"Church, what you are seeing on the television, as difficult as it has been to watch, fails in comparison to what is really happening in Haiti."

-Dony St. Germain (Mission to North America's Haitian Ministries Coordinator)

"We pray that you will have the same response as Nehemiah's audience, 'Then they said, Let us arise and build. So they put their hands to the good work." (Nehemiah 2:18)

-Brian Kelso (Executive Director - Great Commission Alliance)

In the Presbyterian Church in America responding to the earthquake disaster in Haiti is being done by both Mission to the World (MTW) and Mission to North America (MNA).

The disaster response ministry of MTW is in the process of determining both a short- and long-term approach to dealing with the needs of Haiti. The first of several medical teams is there working. Later on construction and crisis counseling teams will be sent. For an update on current plans and needs go to www.mtw.org.

Missionary John Sexton, a face familiar to many in the Story Family, was a member of the first MTW disaster response team. He recently returned and has posted a number of his photos taken while in Haiti. You can see these powerful photographs by clicking HERE.

Erin Pettengill is a MTW missionary stationed with her husband, Mike, in Honduras. She was on the first MTW disaster response team with John Sexton and stayed on to help the second MTW team. Her blog gives a detailed and powerful account of what it is like to serve the Lord in medical missions in Haiti at this time. Go to Erin's Blog and read from when she first got to Haiti to the present for insight you won't find elsewhere.

Right now MNA is formulating how best to respond to this disaster, both now and in the near future. Please go to MNA's disaster response Haiti blog and MNA's disaster response on Facebook to find out the latest in MNA's response to this disaster.

Mission to North America (www.pca-mna.org) is working closely with two MNA staff members who have ministries in Haiti. The MNA disaster response ministry is working to assist PCA pastors Dony St. Germain and Brian Kelso, who head up long established ministries in Haiti.

Dony St. Germain is director of El Shaddai Ministries which is directed to Haitians in Haiti and the United States. The reports on the home page of the website for this ministry will give you a powerful view of what has happened in Haiti since the earthquake. It also will give you a rare view of how things are in some areas outside of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

A word of caution. The video on the website titled, "Haiti victims of the earthquake-exclusive video," is graphic in showing the injuries of patients in a hospital in the city of Les Cayes, about one and a half hours drive from Port-au-Prince. The website for El Shaddai is: www.esmihome.org.

Brian Kelso is Executive Director for Great Commission Alliance which has been working in Haiti for ten years. On the GCA website he discusses how we can respond to the needs of the people in Haiti after this disaster. Go to: www.gcanet.org/earthquake/update2.html.

The most important information is saved for last. The best we can do as followers of Christ is to pray! Pray for the people of Haiti. Pray for those helping. Pray for the leadership of MTW and MNA. And pray for the Story Family that God guide us in what we as individuals and as a church family should do.