In the midst of a hiatus from political protests that filled the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in , Seventh-day Adventists had a reason to celebrate on January 11, , 10 years after the nation saw its worst earthquake devastate thousands of lives.
Hundreds gathered at the nearly completed Galaad Seventh-day Adventist Church in Diquini, Carrefour, to praise and worship as they welcomed guests during the second week of a three-week evangelistic campaign.
The event took place on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the earthquake, which hit the island nation on January 12, , and claimed the lives of many thousands of people, including more than Adventists. To the more than members of the Galaad church, the memory of the tragic earthquake also brings to mind the birth of a church group of 50 Seventh-day Adventists and other neighbors. This group slept on the streets the night after the earthquake and began to meet every week thereafter.
The informal group soon grew to what is now the current congregation. They have nearly completed a church building that seats more than five hundred. Pierre Caporal, president of the Adventist Church in Haiti, was among the group of 50 sleeping under the stars and then worshiping every week with the new, smaller congregation in Since the earthquake, the church in Haiti has seen the baptism of more than 91, new believers and the birth of more than new congregations.
We are all running in this race and do not know when we will be called to rest, so we must work hard, stay strong, and not be tempted to abandon the race.
