One Year ago Today: Remembering Haiti

This time last year, the Haitian people were enduring a 7.0 earthquake that devastated their entire country. OM is still partnering with local churches and orphanages to help children and to provide a future for adults. Please consider an anniversary gift to continue OM's work in Haiti. You may give to this long-term outreach here. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Haiti Earthquake from OM USA Video on Vimeo.

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See what it's like for school kids who visit Logos Hope.

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Huge crowds turned out to meet Logos Hope in Jamaica. See what the experience was like for one of the visitors, a local school teacher.

A week of God moments in Haiti

Written by Lane Powell, OM USA Communications

“I knew there were going to be ‘God moments’ through the week when the tap-tap [taxi truck] ran out of gas right in front of the orphanage.” That was the beginning of the visit to Haiti by Henry Couser, a member of OM’s staff in the USA. He had traveled nearly two hours from the airport in the tap-tap, and the fuel lasted until they got to the orphanage gate.

Henry arrived in Carrefour, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, in the first days after the January 12 earthquake. His goal was to visit the three orphanages OM had helped in the past, in partnership with a US church, and assess their needs. He based himself at the first one, where the tap-tap ran out of gas, and found that instead of 200 children, the orphanage was housing 350 and was also giving shelter and food to approximately 1,000 people from the community. And they were coming to the end of their food supply. No outside help had arrived yet. Their buildings were still standing, but, like everyone else in the region, they were sleeping outside due to concerns about aftershocks and damage to the structures. By finding some shops that had not been destroyed, Henry was able to purchase food for the immediate need.

Two days later, Henry was joined by a six-member, trained emergency response team sent by OM’s USA office and led by former OM missionary Rusty Garrison. One of their tasks was to check the rubble of a nearby school that had collapsed on 2,000 students. They could find no signs of life. Faced with this and other sites where children had died in piles of rubble, the team wanted to work at removing bodies. “But we knew that our mission was to help the living, and that had to be our priority,” Rusty said.

Each of the three orphanages was visited, and at each the team found a similar situation: buildings standing but showing cracks, children and staff living outside, food and water nearly gone. Through contacts in the communities, the team was able to find food and water to stock each orphanage. They located a relief aid warehouse which had begun receiving food shipments, but the director was overwhelmed at organizing it and establishing a distribution system. He asked only for the team’s labor of unloading trucks and organizing a supply line in exchange for food they could take to the orphanages. “I’ll never forget the cheers that erupted as we drove into the orphanage gates,” says one of the team members, speaking of arriving with food from the warehouse. As they transported injured people to a hospital in the area, they found that the medical staff had run out of food two or three days earlier. The team provided them with food, as well.

During a week in Haiti, the three orphanages were supplied with food and water to last until a shipment could be arranged, injured people were transported to clinics, and a child whose adoption had been finalized just before the earthquake was helped out of the country with her adoptive parents. Everywhere there were the stories and stunned faces of people still in shock--not yet grieving, only staring at the rubble. There was the old man who, with his wife of 58 years, was visiting from Canada when the buildings collapsed. Her body was removed from the rubble, and he asked Henry to take a photo of her passport picture “so that the world will not forget Anne Marie.” There was the family who lost 15 members in the collapse of their home. Four bodies were recovered and placed in one coffin, but the other 11 were still in the ruins. The family asked Henry to take of photo of the surviving members. The heartbreaking sadness was knowing that hundreds of thousands of people had similar stories.

But in the midst of such tragedy, after the team’s work, there were three orphanages which had smiling children with full stomachs. They understood that God had brought Henry and the team to help them.

Thanks for your gifts to long-term Haiti relief.

Haiti relief video to share

Thanks for posting this to your own sites and helping us spread the word about the long-term needs in Haiti.

Haiti Relief from OM USA Video on Vimeo.

partnership gets team to Haiti

The team packs at OM USA.

The search and rescue team that left for Haiti yesterday spent some time at OM USA before they left. They met members of New Hope Baptist, an Atlanta-area church who partners with the same orphanages this team will be serving. New Hope member Rhodena Buck was able to show pictures from the area and brief the team on who they would meet and what they could expect. During the briefing, the team was treated to lunch by a local Chick-fil-a, with plenty left over to take with them.

Former OM member Rusty Garrison put this 6-man team together and watched as the Lord provided everything they needed. First, each man on this team is certified in search and rescue, a must at this stage in Haiti's earthquake recovery. To get there, a local businessman offered the use of his corporate jet, saving the team $6,000 in last-minute airfare. Another business leader is offering his jet for the return trip, possibly bringing a fresh team with him. A local branch of the NAACP was hosting a parade and rally for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and half of the funds they raised will go toward OM's relief work in Haiti.

Thanks for your continued support of this team. As you pray and give, you are joining with them.

OM anticipates long-term involvement in Haiti earthquake relief

OM staff continue to investigate the best ways to help with earthquake relief in Haiti. Contact has been made with the two orphanages we have assisted in the past. They have minimal structural damage but are cut off from food and water supplies. We are investigating all possibilities of getting relief supplies into Haiti.

Please be in prayer with us that we can arrange the right logistics to provide some immediate help to these orphanages and surrounding areas. A member of OM USA who has local connections in Haiti will be in the country on the weekend and will further assess the situation and how OM can help. We anticipate having long-term involvement with some local churches once the crisis transitions to a rebuilding phase.

Give to Haiti Earthquake Relief.

Give to Haiti Earthquake Relief

OM is sending a leader today to find areas of greatest need, with teams to follow. Please pray for this first responder who will be partnering with members of a Hatian church. Pray he will be able to find the pastor of this church in the chaos of that area, pray for the people of Haiti, and pray for many miracles to happen in these first crucial days of recovery. Thanks for your gifts toward these relief efforts. You can subscribe to this blog for more updates. Continue to pray with us in the coming days.

rough seas in the Caribbean

Crew members ready their media devices while being ferried to shore.

Logos Hope is currently in Guyana, after two recent stops in the Caribbean. While in Bridgetown, Barbados, the Logos Hope crew faced new challenges, such as having to berth the ship at two different locations. For one of the locations, the Visitor Experience area had to be reconfigured to allow for port side entry, a first for the new ship. The crew was welcomed by the Honorable Mr. Patrick Todd, Minister of State who said, “Logos Hope represents a micro-community and is a clear picture of what a larger community should and can be.”

That community got to work together through another challenge in port: rough seas. Captain Dirk Colenbrander and other leaders on board decided to take Logos Hope out to anchor in Carlisle Bay to avoid damage. So the ship's on board rescue boat was used to ferry crewmembers to shore. "The swell was very high,” said Coxswain Adam Gosen of Australia, "but I really believe that God’s hand was holding us steady there.”

Although closed to the public, Logos Hope was able to welcome 14 new crew members from around the world as part of OM Ships' Short Term Exposure Programme (STEP). The program is designed to give a taste of ship life for around three months, though some participants stay longer or come back to take part in the two year program. “I’m loving it," said Alena Kortiakova of Slovakia, "I think it’s going to be a very rewarding experience.”

Logos Hope berths in Barbados today

Logos Hope has sailed on from St. Lucia, where the crew hosted a youth night in the Hope Theatre. A partnership with Reach 4 Life, the event included a concert featuring local music artists. The ship is now in Barbados and is scheduled to be there through mid-November.

Doulos enters one-month drydock, Logos Hope arrives in St. Lucia

After time in two separate ports in Malaysia, OM ship Doulos began a month-long dry dock in Singapore. Please pray for those working on the ship during this time as they make yearly repairs and updates.

Kota Kinabalu, the crew's first Malaysian stop, was the ship's 600th port. While there, 67 new team members came from all over the world to join the Doulos crew. The crew got out into the community, working with local pastor Brandon Chin to host a painting competition.This was the second one held by Doulos in Kota Kinabalu. Winning paintings lined the walls of the ship's International Cafe.

[above:] The Doulos Taekwondo team learns new skills at a Taekwondo studio in Kota Kinabalu.

From there, Doulos sailed to Pasir Gudang, where ship managers received leadership training and the book store welcomed a local chapter of the internationally known BookCrossing Book Club. A French BookCrossing member said, “The idea of bringing knowledge through affordable books on a ship is brilliant! More charities should educate the world through the medium of a ship.”

While Doulos moved to drydock, Logos Hope sailed to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Work continues there on the Help Store, a place to store donations of materials to be used in help projects; things like soaps, shoes and t-shirts. Help Ministries Manager Marian Thompson of Scotland explained, “we want to really get alongside other projects working in the different ports that we visit and show the people that they are valued and loved”.

[above:] Jonathan “Jono” Smith of New Zealand and Andrew Bandara from Sri Lanka have been working to get the Help Store ready to open on Logos Hope.

Logos Hope sails from Tobago to Trinidad

Logos Hope is scheduled to leave the island of Tobago today for the nation's capital, Port of Spain, on the island of Trinidad. You can watch the short voyage on the Logos Hope dashboard.

While in Scarborough, Tobago, crew members helped build a youth center at a local church. They also passed out coffee and juice to early morning commuters at the local ferry terminal. Passengers there heard a brief message and many were touched by the words on forgiveness.

Crew member Liz Bannister [above, draped in her country's flag] is from Trinidad and Tobago. She was thrilled to see a glimpse of home, and spent time greeting visitors in the International Cafe.

The crew said goodbye to several key members at this port. The ship's Managing Director Mike Hey and his wife Ann will be handing over leadership to Gian and Eveline Walser. And two long-term electricians, David Underwood of Australia and Chris Govey of the UK, are both moving on after this port. They have been working as volunteer project workers, a position you can read about here.

Partings like these go with life on the ship. As soon as old friends leave, new ones step aboard. In Scarborough, Logos Hope added over 90 fresh crew members from all over the world. See highlights of their Pre-Ship Training (PST) here.

Doulos Sails today, Logos Hope tomorrow

[above] The OM ship Doulos is scheduled to leave Thailand today for Malaysia. While in Bangkok, Thai crew member Max Phichai Opaskiatikul was interviewed by a popular TV star.


[right] One evening, the Doulos crew was honored to attend a birthday celebration for the Queen of Malaysia.

[below] Crew members from Logos Hope visited Christian Grand Bacolet Evangelical Church while in St. Georges, Grenada. Seen here are Tony Fourie (from South Africa), Sigrid Rodriguez (Mexico), Pastor Ashley Church and Pauline Scott (Scotland).

Logos Hope leaves for Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow. Please pray as both ships travel this week.

top photo: Jay Lee

middle photo: Andrea Choi
bottom photo: by Thomas Brouwer
© 2009 OM Ships International

Logos Hope Sails; Doulos Stays in Cambodia

Continuing its Caribbean tour, Logos Hope sails for St. Georges, Granada today. While in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the crew visited an infant hospital, helped a church with a children's programme, and given thousands of ship visitors an experience with God. In one hour on a Sunday evening 1,789 people came through the ship. This was a record for Logos Hope. Pray for the Logos Hope crew and for the people they will be meeting in Granada.

[above] Francois Vosloo (South Africa) serving juice and cold water at a Special Reception on the Boat Deck.

[below] Cambodian crewmember Solita Tan thrilled the local crowd as she welcomed them to International Night aboard the Doulos.

OM ship Doulos remains in Cambodia where team members have delivered gift-filled shoeboxes for Christmas distribution, ministered to families by providing groceries, and entertained a crowd on international night. Continue to pray for the Doulos crew and the people of Cambodia who will be visiting the ship.