Evan Drake’s trip to Haiti – president’s blog 2/16/10
Trip to Haiti – February 20-27, 2010
BBI president, Evan Drake is going to Haiti at the end of the week. It has been 5 weeks since the tragic earthquake hit Port-au-Prince. So much energy has been expended trying to rescue as many people as possible, care for the injured and feed and clothe the victims who have lost almost everything. The time is fast approaching when rebuilding a destroyed city of several million people will be the order of the day. Haitian president, René Préval, recently said that it would take three years (“1000 trucks working 1000 days”) to clear away the rubble in the city of Port-au-Prince. It is almost impossible to know how to start.
BBI Director of Short-term ministries, Jim Laidlaw, will be leading a team of men to Haiti on Feb. 20 in conjunction with a sister mission, Grace Mission to Haiti. The team will undertake several projects during this trip. Evan has been asked to speak in churches in Williamson on Sunday, Feb. 21, and to a meeting of 100+ pastors in Carrefour on Monday, Feb. 22. Both are in the area that was hardest hit by the earthquak
e. Carrefour has been called the epi-center of the earthquake. Evan and another of the men will be speaking to the pastors about “How to Deal with Grief.” It is hard to know what to say to people who have lost so much. The pastors probably know grief in a way that we have never experienced so it will be a challenge finding the right words to say. Pray that God will guide his thinking in the right way to share important truths that will be helpful.
Benjamin Drake, our 20 year old son, has decided to sit out of Bible College for this semester and will be going along to Haiti. He will spend 3 months working at Double Harvest Haiti. He will be able to take a couple of online classes through Piedmont Baptist College in order to keep his education on schedule. Pray that he will adjust to life in Haiti and learn much from this incredible experience. Evan and Ben will be going to Double Harvest on Tuesday and surveying the needs that are there. Evan will be meeting with a few pastors and Christian leaders from the Croix des Bouquets general area (east Port-au-Prince). Pray that they will be able to discern clearly and specifically how BBI can respond to the earthquake. To this date, BBI has received close to $19,000 toward Haiti relief. We will be able to offer our help to Double Harvest in the amazing work they have undertaken since the beginning of the crisis. They have been operating a field hospital which has cared for hundreds of critical injuries and a food distribution point for several local towns and villages. They have made clean water available to anyone in the area. They have also been holding evangelistic meetings in the surrounding villages and have seen remarkable spiritual response to the preaching of the gospel. It is still a little early to be able to know when it will become possible to get building supplies and bring teams into the country efficiently and safely. Pray that materials will be available and that we will be able to get teams into the country. Hundreds of thousands of people have slept outside since the earthquake. It rains very little in January and February. The spring rains are beginning to fall which will make it extremely hard on the people who have little or no shelter. Who knows how long it will be before many of the people will have a roof over their heads again.
Even before the earthquake there was an overwhelming need in Haiti. It is hard to know how to begin to rebuild a country that was in bad shape before January 12. If God moves you to give to the Bible Basics Haiti relief project, be assured that all the money you give will go to the rebuilding effort in Haiti. If you would like to help cover the costs of Evan’s travels or Ben’s stay in Haiti, we would certainly appreciate your help. We will keep you posted on how things go. Please pray for us and pray for the country of Haiti. Evan and Joy Drake
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