Ana Maria Herrara with three of her four children: Paulina, Maria and Nicolas. Chile’s earthquake toppled the fifteen-story apartment building where they were living in the city of Concepción. Their apartment was on the twelfth floor. They escaped unharmed.

The better part of our Saturday consisted of driving further south in Chile, a nation with a ribbon-like shape that is 2,700 miles long and averages about 100 miles in width. Our destination was the city of Valdivia, where James and Pablo know some pastors. We arrived in the afternoon to gratefully learn that our hotel had warm water, something we did without during our two-day stay at Concepción. (Incidentally, I learned that the earthquake moved the entire city of Concepción ten feet to the west.)

We enjoyed a lovely dinner that evening with the pastors of our host church, Grace and Peace Fellowship. Enrique Rofas and Maritza Balas have planted sixteen churches in Chile over the last nine years and they are big fans of The Disciple-Making Minister (my kind of people). We joined their congregation of 1,300 on Sunday morning. James Jones preached the primary sermon, and I must say that his anointing increased exponentially with a suit and tie—judging from the applause, amens and standing ovations garnered during his message. It was probably the best sermon I never heard (as it was in Spanish).

Preacher James Jones

Earlier in the service, a single mother shared an amazing testimony relative to the earthquake and tsunami. I’m saving her story for our May magazine, so I can’t share the details here. But her children were swept out to sea by the tsunami, and then swept back inland, to be found eight days later, alive. Heaven’s Family is now helping to rebuild their damaged house.

After church, I had the blessing of meeting the Herrara family, pictured above, whose fifteen-story apartment building toppled and snapped in half during the early morning hours of the February 27 earthquake. (I had taken photos of their building just a few day earlier, of which one is below.) The Herraras lived on the twelfth floor. They were awakened by the violent shaking and started praying and crying out to God. Although most of their furniture slid across the floor and crashed into the walls as the building fell over, none of the Herraras were touched or hurt. As the building lay on its side, they crawled out a window and started helping others.

The fifteen-story apartment building where the Herrara family was living. As the building was newly completed, only nineteen of the apartments were occupied. About twenty tenants died.

Sunday evening we attended an earthquake benefit concert organized by Grace and Peace Church. The highlight for me was some traditional flamenco dancers who were one of several groups who volunteered their talents to raise funds for earthquake survivors. Below is a photo I snapped that reflects the intensity of the dancers.

Tomorrow we start our long journey back north to Santiago, a ten-hour drive. Then on Tuesday I start my longer journey back to the U.S., a twenty-four hour trip. I’m ready for home.

All together we’ve assisted about thirty Christian families or individuals who lost just about everything because of Chile’s earthquake, sharing close to $10,000, so it has been a fruitful week of service. Thanks for joining me via our blog. — David

Dear Friends,

We awoke this morning to learn that one of our team members, Pablo Juliberto, had been tapped by Chile’s new president to serve as a governor of one of Chile’s forty provinces. Pablo had previously served as the Minister of Finance for that same province. He’s a bright young man who also sits on the board of Chile’s third-largest university. So we’ve had a fun time today joking about how people from whom Pablo asks driving directions don’t know they’re talking to a distinguished governor!

Pastor Pedro, whom we met last evening, and his wife, took us around Concepcion and a nearby town named Dichato all day today visiting believers who have suffered great losses because of the tsunami that followed the earthquake. We were told that the tsunami was not a giant wave, but that the ocean simply lifted 30 to 50 feet and surged inland, then rushed back, pulling everything with it back into the ocean. That happened three times within the space of about fifteen minutes. Huge boats were planted far inland, and homes were washed out to sea. The wake of destruction left behind is hard to describe, and the photos below can only provide a tiny glimpse.

In any case, about twenty-five Christian families who lost everything are sending up thanks because Heaven’s Family came to their aid today. Although we are not able to restore all they lost, we were able to help each family with some immediate needs by means of gifts of $200 to $300 each, which is a larger sum in the minds of most Chileans than it is to most North Americans. Below are photos of a few who benefitted. Some of the recipients cried, and they expressed their amazement that we came all the way from the U.S. to help them.

Chile is in a much better position than Haiti to help its citizens, and recovery efforts are well underway on public projects. It remains to be seen what might be done for individuals whose homes are heaps of rubble or have been literally washed away down to the foundations, leaving nothing. — David

Governor Pablo jumped out of our pickup truck to take some boxed milk and water to this woman who was living in a tent with her two small children, as her apartment is unsafe now after the earthquake

Single mother Veronica del Carmen Lara amidst the mud and debris of her children’s bedroom. The water surged into her home to a depth of about three feet.

Veronica del Carmen Lara and her married daughter Karen Andrea Perieda Lara

A boat that was deposited by the tsunami in Concepcion

Susana Oviedo Aedo in front of what remains of her home

We could hardly believe how far inland this boat was deposited by the tsunami

A typical view of what it looks like in Dichato

Another typical view in Dichato

James Jones speaks with pastor Juan Wall in Dichato who has twenty-three families in his church who lost everything. He told us how his church was warned shortly before the earthquake and tsunami that something terrible was going to happen and that they should pray. Not one life was lost among his congregation.

One of the few houses still somewhat intact near the shoreline in Dichato, probably due to a very hefty foundation and fortified walls

What is left of the beach-front road in Dichato

Although it is not so easy to tell from this photo, on top of the orange building is a house that was lifted up and deposited by the tsunami

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Chile, where I arrived on Wednesday after twenty hours of travel. Although there is very little jet lag here (just two hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time), I am experiencing a little Seasonal Lag, as the southern hemisphere is coming to the end of the summer. The tomatoes are ripe and the leaves are beginning to change in some places.

James Jones and I flew into Chile’s capital, Santiago, because the airport that is closer to the earthquake’s epicenter (at Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city) is shut down due to earthquake damage. Santiago is largely intact, but there are pockets of earthquake damage. We spent Thursday evening with a old pastor friend of James’ and learned that five families/people in his church could not return to their rented apartments because of structural damage. James personally met with each family/person prior to my arrival into Santiago, and we were blessed to partner with their church to help them get started in new apartments. Rents have naturally increased in Santiago due to supply and demand.

We spent much of the day on Friday driving to Concepcion (on a highway that was damaged in many places).

Our team includes two other members, Chilean Pablo Jiliberto, who took it upon himself to print 1,500 copies of the Spanish translation of The Disciple-Making Minister and personally distribute them to Christian leaders all over Chile, and Miqueas Vientos, a Spanish-speaking pastor from New Jersey. As we drove towards Concepcion, we stopped at a big grocery store in order to fill the back of our pickup truck with necessities such as bottled water and Clorox for the saints in the earthquake areas. It was in that grocery store that I experienced my first and second aftershocks, one of which we later learned was 7.2 on the Richter scale. It was an erie sensation to which I’ve since grown quite accustom (having now experienced many). Bottles were falling off of shelves and store lights were swinging. People hurried for the exits (including us).

Upon our arrival in Concepcion, we drove to a city park to meet with a church congregation whose building was made unusable by the tsunami that followed the earthquake. They were having church outside, and were praising God in a big circle when we arrived. As stray dogs weaved in and out of the group, James shared a thirty-minute sermon that I could not understand, but that was obviously a great encouragement to everyone. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting some of those among them who lost just about everything, and who are now living with other church members or relatives.

James Jones, park preacher

So far I love Chile. When you greet someone, you shake hands, then you hug and put your cheeks together and make a kissing sound, then shake hands again. Lots of love flowing at the Grace and Peace Church here in Concepcion!

Below are a couple of photos of our team members and some of the earthquake damage in Concepcion. Thanks for your prayers. — David

This apartment building just fell over on its side

Pastor Pedro Martinez Hernandez

Pastor Pedro’s wife, Anna Maria Fagundez Cluzet

Pablo Zuniga Jiliberto

Miqueas Vientos

James Jones (what a boring name!)

Here are some new photos of the work that Heaven’s Family is doing to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Our focus is on the Arcahaie Resettlement Camp, just north of Port-au-Prince. The selection of photos here are all from the camp. Our hope and prayer is that, as you look at these photos, God will flood your heart with a love and concern for our needy Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ.

If you would like to see the photos fullscreen, press the icon in the upper left hand corner.

To contribute securely by credit card from anywhere in the world, click here, or call our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826.

To contribute by check in the U.S. or from any country other than the U.K., please write "Disaster Relief" in the memo line and mail it to Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 12854, Pittsburgh, PA, 15241, USA.

To contribute by cheque in the U.K., please make your cheque out to Heaven’s Family and write "Disaster Relief" on the back. You can mail your donation to: Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 3736, Ascot, Berkshire, SL57WR.

One of the children of Mt. Zion Orphanage, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Dear Friends,

I’ve just returned from an exhausting trip to Haiti, via the Dominican Republic, which was the only way we (and multitudes of others) could gain access. HF staff member Jeff Trotter and I witnessed devastation in Port-au-Prince that I can only describe as apocalyptic. As we drove through Haiti’s capital, we were reminded of how fragile life is, and how near eternity can be. 200,000 Haitians rose from their beds on the morning of January 12 never imagining that they had less than twelve hours remaining on this earth.

The needs in Port-au-Prince are staggering. It will require years of effort by agencies and governments around the world to bring Port-au-Prince back up to the depressing place it was before the earthquake. I believe, however, that we have found our places of service. Let me briefly describe what we experienced.

The first stop on our long journey from Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, to Port-au-Prince was a field hospital on the border, housed at the Good Samaritan Medical Mission compound. Heaven’s Family Latin America Director James Jones is responsible for that field hospital, assigned to his task by the Dominican Republic’s Health Department.

James, a former army medic, has coordinated the convergence of medical personnel and ministries who are treating the injured flown in each day by helicopter. We met many fine doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel who are volunteering their time and skills. Hundreds of injured people are being served. Along with many other fine organizations such as World Vision, Heaven’s Family is providing medical supplies, water filters, and tons of bottled water. Also with our help, three paramedics from Pittsburgh arrived Saturday who will be serving at that field hospital all this week.

L to R: James Jones speaking with a medical staff member at the field hospital, and caring for the injured there.

After a taxing, bottle-necked border crossing into Haiti, we drove to the outskirts of Port-au-Prince to rendezvous with Pastor Preval Meritil, my Haitian friend of thirty years, who oversees hundreds of churches across Haiti. It was so good to see him alive and well.

L to R: Preval Meritil, and congestion at the bottlenecked border crossing

Preval led us to some church property about an hour outside the city where he is resettling about 1,500 Port-au-Prince Christians who lost their homes. When we arrived, children were playing with one another, women were cooking rice and beans in large pots over wood fires, and men were constructing two simple sleeping shelters, one for the men, and the other for women. That camp will be their home into the indefinite future. Many more will likely be joining them.

I entrusted Preval with several thousand dollars I had brought with me to provide for their most immediate food needs. Food is available for those who can afford the increased prices. I was so glad we had made the effort to be there, and that we were able to do something for members of our spiritual family. We also gave them enough Sawyer water filters to purify water for everyone.

Images from the resettlement camp where HF will be serving in the months ahead. Most everyone is living under tarps and sheets, or out in the open.

The Haitian government has announced that 400,000 Port-au-Prince survivors will need to be relocated to resettlement camps around the city. Providing basic services for those multitudes will be a massive and daunting task, and I’m afraid that for many, things will become worse before they get better.

Heaven’s Family will be focusing on caring for those 1,500 brothers and sisters whom we have just begun to help. They need foam mattresses, as they are currently sleeping on the cold, hard ground, as well as blankets, food, shelter, water, toilet facilities, and security from gangs who will be preying on those who have food. (4,000 Port-au-Prince prison inmates escaped after the earthquake.) The logistics to provide for all these needs are being worked out by James Jones and Preval Meritil—all made possible because of your compassion.

From the resettlement camp we journeyed to the other side of Port-au-Prince to visit our orphanage, passing the ruins of many homes, businesses and large government buildings along the way. The stench of decaying bodies still buried under rubble permeated the air. We witnessed a line of people that stretched for at least a mile that terminated at a large iron gate. There was obviously hope of food behind that gate, but it was closed as we passed.

A few of the many scenes of earthquake damage that we witnessed

The concrete house that is used to house the children of Mt. Zion Orphanage was undamaged, with the exception of a block wall that fell on the edge of their small piece of property. None of the children had been injured, but a number of them asked us, through our interpreter, if we would take them with us. They said they were afraid of another earthquake. (Everyone in Port-au-Prince is sleeping out in the open.) I did my best to reassure them that God would protect them.

Safe and sound: The children of Mt. Zion Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, with a few neighbor kids also.

The director, Pastor Widelson Marcellus, and his wife, are also caring for some neighbors. Along with the orphanage children, none had eaten since breakfast that morning, and they were out of money. We arrived late in the afternoon, so I was glad to be able to provide the food they lacked. We gave them a Sawyer water filter, and James treated a few injured people who were there. We will continue to be a lifeline for Mt. Zion orphanage through James and Preval in the months ahead. We are considering relocating all the children to our other orphanage that is five hours outside of Port-au-Prince in a more rural setting.

There is so much more that I want to tell you about our time in Haiti. Please look for an article about earthquake relief in our March magazine that will include a web link to a slideshow that will better tell our story.

Again, thank you to everyone who has helped and continues to help. The media frenzy will soon subside, but we are going to continue serving in Haiti for months and years ahead.

In Christ,
David

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family

To contribute securely by credit card from anywhere in the world, click here, or call our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826.

To contribute by check in the U.S. or from any country other than the U.K., please write "Disaster Relief" in the memo line and mail it to Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 12854, Pittsburgh, PA, 15241, USA.

To contribute by cheque in the U.K., please make your cheque out to Heaven’s Family and write "Disaster Relief" on the back. You can mail your donation to: Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 3736, Ascot, Berkshire, SL57WR.

A child who was orphaned by the earthquake, after his broken arm was set at a temporary hospital assisted by HF

Dear Friends,

I’m glad that I have some encouraging news to report from Haiti.

He is Alive! Yesterday morning I learned that a dear Haitian friend of thirty years, pastor Preval Meritil, is alive. He is not only alive, he is well. He has been using his old Land Rover to transport believers from Port-au-Prince, where relief efforts are bottlenecked at the airport, to his church compound up in the mountains, several hours away. Residents of Port-au-Prince are streaming from the city to escape scarcity of food and water, the stench of death, continued aftershocks, and the escalating violence.

Safe Water for 10,000: HF International Director Chuck King successfully delivered 100 Sawyer Water filters to our primary representative in the bordering nation of the Dominican Republic ($4,000 worth). Those filters can provide enough safe drinking water for 10,000 people each day. Initially, they are being distributed to several field hospitals where the need is so great.

Food and Meds Delivered: Area representative James Jones traveled overland into Haiti to deliver some of those water filters, as well as food, bottled water and medical supplies provided by Heaven’s Family. He has shipped similar supplies by air. He has also helped set up a MASH unit on Haiti’s border that is treating the injured who are flown in by helicopter. He is bringing in thirty medical interns and ten surgeons from the Dominican Republic.

Our Orphanages: Until I spoke with pastor Preval, the only news we had about our two orphanages in Haiti was an unconfirmed report that eight orphans were found alive in Port-au-Prince. We anxiously waited for more news, but feared the worst. Praise God, however, pastor Preval reported that all the orphans are alive and uninjured, as well as the orphanage directors! He said their greatest need right now is for food. I’ll let you know more details as further news comes in. Please keep praying for them.

Heading to Haiti: I’m currently in London on ministry business, but will arrive home this evening. I’ll be leaving for Haiti early tomorrow morning along with HF staff member Jeff Trotter. We’re hoping to reach our orphanage in Port-au-Prince (although that may be too dangerous at this time), as well as assess where we should focus next. Thanks so very much for your help once again. Your compassion is making a difference.

In Christ,

David

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family

To contribute securely by credit card from anywhere in the world, click here, or call our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826.

To contribute by check in the U.S. or from any country other than the U.K., please write "Disaster Relief" in the memo line and mail it to Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 12854, Pittsburgh, PA, 15241, USA.

To contribute by cheque in the U.K., please make your cheque out to Heaven’s Family and write “Disaster Relief” on the back. You can mail your donation to: Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 3736, Ascot, Berkshire, SL57WR.

Dear Friends,

Massive amounts of aid are now beginning to pour into Haiti. The immediate needs are, of course, for the rescue of trapped survivors, water, food, and medical help for the injured. Right now everything is a mass of confusion in Port-au-Prince.

We have not received any word from either our primary contact in Haiti (with whom I spoke by phone just a few days before the earthquake), or from either of our two orphanage directors. Like tens of thousands of other Americans and Canadians who have loved ones in Haiti, we wait with hope. The cell phone of our primary contact sounds as if it is ringing when I call him, but there is no answer. I am facing up to the possibility that Preval Meritil, a dear friend of thirty years and a true Haitian saint, is in heaven.

Our area representative, James Jones of the Dominican Republic, found the Dominican/Haiti border tightly closed in both directions at two locations that he tried. Thankfully, because James is a former army medic, he has been assigned by the Dominican Civil Defense and Secretary of Health to a MASH team, and he will be on the ground in Port-au-Prince on Saturday. His job will be triage, primary rescue, stabilization of the injured, and transfers. James is taking $5,000 worth of bottled water, food, and medical supplies from Heaven’s Family, thanks to all of you.

HF International Director Chuck King is flying to the Dominican Republic tomorrow to personally entrust James Jones with 100 Sawyer Water Filters. James will take them with him to Port-au-Prince where they are so greatly needed right now.

There were massive needs in Haiti before the earthquake, and there will be massive needs for months and years to come there. We intend to do all that the Lord enables us to do to meet immediate and long-term needs.

Our website experienced some technical difficulties yesterday for a while, so if you tried to make a contribution for Haiti Disaster Relief but were not able, please try again today. Everything is working now. And thanks to everyone for your compassion.

In Christ,

David

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family

To contribute securely by credit card from anywhere in the world, click here, or call our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826.

Dear Friends,

You’ve probably heard the news of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the Caribbean island nation of Haiti late yesterday afternoon. The epicenter was not far from Haiti’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, home to about three million people. We have two orphanages in Haiti. The one in Port-au-Prince cares for twelve children. We have not been able to establish communication with them or with any of our other dear friends in Haiti. As soon as we hear something substantial, I’ll let you know.

Three of the children at our Port-au-Prince orphanage

Homes and other buildings in Port-au-Prince are generally poorly constructed, made of concrete or concrete blocks, and the early news is that there is massive destruction and loss of life. Haiti has very little infrastructure or emergency/disaster services. It is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. In the best of times, life is very difficult for those who live in the hillside shanty towns that surround Port-au-Prince. Food insecurity already affects more than a quarter of Haiti’s population—almost two million people. Please join us in prayer for every survivor.

Yesterday afternoon, just a few hours before the earthquake struck, a few of our staff members were purchasing air tickets to travel to Haiti in a few weeks to visit the two orphanages that we assist through our Orphan’s Tear division. While they must wait until early March, a dear friend, James Jones, who is a former army medic and who lives on the same island as Haiti in the Dominican Republic, is on his way towards Port-au-Prince. He and his team are carrying food, water and medicines. We hope to send funds to James to help him and his team provide relief to survivors in the earthquake region. Currently, however, our Disaster Relief Fund is empty, as we have expended everything we’ve received into that fund in 2009 to rebuild the lives of believers affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

If you would like to help us with relief efforts in Haiti by contributing to Heaven’s Family’s Disaster Relief Fund, you can give securely by credit card through our website by clicking here, or by calling our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826. To contribute by check, see the instructions below. 100% of what is given will be sent to Haiti, as is always our policy.

I also ask that you forward this email to your compassionate friends along with your recommendation of Heaven’s Family, as that might also be a means to meet urgent needs and answer prayers in Haiti.

Sincerely in Christ,

David

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family

To contribute securely by credit card from anywhere in the world, click here, or call our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826.

I wanted to bring you up-to-date regarding how the contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) are continuing to meet pressing needs in the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar.

We just received a report from native missionary, Peter Cung, whom David mentioned in our June DRF mini-update. Peter has been providing food and housing in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis while bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to hungry hearts. Below are just a few of the photos Peter has sent that show new Christian families with their new houses—built for only $130 with your contributions—and the makeshift shelters in which they previously lived. In the past month, we’ve funded the building of nine new homes for Christian families.

This first sequence shows a house being constructed from material delivery to completion.

U San Aung and Uh Uh, happy in front of their new home. Note the ”lake” their house had to be built on.

Here is another ”shelter-to-house” sequence:

Mother Oo Ma (on left in the left-hand photo), cannot stand properly and is blind in one eye. Peter wrote to us, “They are so very grateful to God for His provision.”

Below is widow Tawng Kyi’s previous tarp shelter and brand new house:

Tawng Kyi was Buddhist. Today, she’s in love with Jesus. Heaven’s Family will also be providing her with a small business grant from our Widows Fund to help her become self-sufficient.

I couldn’t resist including this final photo of Li Li and Zun Par in front of their new home. Prior to your help, they and their parents had no home at all.

On behalf of these and others like them, thank you so much.

In Christ,

Emily Growden

Director, Disaster
Relief Fund

Learn how the Disaster Relief Fund helps believers affected by earthquakes, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, and other natural disasters.