On Tuesday, January 12, the country of Haiti was hit with 7.0 magnitude earthquake in the Port au Prince area. As we have all seen on the news, the area was devastated and the impact on the people of Haiti - especially those in and around Port au Prince - has been significant.

Otterbein's Response

Otterbein Church is partnering with the Bethesda Evangelical Baptist Mission (O.E.B.B.) in Haiti to assist with earthquake relief. Monies given for Earthquake relief/reconstruction have been and will be used in partnership with O.E.B.B. for food/water, cleanup of damage, and reconstruction. For more information about Otterbein's partnership and future plans in Haiti, click here.

Background of Otterbein's Involvement

In the months prior to the earthquake, Otterbein Church was actively developing a relationship with Pastor Martinez Jovin and his wife Emma with the hope that we might be able to partner with him in his ministry (O.E.B.B.) in Haiti. Pastor Martinez and Emma are Haitian nationals who oversee Bethesada Evangelical Baptist Mission (it was begun in 1965) which is a ministry that includes 10 churches, 2 orphanages, 6 schools, and 2 medical clinics in Port au Prince and in smaller villages outside of Port au Prince. Pastor Dirk Small and John Horton (one of our Elders) visited Pastor Martinez and Emma in the fall of 2009 (click here to see pictures from that trip) and Otterbein was planning to send a 7 person team to Haiti on Sunday, January 24, to help with the distribution of animals to people in several villages near Port au Prince. Because of the earthquake, the trip was postponed.

Pastor Dirk Small (Otterbein's Associate Pastor of Global Ministries and Outreach) helped to transport food from the Dominican Republic to Port au Prince on January 24-26. Pastor Dirk was in the Dominican Republic with a team of 13 from Otterbein from January 16-23. During the trip, a relationship was established with Fidel Lorenzo in the Dominican who assisted Pastor Dirk in purchasing the food and transporting it to Port au Prince to assist Pastor Martinez.

Through funds raised by Otterbein Church, New Hope Church in Bryan, OH, and Emmanuel International in Canada, 16 tons of food/water was transported to Haiti. The shipments included 120 sacks of rice (15,000lbs), 100 sacks of beans (10,000lbs), 55 cases of cooking oil, 40 cases of canned fish, 200 cases of water (4,000 bottles), 8 cases of chicken flavoring for cooking, and 50 tarps for shelter. Altogether, more than $25,000 was used for the food and transportation of the food.

As the food arrived, we were told that some who received it had not eaten in the 12 days since the earthquake and that the food/water had literally saved lives. We praise God that we were able to be used by God to make a difference in the lives of people in Jesus' name.

The food/water that was shipped is being used to help provide help to 10,000 - 15,000 people who have signed up in 10 different distrubution checkpoints. Pastor Martinez is overseeing the food/water distribution while also sharing the hope of Jesus with the people.

Pastor Dirk returned home from Haiti on Tuesday, January 26. Since that time, several other additional shipments of food/water were sent to Port au Prince through the ministry efforts of Emmaunel International. Check out the video below with additional information about Otterbein's early response to the earthquake.

A team of four (Pastor Mike Newman, Pastor Dirk Small, Denise Lancaster, and John Horton) visited Haiti from Sunday, March 7 - Wednesday, March 10. During their trip, they assessed the needs of Haiti and visited the mountainside community of Marbial, Haiti, where we had planned to deliver animals during our scheduled visit on January 24. A number of buildings at Marbial were destroyed during the earthquake and the needs of the people of Haiti continue to be great.

While visiting Haiti, the team committed over $15,000 from Otterbein's earthquake relief fund to O.E.B.B. to be used for food/water, payment of workers to clean-up earthquake damage, and support for teachers in Marbial who were not being paid because of the damage to the school.

Instructions For Giving

If you would like to give to Otterbein's Project Haiti Earthquake Relief fund, please contact Pastor Dirk Small at 717-762-7147 x233 or dirk@otterbeinchurch.org and he will assist you with the best way to help.

January 31 Video Report

The following video is from the Jan. 31 Sunday morning service when Pastor Dirk returned home from his initial trip to Haiti.