Dear Friends,

You’ve probably heard the news of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the Caribbean island nation of Haiti late yesterday afternoon. The epicenter was not far from Haiti’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, home to about three million people. We have two orphanages in Haiti. The one in Port-au-Prince cares for twelve children. We have not been able to establish communication with them or with any of our other dear friends in Haiti. As soon as we hear something substantial, I’ll let you know.

Three of the children at our Port-au-Prince orphanage

Homes and other buildings in Port-au-Prince are generally poorly constructed, made of concrete or concrete blocks, and the early news is that there is massive destruction and loss of life. Haiti has very little infrastructure or emergency/disaster services. It is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. In the best of times, life is very difficult for those who live in the hillside shanty towns that surround Port-au-Prince. Food insecurity already affects more than a quarter of Haiti’s population—almost two million people. Please join us in prayer for every survivor.

Yesterday afternoon, just a few hours before the earthquake struck, a few of our staff members were purchasing air tickets to travel to Haiti in a few weeks to visit the two orphanages that we assist through our Orphan’s Tear division. While they must wait until early March, a dear friend, James Jones, who is a former army medic and who lives on the same island as Haiti in the Dominican Republic, is on his way towards Port-au-Prince. He and his team are carrying food, water and medicines. We hope to send funds to James to help him and his team provide relief to survivors in the earthquake region. Currently, however, our Disaster Relief Fund is empty, as we have expended everything we’ve received into that fund in 2009 to rebuild the lives of believers affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

If you would like to help us with relief efforts in Haiti by contributing to Heaven’s Family’s Disaster Relief Fund, you can give securely by credit card through our website by clicking here, or by calling our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826. To contribute by check, see the instructions below. 100% of what is given will be sent to Haiti, as is always our policy.

I also ask that you forward this email to your compassionate friends along with your recommendation of Heaven’s Family, as that might also be a means to meet urgent needs and answer prayers in Haiti.

Sincerely in Christ,

David

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family