An Update From Jon Clark, CSI Director of Haiti:

The orphanage may or may not be salvageable, but there is room to build another brick building to hold the girls. The 20 girls, their Haitian nannies and the directors are all living in a three-bedroom apartment right now. Everything of importance is out of the guest house, and no one will be going back in - it's just too dangerous. The Benson's are losing their home of 14 years and CSI is losing a facility that has housed thousands of short-term teams that have all helped make CSI what it is today. We have no idea what the costs will be to rebuild because we have pre-earthquake estimates only, but we know with having to start from scratch on a guest house and most likely rebuilding an orphanage plus securing property to build on in addition to continuing the ministry. Once we have an accurate estimate, we will share with everyone as it is going to take many prayers. We built a "house" today for our chief mason. He is a 58-year old that runs the brick laying crews for CSI. Anytime something needs to be built, he does it. His home was at the epicenter, and lost one of his kids in the quake. His house now consists of a canvas roof, a blue tarp on one end for privacy, and a few cushions of a sofa that will no longer be used. You can not believe how grateful he and his family is for these accommodations! Cathie Benson made a birthday cake for me tonight which was very nice, and we all agreed that this would be a birthday I would never forget. The most positive thing that I can say about the entire experience is that it is amazing how happy the Haitians are. The ones that we see by our house - the ones that previously lived in the ravine - are used to next to nothing. Now that they still find themselves in that predicament, they are dealing with it very well. We will greet them, shake their hands, they smile and give us the one to two English words that they know, and I respond with the one to two words of Creole. Still, they smile, and that is a sign that some of them still have some hope. We will have an update later today regarding the progress of the short-term teams we evacuated from Port-au-Prince.

*Please pray for Jon to have wisdom and discernment during his time in Haiti as he prays how to procede in CSI's ministries there after the destruction. Also, please pray he and his family have strength and peace while Jon is away. Thank you, and God bless!