Helping Haiti

Surely you have been following the news on the recent hurricanes, especially since they are affecting our homes. But they are also devastating other countries south of the States particularly Haiti. I had received an email (that I've posted below) from a friend who has been a missionary in Haiti for the past 30 years. The people of Haiti are in desperate need of help after bearing through these horrific storms. Please read it and contact them if you think there is a way YOU could help.

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Dear fellow ministries, ministers, servants and friends, September 8, 2008

Haiti was visited by Hurricane Hanna last week. I was there to witness first hand the intensity of the winds and rain. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen this much widespread destruction in the 30 years I have been involved there.
On Monday September 1, the skies were overcast and moving in from the Northwest, very unusual for Haiti. I brought up a weather site on the internet and saw this huge tropical storm mass covering the whole country. This mass I was looking at would become Hurricane Hanna.
The rain started late afternoon and continued unabated for 30 hours. Every river, creek and dry gulch became a torrential flood by midnight. By the time the rains took a break my property was holding 4 feet of water in the low, walled in corners. Many of the poorly built block walls of my neighboring friends were washed out. Kalico Hotel took the brunt of the deluge and sustained structural damage in the kitchen and dining area.
Wednesday morning the calls started coming in. There were critical disasters everywhere in our service area (see map http://emergency.glowmi.org/index.html). Flooding and high winds were damaging houses and taking lives.
This was not a secluded incident in a remote area of Haiti as so many of these disasters are. This was nationwide. While most of the media are reporting mainly on Gonieves, multitudes all over Haiti are eating misery for breakfast this morning.
The majority, unfortunately, are isolated in the rural mountain villages between Cabaret and St. Marc. These will be the most difficult to serve, there are no roads leading to their villages. The two track routes we usually use to visit these rural areas are surely washed out.
To top it off Hurricane Ike skirted Northern Haiti over the weekend and dumped even more floods upon the saturated land.
It is our duty as Christians to care about these unfortunate ones.
GLOW Ministries International in Haiti has already launched relief efforts. We are first responders when disaster strikes. We have people in all of these areas taking inventory and sharing resources with those who have the greatest needs. We have delivered almost $8,000.00 to this effort, all that we had in account for disaster relief.
This will be a unique relief effort due to the fact that all of the bridges from Port au Prince to the North are washed out. Another reason is that much of what will have to be delivered will have to be delivered on foot, horses or donkeys.
We don’t have a minute to spare getting geared up to respond. We need to ask for help now so we know how we can respond.
Here’s how you can help!
Pray! Pray! Pray! Prayer moves mountains!
$$$ - money makes everything else move. Designate your donation to disaster.
Logistics – how can we get a container of relief goods: food, water, baby formula, tarps, to St. Marc, Haiti yesterday?
Visit our website for more information and to donate: http://emergency.glowmi.org/index.html
Donate via check to: GLOW P.O. Box 123 Zeeland, MI 49464 or stop in at the office.
E-mail me at: http://us.mc562.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=phil@glowmi.org or call me at 616.437.4030

Thank you,

Phil Snyder
President, GLOW Ministries International