SFG Youth Ministries sent a mission team to Haiti, from January 2-13, 2010. On Tuesday, January 12, our entire 49-person group flew back to Port-au-Prince on five charter flights from the landing strip at Mole Saint Nicolas (surrounded by grass and grazing goats). We had been building a church in Bombardopolis, which had been destroyed by a storm several years ago.

The previous four groups had already left the airport, and I was part of the last group of about 10 people with the last of the luggage. I was on the back of the pickup truck driving us to a hotel, sitting on the luggage and facing away from the cab. The driver stopped and one of the Haitians traveling with us suddenly raised his hand and anxiously stared at his cell phone. I had no idea what was going on. The luggage under me moved, but I thought nothing of it. It had been moving the previous several miles because of the road conditions. Then I heard a terrible noise. I could not see what was causing it. A few seconds later, I watched as a 3-story building behind our truck collapsed. I first thought there was some demolition going on, in preparation for construction. It wasn’t until the driver pulled off the road and I jumped off the back of the truck that I noticed the collapsed 3-story building in front of us. It fell first and made the noise. Someone in our group yelled “earthquake” and then it clicked.

A huge concrete dust cloud came through. We all covered our noses with anything we had to prevent breathing the dust. Most of us were standing and just trying to get our bearings.

A man appeared on top of the collapsed building behind us, covered in dust and wearing only his boxers. He was throwing chunks of concrete aside and trying to get through to a woman trapped on what used to be the third floor. Two members of our group climbed on top of the building and attempted to help him, but were unable to do anything as the bottom part of her body was under concrete.

We debated about going to the airport (as we were all supposed to fly out the next day, Wednesday), but decided to try to make our way back to the house where most of the group was. This proved almost impossible. The girls sat in the truck and the guys surrounded the truck, to attempt to remove blocks and concrete in the road. We were just around the corner from the hotel where we were supposed to stay the night. It looked fine from where we were standing originally, but when we made it around the corner we looked straight up into what used to be the top floor. The roads were completely blocked. We pushed one box truck to clear the road before deciding to park our pickup and walk the luggage back to the house. We struggled over collapsed walls and past downed power lines to make it back to the main road. We then had to walk uphill along the road, along with masses of panicked Haitian people. Shouts of “Merci Jesus” and “Accepter Jesus” were heard as we raced along. We walked for over an hour before we made it back. That night we all slept outside under the open sky, along with many Haitians. We felt many aftershocks, including a strong one about midnight.

The next morning, at first light, the missionaries flying out earlier loaded up the truck and drove to the airport. Neither they nor the truck had returned by 8:00, and there were no operational cell phones. We hired two more trucks to take the rest of the group with our luggage to the airport. When we arrived there, we were met by the first group, who told us the airport was shut down and that no flights were leaving. There was visible damage to the airport and control tower. A UN truck and troops had cordoned off the airport and were guarding it. At about 9:00, the U.S. Consul General, Donald Moore, came with his staff to register all U.S. citizens and to tell us that no commercial flights were leaving that day. He returned later in the day to tell us that our only option was to take an empty, unloaded U.S. supply plane to the Dominican Republic.

Drops of rain had already fallen, so our group packed up and left our camp in front of the airport to the side, underneath a green awning. We were setting up for the night when some of our guys ran up to me and said someone could get us out of Haiti. The gentleman then approached me and asked if I was a leader of the group. He told me that we had 3 minutes to decide if we wanted to take his plane to the Bahamas for free. It sounded too good to be true and I thought that maybe he would fly us somewhere and hold us for ransom. Our leader came over and heard the same information and then the whole group was told. Not surprisingly, the group with one voice declared that they wanted to leave now. We took the IcelandAir flight to the Bahamas. He had flown down a search and rescue team and was flying back empty to spend the night in the Bahamas, and then back to Iceland in the morning. Around 100 people took that flight to the Bahamas. For our group of 49, we all managed (after a lot of phone calls and discussions with the airlines) to get flights back home on Thursday, January 14.

Throughout all of this, I learned many things. For one thing, if any of us suffered from a lack of faith before the trip, we do not anymore. I joked the first day with the guys that if they weren’t men before this mission, they would be after it. I think that became true. God’s merciful hand was very visible over our group. A local supermarket collapsed in Port-au-Prince. That alone is not surprising. What is miraculous is that one group from our team had left the store minutes before, and a second group was approaching this supermarket when the earthquake happened. A few minutes before or after and we would not have all come home. At the house, there were people on the roof and people inside the house. They all managed to run out or jump off the roof without any serious injuries. Our truck was between two 3-story buildings that collapsed. A few seconds later or earlier, and they could have covered our pickup in rubble. Besides that, just the fact that we got out is amazing. Knowing that hundreds of U.S. citizens were outside the airport that day (not counting all the others), and that only some got out is sobering.

Throughout all of this, I pondered over the fact that our group was desperately trying to get back home to our families and loved ones. Many Haitians were also trying to get back home, but so many were left homeless; so many were left orphaned or childless.

We heard calls to accept Jesus as we raced back to the house after the earthquake. However, for so many thousands of people, it was already too late. The lifeless bodies we saw and the concrete coffins we passed could no longer accept the Gospel message. Their time had finished. But yours has not, my good friend. One positive story on the day we flew out was the local man who came to the house where we were staying and said he wanted to accept Jesus. Today, anyone still may open his or her heart and accept Jesus Christ as a personal Savior.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

Thank You and God Bless You, Vadim N. Levtonyuk