---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Jacobsen <luvhaiti@bellsouth.net>
Date: Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Subject: FW: By God's grace, we are still alive.
To: pastorshelpman@gmail.com
Dear Pastor Shelpman,
I have appreciated getting the updates about your dad. I am a BMM missionary who worked in Haiti in the early 90s, and now work with Haitian immigrants in FL. I appreciate the friendship and occasional fellowship that I get with your dad and Ruthie.
When I read that you had no news about the school in Jacmel, I felt I ought to forward this email to you, from another friend who was teaching in the seminary at the time of the earthquake. He also attached some pictures of the damage in Jacmel.
We continue praying! Thanks for what you are doing.
In Christ,
Mark Jacobsen
From: Daniel Telfort [mailto:dtelfort25@hotmail.com
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:59 AM
To: Daniel Telfort
Subject: By God's grace, we are still alive.
Dear prayer partner,
It is with great grief and sorrow that I write you today to let you know how I and my folks are surviving through the earthquake that beats upon my country this past January 12, 2010. Haiti has never been damaged in such a heavy way. It is by God’s grace only we came out alive from that terrible catastrophe.
I was in Hinche, my hometown, just to spend Christmas with my mother. Classes at the seminaries resumed on Monday, Junuary 11 both in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel. So, I have been back to Jacmel since Sunday evening (10th). Everything went well on Monday. Tuesday was just another day of work. It was about 4:50 pm while I was teaching a class when the earthquake began. From the first three second I understood it was an earthquake, but I thought it would not have lasted. But after 5 to 6 second I realized the seriousness of it and immediately tell m students to rush outside. The building where we met was being shaken so harshly that I thought it was going to fall flat. The earthquake lasted for about 15 to 18 seconds. It amazed me that the earthquake came about as I was explaining to my students the necessity of showing the atheists (people who say that God does not exist) how and why they are wrong and are heading to hell. Fortunately everybody got out safely and there is no big damage done to the building and the church which is right beside. However, it was during the aftershocks that we started to realized how God Almighty has spared our lives and the church building: Jacmel’s downtown is almost completely destroyed, two young men from the church in Jacmel (pastor Dieupie) died. Many people lost their home, several hundreds of them poorly sheltered in the little aerodrome in, Jacmel, the road from Jacmel to Port-au-Prince is blocked big rocks are found all over the road. It may take several weeks, even months for that road to be repaired.
Then we heard about Port-au-Prince. When I try to call some of my folks from the Seminary in Port-au-prince, I could not get hold of them. Finally I got a little bit of news: at least two building are seriously damaged, pastor Pierre-Pierre came safely miraculously and the worst is that two students died and several others are injured. According to the government’s estimate 100 000 people die, corps are laid along many streets of the capital city. In fact more than half of the city is destroyed. There still are people who are crying for help from under the fallen houses and walls. This morning, I got news from my Pastor in Port-au-Prince about my church: a deacon with his daughter (about 8 years old) were killed in the earthquake; a Sunday school teacher (a young lady) dies as well. We will know more about people who die from the disaster later on.
I thank God that everyone in my family came out safe. Now the big question is how we are going to survive these difficult days. The Lord knows all about it: we have very little access to food, water and gas. Even when Port-au-Prince would have some of those things, trucks cannot get to the regional cities to bring them to us. I need much prayer: it has been already hard to live in Haiti and unless God steps in and do something, it will be even harder in the days to come.
By the way Dr. Garlock and Sarah Bennett are fine.
Please, pray that God might have mercy on my country and help my people see the necessity of living a life for God, receiving Christ as their Savior. Please take sometime to look at the pictures taken in Jacmel.
God bless you and God bless Haiti!
Daniel Telfort
STEP
Attn: Daniel Telfort
Unit 2109-UEBH
3170 Airmans Dr.
Ft. Pierce, FL 34946
Phone: (509) 3-879-5097 or (509) 3-436-2544
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