Haiti Update - Feb. 26th

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has brought renewed fears.  Sunday night it rained about 11PM, so many or our neighbors decided they could sleep inside.  We had not had any major aftershocks in at least 2 weeks.  Then at 4:30AM we had a 4.7 aftershock that shook the country.  Everyone who was inside ran for the doors!  There was crashing and screaming as people were very afraid.

We have had several hard aftershocks this week.  Everyone is sleeping outside again.  The news, rumors and stories on the radio are keeping everyone in fear.  Some are perhaps true and many are not true.  But people in fear will believe many things.  Please pray for God's peace to come over this nation.  He is the only One who can calm our fears.

Roger & I took 3 days 'off' and went to a beach in the south of Haiti.  It is our 'favorite getaway' that we have been to several times before.  We were not sure if we would find it standing or not, so we packed a tent just in case we had to sleep on the beach.  We were very happy when we saw that not only was the hotel standing, but it had no cracks or damage whatsoever!  We enjoyed the peace and calm of the ocean and returned well rested.

We have a team of 9 with us from Trinidad & Tobago this weekend.  They did some work around our house today and gave out 2000 meals and 30 tarps in our neighborhood. Tomorrow they will minister in a local church and set up a  prayer ministry tent in a needy area.  We are glad they are here with us.

As we heard the news of the earthquake in Chile today, our hearts were touched.  We can surely relate to their state of mind and the disaster they are experiencing.  We have prayed much for them today and ask that you also hold them in prayer.

We appreciate each of you.  Your prayers and support mean so much to us.  We would not be able to stand without your help in the area of prayer.  We are extremely blessed to have such a large group of prayer warriors standing with us.  Thank you.

Serving Him day by day,
Roger & Margaret Clark

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

Pictures Speak a Thousand Words

This last week we had a construction team re-building one of our pastors homes.

Our new truck was very helpful in this matter. It is a Daihatsu 3 ton deseil flatbed truck.

This truck will be used for hauling people and material as well as aid to those who were struck by the earthquake.

We thank all those who made this possible.

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

Medical Team

We are all fine. We have has several other quakes this week, some quite strong, but we are still standing.

Since Wednesday, we have had a medical team with us, Mission of Mercy. They have been a blessing to many. One day they held an outdoor clinic. The day after that they went into the tent cities ministering to the needy. Another day, they worked at a hospital that was very under staffed and lacked medical supplies. They saw three hundred patients that day. Also, they did a children program for those in our area.

We keep providing for our neighborhood by giving pure water, power for charging their cell phones which is their only mode of communication, and food to the neediest.

We are planning with teams who want to come, and are thankful for all those who are wanting to help.

Clarification

Several have been asking just how to designate their gifts that they are sending to us through Elim Fellowship. 

 

At the moment there are 2 accounts set up for Haiti.

1. called "Haiti Relief" is a general account that will be disbursed by the directors at Elim. Some of this may come to us and some may go to other aid organizations that Elim partners with.  Giving to this account is fine, but we will not hear about your specific gift and will be unable to personally thank you.

 

2. OUR ACCOUNT - is called, "Roger Clark - Haiti Relief".  Funds designated this way will be placed in our project account for us to disburse as we see the needs here in Haiti.  We will be given a listing of all gifts to this account.

 

So, just keep this in mind when you are sending your gifts and designate them accordingly.

 

We do thank each of you for your kind generosity to the Haitian people in this time of great need.  You are precious in the sight of the Lord and I know He hears your prayers.

 

Standing under his wings.

Roger & Margaret Clark

 

Remember - you can mail your properly designated gifts to:

Elim Fellowship, 1703 Dalton Road, Lima, NY 14485