Displaying items by tag: Caribbean

Fourteen members of a British jet ski club drove through driving wind and rain to save the minister of agriculture, Michael Pintard. He had been making calls for help, knowing his family was in grave danger when flood waters from Hurricane Dorian shattered windows and blew through the door of their home in Freeport. ‘They did a phenomenal job, not just with us. They continued to go back in, over and over again’, said Mr Pintard. In total they saved about 100 people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, while the storm caused havoc around them.

In the Bahamas 70,000 are homeless, a carpet of debris covers the ground, 2,500 are missing, hundreds of body bags and coolers to store human remains have been delivered. The smell of death and garbage is everywhere as ships delivering supplies become lifeboats for thousands who have lost everything but their lives. Pray for all those experiencing unimaginable suffering, needing food and clean water. Bahamians claim Christianity, though nominalism is rampant. May renewed faith in Jesus wash over these islands, bringing beauty from ashes, gladness from mourning, and praise out of despair (Isaiah 61:3). Dorian had weakened somewhat by the time it hit the eastern coast of Florida, and then moved north to Canada where 65-foot waves and 100 mph winds pounded the coast near Halifax, home to Canada’s Atlantic fleet. Canada’s military was mobilised to deliver aid and help with evacuations. Pray for God's provision for the homeless and His peace for those in mourning. See

As Hurricane Dorian battered the US eastern coast on 5 September, the Bahamas reported 'total devastation' in its wake, with 'apocalyptic' scenes after being hit by one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded. The death toll is expected to be high. Pray for all who are organising food and shelter relief to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis. Ask God to release abundant quantities of food, water, shelter, clothing, physical help, healing and comfort to people whose lives have been torn apart. Pray for the damaged hospitals to be repaired, and for the elderly and vulnerable to be found swiftly by rescuers. Pray for the many bereaved, and those whose family and friends are missing. Pray for God to anoint agencies bringing repair to the infrastructure, and remember all those in North and South Carolina anxiously watching the oncoming hurricane.

Give thanks for Clayton and Ellen Kershaw, from the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Team, who partnered with the International Justice Mission (IJM), and visited the Dominican Republic to help bring a major reduction in the scale of sex trafficking of children. They met with local government officials, local partners and survivors. They then used their American platforms in sports and media to shine a light on this issue and released a clip on the internet about their visit. Please pray for many people to watch the video clip about sex trafficking and then go on to join the fight for justice.

26 Canadian missionaries working for Haiti Arise became stranded by violent protests 31 miles outside Port-au-Prince. Lisa Honorat, co-founder of Haiti Arise, said, ‘It started to get really scary. It is all over the country, not just in the city.’ The missionaries were safely rescued, but demonstrations calling for the president and prime minister to resign continue, alongside soaring inflation and corruption allegations. Protesters demand an independent investigation over suspicions that officials and former ministers misappropriated development funds from oil deals between Caribbean countries and Venezuela amounting to £1.55bn. Port-au-Prince has been rocked by torched cars and deadly protests since 7 February. Five Americans were arrested on conspiracy charges, and eight others are being held for possession of illegal weapons. See

On this day a national referendum to ratify Cuba's new constitution will take place; the government says that gay marriage protections will be removed from the draft, but this is still being argued by politicians. Moldova’s elections are under a new mixed electoral system which people do not trust. Pray for peaceful electioneering and outcomes in both these situations. Since the military coup in Thailand, a new political party, the youthful Future Forward Party, has emerged (see). Critics say the constitution dilutes the power of elected governments and embeds the role of the military role in politics and policy for the next twenty years. Activists have been calling on the government not to postpone the election again, amid fears that it might do so.

Until a week ago, Enrique Ceballos was a high court judge in Venezuela. Now, because of threats around his work as a judge, he is waiting on a plastic chair outside an NGO-run registration centre for asylum-seekers in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, along with his wife, son, and daughter. ‘I needed to rule in favour of the government,’ he said. ‘It’s really difficult to work like that.’ Over 1.6 million Venezuelans like Ceballos have left the country since 2015, leaving behind a crumbling economy and a political crisis that has triggered shortages in food and healthcare. Hundreds of thousands are in Colombia, others in the Caribbean - a few kilometres from Venezuela’s coast. Venezuelans are often helped to apply for asylum and to integrate by Christian NGOs, as the soaring numbers have taken small island governments by surprise.

Last year Hurricane Maria caused damage, deaths, and disruption to Dominica’s communication networks for 65,000 people. Survivors needed to let aid providers know what they needed. When help arrived, it didn’t meet people’s needs. Dominicans described initial silence from aid providers. They were frightened by the lack of information after Maria struck. The first responders were amateur radio operators, civilian volunteers, and diaspora communities on social media. When information from national and international responders finally filtered through, it lacked detail; there were inaccuracies, communication delays, and rumours everywhere. People said they wanted to know what assistance they were entitled to and how decisions were made. But fragmented, late, confusing information in the wrong language left people in the dark. As Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut remind us of the devastation large storms can cause, there is a need to make two-way communication a priority in the aid response effort, so that more lives are saved in the future.

Category 4 Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico in September 2017 and paved the way for revival. Puerto Rican George Santiago returned from the US in summer 2017. Two months later Hurricane Maria turned the mountain stream into a raging river, the town was in shambles without access to food or water, the people were paralysed. Through Southern Baptists, he provided food, water and even washing machines. People asked him ‘Why are you doing this?' His answer included sharing the Gospel. Since the storm, at least 50 people have come to Christ and Santiago has started what he calls a ‘baby church’ for new believers. It's all evidence of God's master plan at work. ‘He placed us in Puerto Rico at the right moment, the perfect moment for a church to give birth,’ he said. Santiago is not alone. Maria has paved the way for enormous spiritual growth in the region.

Despite being susceptible to devastating weather, the island of Dominica has a thriving banana industry that drives much of the economy, but not one tree, village, street, or person was spared the terrifying effects of Hurricane Maria. One of several devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean in September, Maria blasted the tiny island as a Category 5 storm. Communications are down. Drinking water is scarce. Over fifteen were killed and many more injured. Many say the devastation on this island is worse than a war zone. Dominica does not possess the means or infrastructure to rebuild after such a catastrophe. Though the majority claim Christianity (primarily Catholicism), nominalism is rampant, yet we praise God that evangelicals have experienced great growth, from 2% of the population in 1970 to 17% in 2010!