January 15, 2010
The Foursquare Church has established a strong physical and spiritual presence on the ground following the devastating 7.0 earthquake that struck the island nation of Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. Foursquare Missions International (FMI) has released funds to first responders on the ground in Port-au-Prince for initial assessment and emergency aid. A specialized medical team with disaster response experience from a U.S. Foursquare church will attempt to arrive in Haiti next week. However, after the Port-au-Prince airport closure yesterday, the relief team is praying they will be allowed to enter.
Haitian Foursquare National Leader Guy Thomas and his wife, Soeurette, survived the quake although it took more than 48 hours to confirm their safety due to widespread communication outages in Haiti. Initial reports from Pastor Guy indicate that some church members may have died in the quake; he and surviving church members are scrambling to rescue the injured and deal with the death and destruction around them.
Foursquare missionaries Charlie and Darla Finocchiaro live in the Dominican Republic, 150 miles from the epicenter of the quake. Charlie is attempting to enter Port-au-Prince, Haiti, tomorrow, and he asked that our churches pray for the desperate needs of survivors: “Pray for shelter for those without a home, a loving touch through the church, that people would turn their hearts to the Lord for salvation, and for strong ministries of physical, emotional and spiritual healing.”
David Stone, FMI’s area missionary in the Caribbean, is due to arrive in Haiti on Sunday. David reported that a 40-hour rain storm in Puerto Rico has greatly hampered relief efforts; he asks that The Foursquare Church join him in praying that the storm will move out of the region so that much-needed relief can be sent to Haiti.
To help mobilize teams and relief supplies, The Foursquare Church is accepting donations with the commitment that 100 percent of the funds donated will be used for disaster relief.
As Foursquare pastors and leaders prepare for weekend church services and look to move the hearts of their community toward the needs in Haiti, the following are specific ways that the Foursquare family can get involved.
PRAY: Periodic updates on the Haiti disaster and relief efforts will be sent via the Foursquare Prayer Force Update. Sign up for the updates online.
GIVE: To give to Foursquare disaster relief, donate to the FMI Haiti Disaster Relief Fund.
GO: To arrange to go to Haiti with Foursquare teams, contact David Wheeler by e-mail.
In addition to staying informed of the efforts in Haiti through the Prayer Force Update, you can receive information regarding Foursquare's work in Haiti by following The Foursquare Church on Twitter and Facebook.
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