More on Haiti

If you are among those of us interested in regular updates about how Southern Baptists are responding to Haiti, you can subscribe to email alerts by visiting gobgr.org. A Thursday, Jan. 21, article noted that the Southern Baptist relief effort will focus on the long-term emphasis of helping people rebuild their lives and communities, according to Mickey Caison, who directs disaster operations for the North American Mission Board.

A Baptist Press article said that an International Mission Board (IMB) team is receiving information from Southern Baptist medical personnel who are willing to help, and the IMB has also sent out an urgent prayer request. Details are in the excerpts below from the article:

Interested parties can e-mail haitiresponse@imb.org to register their availability. Baptist state convention disaster relief offices also will be organizing teams of volunteers to help once the assessment teams have returned with strategic recommendations for the response. The IMB's prayer office released a Jan. 21 alert urging intercession for Southern Baptist relief workers already on the ground in Haiti, as well as the people of Haiti themselves.
"Pray ... for the IMB missionaries who have been in Haiti ministering in very difficult circumstances. Ask God to strengthen them and help them to deal with the extremely sad situations they are witnessing," the alert said. "Pray for the five IMB missionaries who had served in Haiti for many years and the grief they are experiencing from losing close friends. Continue to pray for the Haitian people as they come to grips with lost loved ones and a difficult future."

Donations designated for Haiti disaster relief through any of the Southern Baptist organizations go 100 percent to relief efforts. None is used for administrative costs.

Many stories are coming out of Haiti that highlight the best of the human spirit, among both those helping and those needing help. One such story is about how tech volunteers are making a difference in the chaos of destroyed infrastructure and human suffering. The Associated Press article was published Wednesday, but if you haven’t read it, I found it here.