thankfully, Roger ran into an old friend, who we hadn’t seen in years.  We used to live in the same house, about 20 years ago!!!  He was able to help Roger get to the front and buy 5 gallons of diesel and 5 gallons of gasoline, at the regular prices!!!  Don’t’ ever take your friends for granted, you never know when you will need their help!  Praise God for fuel and friends.  All this took until about noon.

 

After a quick peanut butter & jelly sandwich, Roger was off again to deliver food and visit 2 of our pastors.  He was able to deliver food to an orphanage close by that had been without food for 2 days.  We heard about them through someone in the States who wrote by email.  They will now have food for several days.

 

Roger then continued out of town in the direction of the worst of the disaster to visit Pastor Augustin and Pastor Sauveur.  These men both pastor churches under our ministry.  Pastor Augustin’s church sustained very little damage.  It was an unfinished building and a few parts of walls fell down, but most is sound.  His house also had some minimal damage, but is livable.

 

Pastor Sauveur’s church is fine, but their newly built kitchen and bathrooms are beyond repair.  His house also was damaged pretty good.  It will need some major work.  Both of the pastors and their families are unharmed and in good spirits.  Roger gave each of them some food to distribute to those in greatest need in their congregations and neighborhoods.

 

We just got word that we may be hosting a medical team starting on Wednesday.  These Doctors would be coming to us through Mission of Hope and would work in several different areas.  Pray that we can work out all the logistics of this.

 

WE ARE THANKFUL:

-         that our 4 story building did not fall

-         that it has not rained since the earthquake as everyone is sleeping outside

-         that in 2 of our churches yesterday over 300 people made a profession of faith for the first time.  Folks are turning to God.

-         That all of you are praying

-         That aid is starting to arrive where it is needed

Aiding the Needy

We have been busy since sun up.  Roger helped organize removing debris at the end of the road where the building fell so vehicles could pass.  He had lots of local help and they had made a path in a couple of hours...all by hand, with picks and one wheelbarrow.  We then gave out rice, beans and water.

I visited the Doctors without boarders clinic near us to inquire as to their needs.  It was full and busy.  I was impressed with their organization and Drs.  At the moment they are full to capcity, have the staff they need and had just gotten a delivery of medical supplies.  I have never see so many broken limbs.  One lady in particular had t broken legs and a broken arm.  Many are awaiting surgery.

Around noon we received 50 boxes of food from Mission of Hope.  They will make over 7000 meals.  Then we took some up to our church in Fond Branche and the church in Bizoton.  We also stopped by to see Lilian, a friend, in Fontamara, and an orphanage in Fontamara that someone was inquiring about.  Went to OMS,a guesthouse near us, they are all well, were glad to see us.  Their only damage was the wall by the street fell down.  We also went by the church in Bizoton, which is still standing, but not sound...lots of cracks and one wall is only being held up by the building next to it, which is very close.

Also, in between all this we have been answering emails, planning for teams that are coming soon, etc.  We are very tired today and will be in bed soon...out in the street again.  Had some good aftershocks about 10am and also later this afternoon.

The diesel Roger bought for the generator off the street has 'stuff' in it and makes the generator choke and hiccup.  The car has less than 1/.4 tank.  Prices are rising...today diesel was $6 USD per gallon and gasoline is $12 USD!!!  There is no place open to cash a check, so we are being careful with our cash.  We have enough for now...but don't know when things will change.

Continue to pray for security.  As people get more desperate, the security breaks down.  There are so many aspects of this crisis to consider, not only the medical needs, but food, water, cash, security when everyone is living outside, transportation, & communication (our phones are still not working).  Also, where will people live when the tremors finally stop?  So far every house I have seen has cracks in it!  Are they sound?  Can we live in our houses?  Only time will tell.

Donations: Send to -
Elim Fellowship
1703 Dalton Rd.
Lima, Ny 14485
w/ a note stating: "For Roger Clark - Haiti Relief"

Pray, pray, pray.  I know you are and we are thankful for each of you.
Roger & Margaret Clark

Haiti Earthquake

We are sorry that this has been so long in coming. We have been swamped with e-mails. We are alive and our building is standing without much damage. Praise the Lord!

As you all know already the earthquake has devastated Haiti. What we have seen cannot be explained and it is hard to even imagine the horror of it all.

We are still trying to find out who is alive in our mission - teachers, pastors, church members, etc. Many we have not heard from due to cell phones being down most the time, and transportation is very difficult plus people are trying to survive where they are at and not going far from home.

As of today, we know of two pastors homes in New Life Mission (our mission) that have been destroyed and their church buildings. Also, many of their member homes have been destroyed. We know that one of our Bible school teachers lost his home, mother and nephew. Also, we have two other people who work in our mission who have lost homes, and one has lost family members.

Those that have been saved from certain disaster have great testimonies of God's deliverance. All who are alive don't care a great deal about what they lost at this time, but are only thankful that they are still alive. One of our pastors was in the church when it fell down on his head. What saved him was the wooden pulpit that he crouched near. The wooden beam fell against it keeping him from the blows and providing a small space for him. He said the destruction took less than five seconds. The mountain the church was on split wide open. I could tell you many stories of devastation, and I can tell you many stories of God's grace and mercy.

At this very moment, we are working on coordinating peoples efforts to help those devastated in the earthquake. We should begin distribution of some humanitary aid in the next couple of days. Mission of Hope will be sending us some meal packets to distribute to the needy.

If you want to make a financial contribution, you can send your gift to "Elim Fellowship" 1703 Dalton Road, Lima, NY 14485.  Please send a note stating for "Roger Clark, Haiti Relief".  We thank each of you in advance for your assistance in this time of distress.

Pray for security as tension is rising over fear of starvation and shear desperation. Pray that God gives us wisdom as we seek to bring help to the needy. Pray that God gives us peace and safety as there are still strong after shocks everyday. Pray that God gives us the grace to bear the burden of the hurting.