Around the Town

Of the 106 Wesleyan churches in Haiti 21 have either been demolished or rendered unusable by the effects of the earthquake. Many of the churches also operate schools. The plan is to visit several of those sites and hear about the possibilities for rebuilding.

On Wednesday we visited the sites of 5 churches in the greater Port-au-Prince area. At Carrefour Feuilles we saw the remains of the largest Wesleyan church in Haiti where as many as 2000 gather for Sunday worship and 1000 gather daily for prayer at 6:00 am. There are still many large chunks of concrete hanging precariously from deformed rebar high above street level. The church must be razed and the site cleared before rebuilding can begin. A few blocks away is the school; two large tarps have been strung above the concrete playground, and that area now serves as the meeting place for the worship services. A few blocks away lie the remains of another school where it is reported that at least 300 and perhaps as many as 1000 bodies are still buried in the rubble.

At Petionville all that remains of the church building is the concrete slab and piles of rubble. The church in Martissant is situated on a large (by Haitian standards) property in an area of the city that had great potential for growth. The main building is an old theater; the largest section is structurally sound but the interior needs to be completely remodeled. The smaller section is no longer usable; it has been structurally damaged by the earthquake and also has water damage from underground. A secondary building on the property will have to come down.

At Cite Soleil the ground floor of the building is no longer usable; as a result, schooling must be moved outside. The sanctuary on the upper level is usable, but given the state of the ground floor, the path of wisdom may be to completely rebuild. At Mais Gate half of the roof has been removed and much of the security fence has been destroyed. The Pastor's house nearby was destroyed by the earthquake. The Pastor was out of the house; his son had just left the house and was able to rescue both his mother and his sister from the rubble.

In every location the people demonstrate a resilient attitude, express a steadfast faith in God, and resolve to move forward.