By Sheila Lockwood

When the January 12, 2010 earthquake rocked Haiti, killing 222,510 people and injuring another 300,000, the airports were closed. This meant that the first response had to come from aid workers already on the ground. Among these were missionaries Rod and Debbie Wray from Kamloops.

The Wray family – Rod, Debbie and their five children – sold everything and moved from Kamloops to Haiti in 2003. Debbie had told her husband that she would move anywhere in the world except Haiti, which is considered to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere – but World Team and the Lord had other ideas. Today Rob and Debbie have no regrets.

Every year has its challenges in Haiti, but 2010 started with a disaster and has finished in chaos.

After the earthquake, the Wrays transformed their mission’s 16-acre Mahanaim Sports Camp, 180 kilometres from Port au Prince, into a refugee camp for 120 displaced people. Since the site had a small hospital, the missionaries and visiting volunteers were also able to offer medical attention. Bill Tenhaaf, a surgeon from Michigan, performed 75 amputations during a three-week stay. The tragedy birthed the vision to build an orphanage for amputee children.

In Haiti, children are expected to work, hauling water, gathering sticks and cleaning. If they become handicapped, they are considered a burden and are treated harshly. In addition, many of the children had been orphaned as a result of the earthquake. The orphanage will give the children a healthy environment and an education – including a trade and training in the English language, so they can become translators. The orphanage building is expected to be completed by March.

New problems have cropped up.

After the earthquake, the Wrays, with the help of locals, began working on a rock wall around the perimeter of the camp. Bordered by the Caribbean and two rivers, the land

was eroding with every storm. Rod had acquired permission from local authorities, and the enormous floodwall was built to code. However, upon its completion, six policemen brought a man brandishing a sledgehammer onto the property. While the man pounded the wall, Rod snapped photos. Angered, the police wrestled Wray to the ground and held guns to his head. They confiscated the camera, handcuffed him and took him into custody.

The refugees and staff followed them screaming in Rod’s defense. The Wrays’ son, Tim, arrived at the jail with a UN representative, and the Canadian Embassy was quick to offer support. The turmoil led police to move Rod to another location. Sitting in a cell amid rats and mosquitoes, Wray sensed God’s hand: “He gave me peace and strength to make it through.”

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Discovering the judge was one of the men who had held Rod at gunpoint was a shock, but, knowing that people in Haiti and North America were praying, the Wrays were confident that God would have his way. The charges were dropped, and Rod returned to Camp Mahanaim.

The country has changed little since the earthquake. The only improvements have been made through aid organizations who have taken on specific projects. Port au Prince is still overwhelmed by rubble, toppled buildings and overcrowded tent cities. Under  such conditions, the introduction of cholera from a yet undetermined source in October spread quickly through contaminated water and food. The latest reports say 97,595 people have made hospital visits, and 2,193 deaths have occurred.

The Wrays are concerned for the people they have befriended in a nearby slum, Renault, where the missionaries teach Sunday school and feed 1,000 children. A recently completed artesian well has brought hope to the area. ”Especially with the cholera problems,” Rod reports, “it is a lifesaver for them to have their own fresh water . . . We found good water about 100 feet deep, and there is a one inch pipe  . . . where people can wash and get water anytime.”

Next came Hurricane Tomas in November, killing seven people and flooding many of the refugee camps.

December brought bedlam to the streets with the results of the preliminary presidential election. Only two contenders can proceed to the run-off election on January 16, but the second and third candidates were only one percent apart. Protesters blocked roads, set fire to buildings and discharged firearms. The Canadian embassy has closed and the Canadaian government has released an official warning against travel to Haiti.

A dozen Kamloops firefighters and other volunteers planned to go to Haiti to work with the Wrays last January, but the earthquake stopped traffic in and out of the country. The firefighters sent the $21,000 they had raised plus an additional $25,000 collected from the community. They have rescheduled their expedition to January 2011 but are awaiting final travel clearance.

Even with all the risks, Rod and Debbie consider Haiti home. “It is a privilege to serve in Haiti,” says Debbie. “We are thankful to have the opportunity to be here”

For more information:  www.harvestinternational.org/rodwray.html

January 2011