Flood Update for September 6, 2008

(Update: As of 9/7/08 Hurricane Ike is dumping more rain on Gonaives)

Dear brothers and sisters,

We praise God the Creator, He who made everything, for giving you to us as brothers and sisters. We thank Him for your concerns and your fervent prayers. We thank Him for your love and kindness. We thank Him because of who He is: a loving, merciful, caring and just God. It is in the name of the Most Powerful God that I greet you all.

Last Sunday people were worshiping God with all their hearts, raising their hands and praising God. Hundreds and thousands were doing the same thing around the city. Now they do not know when they will have the privilege to have another corporate worship again. It may takes months. It will take at least weeks. In a situation like this man must acknowledge who is in charge, who is in control. If not they realize, at least, how fragile life is.

Now the flood water has receded. People are leaving the city in massive numbers. Others who can find a safe refuge are staying where they are while they make plans to clean their homes. The problems are many. Water is getting really scarce. I (Salonique) spent literally 3 hours waiting in a long line before I could come home with a gallon of water. I am among the lucky ones because others returned home with an empty jug or bucket. I have to confess that I got mine because of a friend who is a friend of the distributor. And it still took 3 hours. In other places they have had bad fights over drinking water. Those who managed to find a gallon will have to be very frugal, even stingy to arrive home with it. What are you to do? Should you give it away and be mister nice guy, or close your eyes and ears in order to arrive home with it? Think about such a difficult problem.

Food is another serious matter. Most people ate their last meal on Monday. Think about that. They may find a cracker, a bite from a friend some how, but the city lives in hunger. Something has to be done quickly before we experience a lot more deaths related to hunger.

Gonaives smells bad these days. Dead bodies of animals and humans create a terrible smell in the mud and the polluted water. All my children are sick. We think it is from the unsanitary air they breath. As I am writing Tim, Esli, Eliel, Eunice (Saicah) are all down. Ben was sick last night, but he is playing now. Mark is just getting over diarrhea. I have sinus infection, Gine is fighting with a fever. Oriente is fighting with fever too and with fatigue. I am afraid to think about the cases of malaria, typhoid, and other diseases we are going to have in the next few days or months. And now they are talking about the arrival of Hurricane Ike who is supposed to hit us this afternoon. Please pray!

The immediate needs are: (1) water, (2) food, (3) clothing, (4) really safe shelter, (5) medicine (antibiotics and vitamins), (6) cleaning equipment (shovel, hammer), and (7) counseling etc.

The future needs are: (1) reconstruction of homes (2) repairing homes, (3) cleaning of streets, (4) money for the education of the children who were victims in the Hurricane, etc.

I have included four pictures: a baby whose parents took refuge at Living Water Christian school, my library at home, our living room where bowls, chairs, books, and everything imaginable is mixed together in a mess, and a picture of the adult worship service of last sunday. Tomorrow (Sunday), we will have a leadership meeting at 9, instead of our normal worship service.

Please accept our thanks to all of you who have made contributions, who have written encouraging notes to us, who have called us. Thanks, and many thanks. May God bless you for our sake. My phone is not operational, please contact my forwarding agent.

Yours because He lives,

Salonique Adolphe