$10,000 Match Met: Haiti Earthquake Update #3

Written by Mark J. Wheeler, MBA, OC Vice President of Advancement

Dr. Jean Dorlus (right) and his family

Thank you for your generosity to our brothers and sisters in Haiti. We are pleased to report that the $10,000 Emergency Relief Match has been met with $35,765 given to date. The funds have been collected, matched and forwarded to be used for emergency earthquake relief at STEP. We have also seen a tremendous outpouring of support from OC partner schools around the world. To date, over $50,000 has been donated by other schools to aid STEP in their recovery and rebuilding process. We thank God for the heart of generosity shown by these schools that each have their own unique financial challenges, and yet they send support to STEP. Praise the Lord!

Below please find an update as of February 3, 2010, from Dr. Jean Dorlus, President of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Port-au-Prince (STEP) (pictured with family). As his update indicates, the needs remain great, and much will be required in the months to come. We will continue to keep you informed as developments occur in Haiti and the plans come together to help rebuild STEP. If you would like to be a part of the ongoing relief effort at STEP, you can do so by clicking here. Please note: The ‘STEP - Haiti Earthquake Relief’ option will already be selected for you on the donation page. Again, thank you for your generosity and prayers.

Please click here to see recent photos from STEP, including people staying on the campus, worship services and damage to the seminary. Please click the ‘View album’ button and then ‘Play slideshow’ at the top. Captions are at the bottom.

2/3/2010 Update from Dr. Dorlus
"Dear friends, I want to take time to thank you for all your prayers and generous gifts to me personally as well as to STEP. I still covet your help. In the last few days, things have improved on many levels in the country, in the city of Port-au-Prince and on the seminary campus. Life is coming back, slowly of course. Food products are available; to be sure, they are more expensive. The phone system works much better. Large distribution of food and water appears to be more regular and more orderly. There is no visible sign of shortage of gas, and in some places, electricity is returning. I have electricity from the grid for the first time today since the earthquake….At the same time, there are tons of issues that appear insurmountable. Churches, schools, universities and public buildings seemed to have taken the hardest hits. It will be a while for most schools and universities to get back to business again.

In the midst of this, it is refreshing to see acts of generosity, to hear about true bravery, to observe people worshipping the Lord on street corners, etc. As I try to perform different duties related to my role as STEP President, I meet a lot of people, believers as well as non-believers, and they have a lot of questions. The streets have become my office, and it seems to me that the questions being asked are more difficult than those in the classrooms and much more concrete too. A very wealthy businessman asked me to give him some pointers on what it means to live for God and not for himself. Another one who narrowly escaped death and has lost much in terms of friends and material possessions asked me if there is any sense in all that happened. I minister to these people, the faculty and students in the ways that are available to me. Last Sunday, I presented the Word at a partner church of the seminary on the book of Habakkuk….After the sermon, a lot of people were encouraged just like Habakkuk was as he reported in the last chapter of the book. Based on what I see and hear so far, it appears that a lot of people will turn to Christ, and many believers will take their walk seriously.

Mr. Tim Stafford, senior writer from Christianity Today magazine, just spent a week with my family. I helped him around the country to put the story of the earthquake together. We visited a lot of people, including senators, pastors, business people, scholars, NGO workers, missionaries, common folk, etc. We went to a lot of places, including the city that was the epicenter of the earthquake [Léogâne]. Tim was very grateful for what he learned during the trip.

I have had several meetings with the executive team of STEP, and more are coming to assess the situation in order to know what can be done to secure the future of the seminary. We would love to begin again if at all possible as early as March 1^st and finish the semester, but there are many issues to tackle and a number of unknowns. We are still assessing the general conditions (health, house, death in the family, financial needs, etc.) and the state of mind of the student body, as well as that of the faculty and staff. Just that alone is a major undertaking if one wants to do it well. So far, most students and faculty would like to begin again; it is therapeutic at the very least. I am also in contact with a school in the U.S. that has offered some scholarships to some of our graduates and current students to complete their studies. I am looking for opportunities like that. I met with a group of 15 students today at my house (my yard, that is) and prayed for wisdom, direction and provision. As we pray and make plans to go forward, I could not stop myself from thinking about a presentation C. S. Lewis made in 1939 entitled ‘Learning in time of war.’ It is a very interesting piece.”

Prayer requests

• The loss of one student and a staff member’s husband; another student is unaccounted for
• Among students, faculty and staff, at least four had their homes collapse or were seriously affected
• For STEP to find the means to help the 5,000 people living on their campus with food and water, as well as help them to move on from the campus in order to have classes again; campus residents have been ministering to them through worship services and Bible classes for children
• Financial aid needed for students (about $215,000 would help them finish the year)
• Counseling and good health for students, faculty and staff; imagine the emotional and physical toll
• Find and buy tents to hold classes and conduct some duties in a context that is not too volatile with many thieves and desperate people on the streets right now
• That STEP can be a shining light to the churches and the nation by their example

 

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”  Romans 12:12-13