11 Feb Notes from Haiti in Turmoil

Gary Dilley, Director of Global Ministries, talked by phone to Luanne Brooks this afternoon (February 11). Because of the great degree of civil unrest in Haiti, Luanne Brooks is currently stuck in Port au Prince, where she has been doing language study. She is unable to get back to Cap Hatien, where she lives at the OMS compound. Please pray for her safety and for God’s peace. Luanne is in contact with OMS about what her next step will be, whether it means returning in some way to Cap Hatien or even returning to the States. She is staying at the OMS guesthouse in the capital. Luanne is a United Brethren missionary serving with OMS International.

Meanwhile, a United Brethren group from Canada has returned safely from Haiti, flying back to Canada on February 10. Bishop Brian Magnus of Canada called Gary Dilley on the morning of February 11 to report on the group’s journey. They went to Haiti on January 30 to do work in construction, medical, children’s, and medical ministries. The civil unrest escalated during their time in the country, though for most of the time they were isolated from it in an area south of Port Au Prince and were not fully aware of the political turmoil in other parts of the country.

On their return journey to the airport, they faced several delays, ran into roadblocks and barricades, and encountered a truck filled with armed men who expressed doubt about their ability to reach the airport. They spent some time at a Salvation Army compound, waiting for any sign of traffic coming out of Port Au Prince. Finally, when they saw buses coming from the city, they immediately left and were able to make their way to the airport.

Gary Dilley received an email this morning which said, I’m sure you will be hearing many accounts of how God blessed the team and caused plans to be altered for their protection. Joan Sider [from the Toronto UB church] said she was unaware of the extent of the political uprisings in Haiti during the past week until she arrived in Miami and read the newspapers.

The US Embassy in Haiti is closed until March, and for a couple months there has been a stern travel advisory out from the US State Department regarding Haiti.