“I’m very sad. Kathleen and I have shed many tears. A lot of the people and places we knew will never be the same again. These are dear people who have suffered immensely over the years. I would like to hold their hands and tell them everything will be all right, that we’ll help them.”    
--Oscar Aylor, MTW Mercy Ministry director, former missionary to Haiti

As the situation in Haiti nears the transition from immediate crisis to the early stages of long-term recovery, Mission to the World (MTW) is preparing to send Disaster Response teams into the area. These teams work though missionaries and their networks of churches and national pastors, which are concentrated in the central part of the country. The initial assessment team is leaving for Haiti on Friday, January 22.

MTW’s Disaster Response teams consist of specially trained and experienced professionals, the same teams that have responded to 20 disasters around the world, most notably in the Southeast Asian tsunami.

“Just as they did in the tsunami, [the teams] will set up their ministry and living quarters in tents so that they can live and work in the midst of the people they serve,” said Oscar Aylor, director of MTW Mercy Ministry. “Please pray for their safety. It is a potentially dangerous situation.”

MTW has begun communicating with churches and ministry partners around the world who are concerned for the people and the Church in Haiti, and envisions an opportunity for the worldwide Church to come together around this effort.

“The need for resources will continue for a long time,” said Aylor. “MTW is committed to Haiti and its people long after the media attention has turned elsewhere. Updates will soon be posted on the MTW website as well as information about volunteering. More frequent updates and information will appear on MTW’s Facebook page.”

To learn more, or to give, visit www.mtw.org/caring/haiti.asp.