Michigan UMs active in Haiti Recovery
United Methodists from across Michigan have been in ministry in Haiti for many years. So when the earthquake struck on January 12, there were people there from congregations across the West Michigan and Detroit Conferences. Also, Michigan's response to emergency relief and recovery was immediate because of networks and relationships already established.
Here are some of the stories of how Michigan United Methodists are putting their faith into action in Haiti...
Grand Rapids Medical Team at Work in Port-au-Prince
Dr. Troy Silvernale, a United Methodist family physician, walked the grounds in the backyard of the Methodist Guest House, checking people and handing out numbers. The most serious patients had the lowest numbers. Those who could wait had the higher numbers. Silvernale and Bill Johnson, a trauma nurse, came to Haiti as part of a medical team from Michigan. They found rooms at the Methodist Guest House and on their second day set up a clinic in the house’s backyard.“You won’t see us on CNN,” Silvernale said. “We aren’t doing the dramatic stuff, but we are showing people we care.” The ecumenical team was organized by Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. Each day before they leave, they take time for a devotional and join hands to pray. Read more.
Grace Children's Hospital harboring orphaned children
The doctors and staff at Grace Children’s Hospital are caring for 10 to 15 children since the Jan. 12 earthquake. They are the “abandoned” ones—children who were in the hospital when the disaster struck, or lost ones found alone and brought there. Grace Hospital is part of International Child Care USA. The director of ICC is Keith Mumma, a United Methodist from Kalamazoo. Read more.
Michigan Volunteers home safe from Haiti
Ten members of Pilgrim UMC in St. John's were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. Arriving on Jan. 4 to build a church at Croix-de-Bouquets, a week later the team saw buildings collapsing around them. On night of Jan. 12 they slept on the streets among throngs of homeless Haitians. The group arrived back in the U.S. on January 17. "It was a fend-for-yourself kind of thing," noted team member Doug Haviland. A Michigan Area Haiti Task Force Volunteers in Mission team led by the Rev. Don Gotham, pastor at St. Clair: First UMC, was serving in Jeremie, Haiti, 120 miles west of the epicenter of the 7.0 magnitude quake that struck on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The 17-person team, which consisted of members of the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences, was in Haiti from January 1-18 and returned home on January 19 after being airlifted from Jeremie. Read more.
Paul Doherty speaks of "God-incidences"
The Rev. Paul Doherty was supposed to be in Haiti Jan. 12, at a conference in the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince when a devastating earthquake leveled the city, killing thousands, including two men he was scheduled to meet. “Sometimes there are coincidences,” he says. “Other times, God-incidences. I’m not going to get all mystical about it. I’ll let God figure that out." Read more.