Senior Pastor's Page A Message from our Church Newsletter called THE EVANGEL Pastor’s Note:          Many of you have been asking about news concerning the hurricanes which hit Haiti.  We hear a great deal about our own country, but – after the first day or so – Haiti often fades into the background.  So what follows is some of the news I have received so far from my Haitian friends.      Within a matter of days three major storms struck Haiti.  Hanna hovered over the North for four days, creating detrimental floods through the entire Artibonite River Valley.  Ike followed, dumping even more rain.  Hundreds have died.  The major cities of Gonaives and Saint Marc are still under water!  The UN has faced countless obstacles as they try and try again to bring relief – especially food to starving people – over flooded and washed out roads.  They face frantic, panicking crowds if they finally get through.        The first storm, Gustav, made a direct hit on the south coast – at the exact location of our current mission.  Ninety mile-per-hour winds may not seem catastrophic to the US, but in a country of flimsy houses covered with corrugated metal roofs (at best!) it was devastating.  We have been working in the village of Hermitage for the past 3½ years.  The small city of Bainet, just one mile west, was pounded.  The six-block long row of buildings on south side of the main street has the ocean in their backyard.  We have received word that most of these buildings sustained severe damage and many were destroyed.  Over 2000 pieces of corrugated metal laid strewn all over town.  Hundreds of people are homeless.       From Hermitage, we received a message that said, “We have good news, & we have bad news.”  The good news was that we built the school, and when we built that two-story building we decided to build it out of concrete.  Dozens of families huddled inside the school during the storm, and we have been told that the sturdy building saved many lives.  The bad news is that dozens of families remain homeless and several are currently sheltered within the school.         More bad news is that we have lost the entire roof off the teachers' dorm that volunteer teams have been staying in this same building we built, and those teachers are also being sheltered within the school. Our hen working in Hermitage.         We also lost part of the roof off the new church, and the home next door, belonging to Amilis, the Lay Leader, was destroyed.  All of our mission supplies were stored there.  We have not heard whether any of these materials – generator, cots, air mattresses, cooking supplies, solar showers, and much more – survived.                The overall word is, “Ou-a wè avèk je ou.”  You will see with your own eyes.  Basically, it means “you won’t believe it until you see it.”             In faith, I fall back to something we have believed in and built upon since the inception of the Haiti Partnership in 1995 – it has been our credo:  “The buildings and projects can be washed or blown away, but the relationships we form in Christ’s name will last forever.”  As you can imagine, after almost four years of serving God with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Hermitage, we have formed many friendships.  Our hearts ache for so many people who are in such desperate need.           On November 5th, with God’s help, our team of twelve (four of us from Vestal UMC) will return to the village of Hermitage.  At this point, we aren’t sure where we will stay or what condition our supplies are in.  We go in faith, with God as our guide.  Yet one thing I know for certain, when we finally arrive in Hermitage, whether landing by boats on the beach or by struggling through washed out roads, we will be greeted by our dear friends.  There will be great celebration, and there will be many tears shed – and together in Christ, we will move forward – zepol a zepol – shoulder to shoulder.  For God is good – all the time.                                                                                                 Pastor Mike     If you feel called to help the men, women, and children of Hermitage recover from the hurricane, donations can be given through our church, checks to be written to “VUMC” and noted “for Haiti Hurricane Relief.” Send Email to Mike Willis                                      Click here for our Vision Statement