In the midst of despair people around the world have been touched by the faith and resilience of the Haitian people in the months following the devastating earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, killing thousands and leaving more than 1 million people homeless.

Cross Catholic staff members working in the field in the days and months after the earthquake saw this display of faith first hand. Our Haiti projects officer, Mike Henry, described this scene just a week after the earthquake:

“While walking amid the ruins of Port-au-Prince, I came across a spontaneous outdoor gathering of Haitian believers who had just watched their whole world crumble, now joined together in prayer and worship. The earthquake could take their homes and churches, but it could not take their faith! I was amazed by the joy, gratefulness, and prayerful resolve these Haitians were showing in the face of such devastation.”

And this wasn’t an isolated incident. NPR did a piece last week in honor of the six-month anniversary of the earthquake that touched on that very subject. A group of doctors shared an inspiring moment they experienced in the midst of tragedy and pain, at a makeshift tent hospital in Port-au-Prince. This happened to be there very same tent hospital that Cross Catholic supported with tents, medicines, and other aid after the quake.

In the piece, the doctors explain what happened: “…a man begins to play a guitar in the corner of the tent, and patients begin to sing.  Soon every Haitian in the tent is singing or clapping or dancing.  The song: “Jesus, thank you for loving us.” (Click here to listen to the full audio segment.)

These doctors were overwhelmed by the experience. As one put it: “It’s extremely humbling to be around a people that, in the worst time of their life, have it in their hearts to give gratitude for what they have left…”

This is reminiscent of the story of Paul and Silas praising and singing hymns to God despite being chained and in prison (Acts 16:25-31). And if you recall, through their worship the jailer came to Christ. Like this story, the Haitian people’s hopeful attitude despite the devastation caused by the quake is an amazing testament to the awesome power of God to overcome any circumstance.

Click here to learn more about what Cross Catholic has been doing in the last six months to help earthquake victims in Haiti.

We received some good news from Mike Henry, our projects officer who has been coordinating relief in Haiti since the earthquake. He and one of our partner organizations were able to get medical supplies to a hospital we support near Port-au-Prince. Below is an excerpt from his field notes a few days ago:

With the road cleared, I was able to get further into the field to do some more work — work that will have a true positive impact on people’s lives.

The staff and volunteers at Hospital Espoir offer a prayer of thanks as the medical supplies from Cross International Catholic Outreach arrive.

I got started early by heading over to the office of a ministry we’ve partnered with during this crisis to pick up some medical supplies to deliver to Hospital Espoir, which is run by one of our long-time ministry partners.

As I drove through Delmas and down Rue Freres, I couldn’t believe how many down homes and buildings were out there. There were only a limited number of cars on the road, but people were walking in every direction, many carrying their belongings.

Dr. Antoine Fadoul, one of my contacts on Haiti, had agreed to provide us with enough supplies to keep Hospital Espoir functioning while we worked on getting supplies to them through the Dominican Republic. By 8:30 a.m., we were able to supply the hospital with a truck-load of items such as gloves, syringes, antibiotics, and pain killers.

Gladys Thomas, the director of the hospital Espoir, was on her way home from India, so her daughter, Natalie, had been left to coordinate activities. Natalie had been overwhelmed by emotions for the past couple of days. I could see it in her eyes. The hospital had all but shut down a few days after the earthquake as they had quickly run out of supplies needed to care for trauma patients.

I was happy to be able to deliver the supplies, and she was relieved to receive the help. Her eyes lit up a bit. Hospital Espoir would now have enough materials to open back up to the public. More importantly, Cross International Catholic Outreach had a lot more help on the way.

Cross Catholic has since provided Gladys with funds to buy more medicines and supplies from the Dominican Republic to keep Hospital Espoir up and running. Please continue to pray for them and all of our other ministry partners in Haiti as we continue to support them in this time of crisis.