
When news rocketed around the world that a 7.0 earthquake had struck about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, at 5:14 p.m., Tuesday, January 12, Grace Brethren people immediately began to pray for the Grace Brethren works on the island.
Dr. Chuck Davis directs Caribbean Vision Ministries. FGBC World contacted Davis Wednesday after the quake. “We had e-mail with Elysee Joseph yesterday . . . he is in the Cap Haitien area which suffered little damage,” he said. “We have a Haitian ministry friend who has a large ministry in Port-au-Prince where our team stayed last Saturday night. We have no contact with him at this time.”
Elysee Joseph, easily the most recognizable Haitian church leader in the Fellowship, got word to Davis later that day that he was safe and that Cap Haitien appeared to have escaped the major damage that had hit further south. Grace Brethren International Missions’ Larry DeArmey, who has been meeting and mentoring Haitian church planters and pastors, responded, “I’m sure that many of our Haitian brothers and sisters in the States will suffer the loss of loved ones and friends through this. It would be wonderful to mobilize prayer for them . . . because I am certain that the coming days are going to be a real challenge.”