ST. MARYS - An area pastor who traveled to Haiti on a mission of mercy last week says the trip was a success, but much more needs done for the earthquake-ravaged country.
Pastor Terry Lough of the North Pleasants Apostolic Tabernacle in St. Marys left for the Dominican Republic on Jan. 19 to buy supplies and take them by truck into the devastated town of Petit-Goave, located several hours from the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince.
It took nearly 16 hours for Lough and a small group of pastors and a driver to make their way across the border into Haiti, through the devastated Port-Au-Prince and to the village of Petit-Goave.
"It was difficult," he said. "At the border, trucks were backed up for miles. As we went through Port-Au-Prince, the stench of the unrecovered bodies was almost unbearable."
The pastors found and rented a 30-foot box truck and a driver to take them and supplies into Petit-Goave. The group purchased about 4,000 pounds of rice, 1,000 pounds of beans, cases of cooking oil, canned meats, crackers, flour, sugar, bottled water and other basic food necessities. Lough said they also managed to secure a diesel generator and diesel fuel, a gasoline-powered generator, a lighting system, tents and tarps for the homeless and a water filtration system.
Though the group was concerned their truck would be attacked as they traveled with such a large supply of food and water, "we never felt threatened one time," he said. "It was quite amazing."
When the truck finally arrived in the village, there was a sense of shock.
"It was almost disbelief," Lough said. "They couldn't believe we had gotten through."
The 53-year-old Lough has been pastor of the Apostolic Tabernacle in St. Marys for about 18 years, and said his congregation has worked in the region around Petit-Goave for more than 25 years, with several churches established in the area. Lough himself has made several trips to Haiti over the years.
"Some of these people I've known since they were born," he said. "I've known them for so long."
Petit-Goave is a town about the size of New Martinsville, but has a population of about 15,000. Lough said it is unclear how many in Petit-Goave died in the earthquake, but in some circumstances people were fortunate to have survived. The village's Apostolic church which was set to have morning services crumbled to the ground when the quake hit, but at the time was empty of people.
"The service was due to start 15 minutes after the earthquake struck. Fifteen minutes later and the church would have been full," Lough said.
Petit-Goave's Pastor Wilner Louissaint told Lough he was at a nearby building working on a computer when the quake struck, and when he looked out the window "he could see people in the street that were literally being thrown into the air."
The remote community had received no outside support before Lough and his group arrived. Lough said he had heard reports of some supplies being dropped into the village via helicopter, but when he arrived "the people said they hadn't seen or received anything."
"As much as we were able to take, it was still very little," Lough said. "You don't know how much hope means until you have none, and we were able to bring them some."
Lough said he plans to return to the village Feb. 15 with more supplies. He is working with pastors from around the country to organize relief and rebuilding efforts.
"We are going to do some more emergency relief, but our main focus is in rebuilding the churches that were destroyed," he said. "I will be going down there to do a cost assessment on rebuilding those churches, and on the school which was damaged but not destroyed."
Lough said the majority of financial aid for the trip came from Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. The group also has received donations from Bethlehem Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, Miss., the Christian Life Center in Heath, Ohio, and medical supplies from Phillip's Pharmacy of St. Marys.
Donations also have poured in from the congregation of North Pleasants Apostolic Tabernacle.
"Their giving has been sacrificial, to say the least," Lough said, "and they've been praying a lot for their pastor."
