WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Savannah missionaries in midst of Haiti quake

Savannah missionaries in midst of Haiti quake

By Melanie Ruberti - bio | email

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Two Savannah churches have missionaries on the ground, already helping victims of Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake in Haiti.

Julie Veciana got the news before she saw any pictures of the devastation. Her husband Jose, daughter Mary Lauren and niece Mary Grace, were all in a village outside the capital of Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit.

"My daughter said, 'I thought we were being stampeded' because she said the ground shook," explained Veciana. "She said they hit the ground. My husband said he hit the ground because he didn't know what else to do."

When the tremors stopped, the trio, who are part of a 14 member missionary team with Grace Church of the Islands, sprang into action.

With them are two emergency room doctors from St. Joseph's/Candler, Dr. Brian Kornblatt and Dr. John Rowlett, and at least one nurse.

The hurt and injured came in droves to their compound.

"They started coming last night, " said Veciana. "This morning when they got up, there were already people in line waiting to be seen by the doctors. They had all kinds of injuries."

The damage on the island country is horrific. Buildings are reduced to rubble, some with people still trapped inside.

The earthquake was so violent, it was felt 90 miles north of Port-au-Prince in a village where Savannah Christian Church member Grant Roszkowiak, is also a missionary.

"There was just shaking and then we heard this loud roar," Roszkowiak told WTOC by phone. "I thought it was thunder or something. I didn't know what it was. Then all the Haitians hit the ground and started screaming and praying."

He's still waiting to hear back from one of his coworkers.

"We actually have one of our staff members who left Tuesday morning for Port-au-Prince," said Roszkowiak. "He's still down there and we haven't heard from him since."

Now the missionaries, family and church members, are leaning on their faith to see them through.

This is the tenth year Grace Church has sent missionaries to Haiti. Senior pastor Brannon Bowman, knows this trip won't be their last.

"God sent this mission team down there for such a time as this," said Bowman. "That these two ER doctors and some other medical assistance there, are immediately able to shift into a mode of operation that they are very used to being in. So it is absolutely God's provision in the midst of all that devastation."

Veciana is anxious to see her family again, but knows they are being taken care of while caring for others.

Grace Church, Savannah Christian Church and the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission Group, are collecting donations for the Haiti relief effort.

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