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News from Mark Gruin, IOCC missionary in Haiti Fr. Srboljub received a lettter from Mark Gruin and some pictures of the Orthodox Church in Haiti. He was very impressed, and I think you will be also. Here's Marks letter, photos follow below: Dear Father Srboljub, Le Christ est ressuscite! (Christ is Risen in French) I made it to Haiti without incident. It is an almost overwhelming place. The scale of destruction and turmoil is too much to describe, equaled only by the incredible resilience of the people, most of whom in Port-au-Prince are living in unbelievably difficult situations. Many tens of thousands of people in the city are living in tents or under tarpaulins. The work here will be challenging indeed. I went yesterday to the liturgy of the ROCOR Chapel de St. Moises, which was very nice. It is living proof that the faith does not need grand buildings to express itself. Fr. Gregoire leads his small flock with the full guidance of the Holy Spirit. About thirty people were there, adults and children, in a chapel only a little bigger than the library of St. Nicholas. Everyone sings, and the three readers did a wonderful job. I have attached some pictures from the liturgy. The people were incredibly nice and welcoming, and so strong. Most of them have lost relatives, including children, husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, in the earthquake. Fr. Gregoire's longest serving reader was one of the people killed in the earthquake; I met his wife and two beautiful young children. Many of the people in the picture are living in tents, for three months now, as their homes were either destroyed or so badly damaged that it is not safe to go inside them, and they will be living in tents for many months to come. The rains are starting, making things even more difficult. Also damaged was the school, just next to Fr.'s house. It is a school for handicapped children, one of only six in all of Haiti, run by Matushka Rose. The school is not safe to use, so they are preparing to set up tents to use for the school. Please tell the children and teachers in our church school that the hygiene kits they are preparing are incredibly important. You see the smiling faces of the kids in the picture: As I said, many of them are living in tents, most have no regular water or sanitation, and the kits are truly needed to help them stay clean and free of disease. Life for them is very, very hard, and the future uncertain. I will write more later. Keep the people of Haiti in your prayers. All the best, Mark
Here is a picture of the icon screen in the Haitian Orthodox Church:
Wisdom!
Here are our brothers and sisters in Haiti:
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