“Many looked death in the face and realized as it says in James 4: their lives are but a vapor that appears for a while and vanishes.”
With these words, missionary Roy Shelpman described more than 80 people who gave their lives to Christ during special meetings conducted by Hosanna Baptist Church in Jacmel, Haiti, during the week of February 15. The tragic events of January’s earthquake have shaken the Haitian people, who are no strangers to suffering. A door has cracked opened in the hearts of many, and Haitian Christians are pointing them to the Savior.
Roy and his wife, Ruth, described Hosanna Baptist’s special meetings in a report given to Baptist Mid-Missions’ staff members February 19, 2010. When the city of Jacmel cancelled its yearly Mardi Gras celebration, Hosanna’s pastor, Dieupie Cherubin, asked the mayor for permission to hold evangelistic meetings. On the first night, 2500 people gathered. The crowd nearly left when the sky opened up with rain, but Pastor Dieupie encouraged them to stay; he felt God would stop the rain—and He did. Forty people made decisions for Christ. A larger crowd the next night resulted in 20 more decisions. Wednesday, the third night, saw four to five thousand people attend and another 20 choosing salvation in Jesus Christ. Another woman plans to receive Christ but wants her father present as she burns her fetishes—believed to hold supernatural powers—as a testimony of her new trust in Christ.
About a week after the earthquake, Roy and Ruth, in consultation with Haitian national leaders, had made the decision to return to the United States. The Shelpmans did not want to deplete resources that could go the Haitians or jeopardize them in any way. In the US, they are better positioned to communicate with churches and plan for rebuilding efforts. The Shelpmans entrusted responsibilities to a strong body of Haitian believers trained by them and by past missionaries. Pastor Dieupie is one of them, being the spiritual son of Ruth, who worked many years in Haiti as a single missionary before marrying Roy in 2003. Another, Ti Paul, is caring for the 10 orphans and their 10 extended family members that the Shelpmans ministered to.
Living Through the Earthquake
During the Shelpmans’ February 19 report, Roy and Ruth told of experiencing the earthquake itself at their home and ministry center in Grand Goave, roughly 30 miles from Port-au-Prince. At ten minutes before 5:00 p.m. on January 12, Roy was in his office and Ruth was in the kitchen. As the house began to shake, it seemed to Roy that the mango trees outside were coming toward the house and the house was headed toward the sea. After a full 60 seconds, the temblor subsided, and Roy ran to Ruth, who had tried to shelter herself under a table. Their dishes and everything in the cupboards had crashed to the floor, and all walls around their property collapsed. The Shelpmans and a Haitian helper ran outside where they joined the orphans who were clinging to a sturdy drain pipe and each other for support. The earth jostled beneath them with each aftershock.
As evening progressed, Ruth and a Haitian man went back into the house to retrieve food to feed the orphans. They later returned for blankets when another aftershock hit. They were safe, but everyone at the ministry center slept outside and made no more attempts to return to the house. At 2:30 a.m., the house collapsed with thunderous noise [see before and after photo above]. People from Grand Goave urged them all to go to higher ground, fearing a tsunami. A small one did hit and wiped out two-thirds of the ministry center property’s seawall. All that night, the Christians sang hymns with the larger group from town. With each aftershock, they sang louder in praise and thanksgiving to the God who was still with them.
How You Can Help
The Haitian peoples’ recovery from the January 12 earthquake will be slow and costly. Please continue to pray the country’s widespread needs, especially for salvation and spiritual comfort. Click to learn more about BMM's World Relief effort for Haiti. If the Lord is leading you to give financially toward this effort, please click here. Please designate your gift “World Relief,” when requested on PayPal. You may also contact the Administrator for World Relief, Larry Beckman, at lbeckman@bmm.org. Checks may be sent to Baptist Mid-Missions, PO Box 308011, Cleveland, OH 44130, designated “World Relief Haiti.” In Canada, checks may be sent to Baptist Mid-Missions, 187 McLaughlin Dr. • Moncton, NB E1A 4P4.
Scroll down to read earlier articles about the Haiti earthquake.
February 15, 2010
Haiti Hospital Update
We received this report on February 15 from Carol McGowan, wife of Dr. Brinson McGowan:
The area surrounding Centre Medical Emmanuel, our BMM hospital in Cayes Jacmel, Haiti, was hard hit by the recent earthquake. Dr. Brinson McGowan (BMM missionary surgeon) and Dr. Louis Philippe (Haitian surgeon) are working hard at the BMM hospital, along with the hospital staff and other medical volunteers. Patients at the hospital have filled all of the usual hospital beds, and overflow patients are lying on the ground or staying in tents on the hospital campus. Many of the earthquake victims have various orthopedic injuries, and nurses are staying busy with postoperative and wound care.
Buildings on the hospital campus have been inspected and are considered structurally safe. Fuel has been available for the hospital generators, which been running longer than usual in order to provide power for the extended surgical hours. Lunch is provided daily for the hospital staff and volunteers, and food and water have been available.
This portion taken directly from the McGowans’ winter 2010 prayer letter:
The most important aspect of our Lord’s mighty acts has been the spiritual impact upon our people. How we praise Him for making hearts tender and receptive to the Gospel. We praise Him for the report that 20 have accepted Jesus as Savior last Sunday at Hosanna Baptist in Jacmel, and 45 have come to know Jesus as Savior this past week through the hospital ministry. May the Lord continue His beautiful acts of mercy, grace, and healing in the weeks ahead.
We would like to thank you from the depths of our hearts for your many prayers, calls of concern, and generous monetary gifts to assist us in our disaster relief efforts in Haiti. We serve a powerful and precious Lord Who is meeting staggering needs for comfort, compassion, healing, and most importantly, spiritual life. Your support has been a vital part of the ministry of encouragement and hope the Lord has given us in Haiti.
January 22, 2010
Haitian believers demonstrate gratitude and selfless service amidst great losses
Dr. Hantz Bernard arrived safely in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, and is communicating with BMM via satellite phone each day. He met with many pastors on Thursday to receive information on the condition of their congregations and on their rescue and relief efforts. One man, Pastor Dieupe, made the very difficult journey from the southern coastal city of Jacmel to Port-au-Prince in order to be with the group.
Dr. Bernard used the word “excellent” to describe their meetings. He reported of a spirit of indebtedness to God in the hearts of those who survived the earthquake. This spirit is being expressed through an intent determination to help fellow countrymen. Amidst physical injuries and significant damage to personal belongings, these believers are steadfastly focusing on the needs of others first. Dr. Bernard expressed encouragement as he noted clear evidence of the joy of the Lord and of a resilient disposition, the results of dealing with hard times regularly in Haiti. These pastors, bound together in the fellowship of Christ, were finding opportunity to laugh together in the midst of their tears of anguish.
World Relief funds are being put to use immediately, in Dr. Bernard’s words, to “help those who are helping.” The assistance has ranged from supplying tires for a church member using his truck to transport people from Port-au-Prince to their family members’ locations in other parts of the country, to purchasing milk and formula for children and infants that have been without food, to providing medical supplies for doctors who are using their yards to operate clinics, since their homes were too damaged to be utilized.
In addition to being involved in the immediate rescue and relief efforts, members of the congregations are working under the leadership of these pastors to plan for the stabilization and rebuilding that will be necessary. Baptist Mid-Missions’ World Relief Funds will continue to be used to support the exemplary spirit of devotion and sacrifice of our Haitian brethren as they confront the devastation of the earthquake, in the name of Jesus Christ.
We have also received word that BMM missionary Dr. Brinson McGowan arrived in Jacmel on Thursday, January 21, 2010. He took 1,000 pounds of medical supplies to be used at the hospital in Cayes Jacmel. The BMM-founded hospital is now led by Dr. Louis Philippe, a Haitian national. Dr. McGowan, who formerly served at the hospital, regularly returns to help in this ministry.
January 19, 2010
Relief efforts advance in Haiti
Shelpmans’ Status
On Sunday, January 17, 2010, we received our first voice communication with Dr. Roy Shelpman, BMM’s on-field missionary in Haiti. Roy and his wife, Ruth, were able to retrieve all their personal documents from their destroyed home in Grand Goave--30 miles from Port-au-Prince--but nearly everything else they own is buried under the concrete rubble (shown above).
Roy related that an increase of lawlessness is a concern as desperate people leave the capital city and go into the country to search for food and water. The Shelpmans have served many years with a fervent love and passion for the Haitian people but are now well past retirement age. They believe they could endanger their Haitian colleagues who would try to intercede for them, should lawlessness break out. Additionally, the Shelpmans’ ministry is on hold because of extensive property damage. Because of these factors and to save resources that could be used for Haitians, Roy and Ruth made the difficult decision to leave the country for a few weeks. They arrived in the US on January 19.
In addition to a Bible college ministry, the Shelpmans oversee the Metzler Memorial Youth Home. The orphans under their care have been entrusted into the capable hands of their Haitian ministry partner. Please pray for the Haitians in Grand Goave.
Medical ministry
The Shelpmans are BMM’s only resident missionaries, but Dr. Brinson and Carol McGowan, who formerly served full-time in Haiti, return regularly to help with a BMM-founded hospital in the southeastern coastal town of Cayes Jacmel. The hospital is now under Haitian leadership, overseen by Dr. Louis Philippe. At the time of the earthquake, Dr. Philippe was in the United States, but he has since returned to Haiti. He was able to get a ride part of the way from Port-au-Prince to Cayes Jacmel and had to walk the rest of the way over the mountains to reach the hospital. Dr. McGowan will travel January 21, taking medicines for the hospital.
World Relief fund needs
Dr. Hantz Bernard, director of Bibles International (BMM’s translation division), left for Haiti January 19. He will be looking for ministry coworkers, family, and friends in and around Port-au-Prince and will be assessing needs and opportunities that can be met by BMM's World Relief project. Dr. Bernard was saved through the ministry of Evelyne Metzler and her late sister Rachel in Haiti and was a respected pastor there for many years before moving to the US to serve at Bibles International. This is a necessary but very heart-wrenching trip for Brother Bernard. He and his wife know of family and friends who were lost in the earthquake, and there are others whose whereabouts are still unknown. Dr. Bernard will be an encouragement to everyone he meets. Pray for him.
We ask for your prayers for the safety of those traveling and that the Lord would use those in-country to provide for the Haitian peoples’ needs. Most importantly, pray that the presence of the Lord would be felt strongly among the Haitian people and that they might find Him as Savior and provider during these difficult times.
January 14, 2010
Shelpmans confirmed safe in Haiti; property severely damaged
Baptist Mid-Missions rejoices to confirm the safety of our missionaries in Haiti, Roy and Ruth Shelpman. In a January 14 e-mail, Dr. Shelpman reported that they had been in their home in Grand Goave (approximately 20 miles from the epicenter) when the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck on January 12, 2010.
Sensing that the building would not endure the severity of the ongoing tremors, they and the other residents of their dwelling vacated the house. At approximately 2:30 AM, a severe tremor occurred, and they heard the house go down. Exterior walls around their property and half of their sea wall also collapsed.
They are gradually digging out valuable items from their home. Thankfully, Dr. Shelpman did not report any personal injuries to the people in their immediate residence. They plan to remain in Grand Goave for the present time without attempting to travel to Port-au-Prince, because of the severity of damage to the national highway.
Baptist Mid-Missions also received information via e-mail from Pastor Maxime Pierre-Pierre, a Haitian pastor who lives in Port-au-Prince and serves as representative on behalf of Baptist Mid-Missions in Haiti. Pastor Pierre-Pierre informs us that God kept his family, their house, and their church building safe. He was teaching in a Bible institute when the earthquake hit. The classroom and building where he was teaching suffered damage. Several students were pulled out of the rubble, but two were presumed to be trapped inside.
Pastor Pierre-Pierre reports that they are hearing stories of both miraculous protection and heart-rending loss. Difficulties with phone communication prevent them from being able to confirm the condition of others in their community. They have little access to food, water, or fuel, and they have no electricity. Because of continual aftershocks, he and his family have been sleeping outside since Tuesday.
The Baptist Mid-Missions Crisis Management Team continues to gather credible information. Updates will be posted when available.
January 13, 2010
Missionaries presumed safe after Haiti earthquake
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti at 4:53 PM Tuesday, January 12, 2010, and was centered 10 miles west of the capital of Port-au-Prince. The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba.
Baptist Mid-Missions has one missionary couple currently residing in Haiti, Roy and Ruth Shelpman. The Sheplmans live in Grand Goave, approximately 30 miles from Port-au-Prince. Given the circumstances and with the limited information we have received thus far, it is reasonable to expect that the Shelpmans are well but have experienced damage to their residence.
The Baptist Mid-Missions Crisis Management Team is working diligently to confirm these assumptions and to gather credible information. Additional information will be posted as it is available and confirmed. Please pray for all involved in addressing this catastrophic event.