Rain

It has been exactly one month since the quake and remarkably there has been no rain…until today. The first rain came this morning at about 3am. With people sleeping and living under makeshift tents, it was a rough night for so many. This caused the group at Joy House to realize that just as much as people need food, water and medical attention, they need shelter too. The past two days have been busy with a lot of visits to different places. They visited with Alice at House of Hope orphanage and she gave constant praise to God that He has protected them and how He has provided food for them everyday. The repairs at their compound are already underway. They also visited the compound where Sue used to house the children at the Lamb's Center. It was sad to see the building completely demolished, but also grateful that nobody was living there when the quake hit. It was even harder visiting the homes of some of the Joy House staff – like the house where Matthew, Reginald and Daniel had been living the second floor had now become the first floor. With so many people without homes, many have been taking refuge within the courtyard of the Lifeline orphanage in Carrefour (where we visited this past summer) and it is estimated that as many as 1,500 people are sleeping within these walls because they feel safe here. The struggles are many, but God keeps sending the blessings. Today the group traveled into Port au Prince and stopped at the palace to view the damage. As they walked around at the palace they ran into Michael W. Smith who was there working with Samaritan's Purse. He was very gracious and visited with John and the others asking them about their work in Haiti. Michael shared his heart with them about how great the needs are and that it is going to take everyone working together to help the people of Haiti. Samaritan's Purse has been doing many different things to help in Haiti and one of those things has been distributing tarps to help with the shelter needs. Pastor Benito has one of these tarps to provide shelter for his family. Thank you Michael W. Smith and Samaritan's Purse for all you are doing to help so many people in need.
Please be in prayer throughout the day Friday as John and the four pastors spend the day traveling back to the Dominican Republic and then Saturday fly back to the states. Don't forget to keep Norma and Wayne and the Joy House staff in your prayers as they continue to work at Joy House over the next week.
Kay