CSI in Haiti sustained considerable property damage in the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12.  None of the missionaries, staff or orphans in our care were injured but the mission house was destroyed and the orphanage needs extensive repairs. CSI has served the people of Haiti for more than 30 years; we were here before the earthquake and we will be here long after the various large crisis organizations are gone.

It has always been the desire of CSI in Haiti to glorify God in service by meeting the needs of the Haitian people.  Our clinic continues to operate, our church is drawing more seekers, and our neighbors are seeing Christ at work. 

We have been blessed by so many people through prayer, encouragement and financial support during this crisis.  We have also been blessed by a large construction firm in Ohio who will come alongside us with engineering expertise and construction supervision in building a new orphanage facility that will be stronger and meet the evolving needs of the girls in our care.  Repairs on the existing orphanage building have started and once completed, the girls will return there temporarily until the new facility is finished.

Since the mission house was destroyed, the current orphanage facility will become the new CSI mission house, and repairs reflect this design change.  This move will allow all of our long-term missionaries and short-term team members to work closely together and concentrate on serving the Croix des Bouquets area (where the clinic and current orphanage facilities are located). 

We have already begun the process of long-term community relief to assist with the needs of our Croix des Bouquets neighbors. We are meeting immediate needs for food, medical care and temporary housing.  Our plans for rebuilding focus on encouraging neighbors to help one another and providing economic stimulus to the area by paying a stipend for work completed.  Haitian neighbors working alongside short-term mission teams to rebuild lives will have an impact in growing God’s Kingdom and practical skills learned during this time will help with future employment. 

  We are in the process of purchasing land and proceeding with projects we had already planned and see an even greater need for now; construction of a widows’ home, a community health education and nutrition center, a vocational training center, and a prosthesis/physical therapy center.  The needs of Haiti’s people have become more visible to the world through this tragedy.  CSI in Haiti will continue to serve the people here for the long term. 

Pa Bliye Ayiti (Don’t forget Haiti).

From Bert and Roberta Anderson:

The H.O.P.E. girls, the matrons and the Banks family are still living in the one-bedroom apartment at the clinic. Although the quarters are tight, they are at least in a safe and secure environment. We are still praying that word will come in from the State Department that they can evacuate to the U.S. in the near future.

Right now all teams are still on hold until Feb. 20. We have several teams ready to go, and if you would like to schedule a team – either construction or medical, please contact Jon Clark at 765-286-0711 or  jclark@csiministries.org. As soon as teams resume to Haiti we will have an immediate need for construction teams, and we need as many durable and experienced crews as possible. Whether or not you were already scheduled to come to Haiti, if you are an experienced crew, please get in touch with Jon to see when it may be possible to head down. 

American Airlines has suspended all flights to Port-au-Prince until Feb. 5, and they have also reduced future flights down to one per day since there is only one runway operational at the airport. Teams leaving at the end of February are already being affected. Delta has officially cancelled all flights through this Friday, although it is expected that they will follow suit with American Airlines.

DONATIONS: It has been a tremendous blessing to see all the support and to speak to many generous people over the last couple of weeks. Praise God that everyone is so faithful to help the Haitians during this crisis! Everyone's willingness to donate supplies is amazing, but the impact of the dollar is sometimes being diminished. Monetary gifts are what is most needed right now, and we will be the best stewards with those funds by purchasing and delivering the most needed and up-to-date supplies and resources requested in Haiti. It appears as if many medical suppliers are coming forward to donate huge amounts of supplies and drugs. For the time being we are asking individuals to hold off on their purchases of medicines and medical supplies, and allow larger institutions to take care of these needs.

For people that really want to donate an item instead of money: We are getting  requests from schools and churches wanting to help make purchases and collect items. Right now, cash donations are probably the best item. But tents, tarps and plastic totes (big containers with lids) are all good items to collect, as well as bars of anti-bacterial soap.

Thank you and please continue to pray for the Haitians and our missionaries!
From Toby.

After 60 hours of camping on the floor of the embassy, Sterline became ill with a stomach illness.  A doctor came to check on her and gave us some things to help her, but caring for her in the environment we were in was impossible.  There were literally thousands of people going through the area we were in with 2 toilets.  Diapers, wipes, baby food, water and MREs were provided.  The embassy personnel, DHS folks, DOS folks, Consular General folks, everyone in the embassy was gracious and accommodating.  In spite of this, the girls were becoming increasingly uncomfortable and upset as time was passing.  We were unable to sleep, sharing 2-3 spoons and water bottles, could not bathe or even properly clean the girls and I knew that once Sterline became ill, it was just a matter of time until the illness was passed to others because of the conditions.  It was a difficult decision to make, and even looking at our goal of evacuating the girls as the high priority, I had to decide to move from the embassy to our temporary shelter at the clinic so the girls could be cared for.  This does not mean that we have ceased our attempts to evacuate the girls or even that our attempts have lessened.  It just means that we had to change our address to work from.

• Pray for the church at Croix de Bouquet, as it continues to be built. 
  
   

• Pray that God would provide resources for the container being shipped to Jamaica and people would be generous to give to it.

• Pray that God continues calling His people to serve Him in full-time missions work and allowing CSI to support them as they answer this call.
   

• Pray for the CSI Missionaries who serve overseas, as well as within the United States, that God protect them and keep them safe as He works through them while serving others.