Haiti Team Update - Press Release

Here's a press release we released this afternoon.

For more information contact:

Henry Williams (Senior Pastor) 
Five Oaks Church
4416 Radio Drive
Woodbury, MN 55129

fiveoakschurch.org (contribution to Haiti Relief fund)

henrywilliams.typepad.com (information on team)

allofgodschildren.org (information on All of God’s Children Orphanage)

Eleven mission team members from Five Oaks Church, a regional church with campuses in Woodbury, MN, and Hudson, WI, have survived the devastating earthquake in Haiti and are now working desperately to bring relief and comfort to survivors in Fedja, a town 35 miles Northeast of Port Au Prince.

The group is in Fedja ministering to the children and the families of All God’s Children Orphanage and School that Five Oaks members helped build starting in 2005.

Within a couple hours after the quake, the church received the following email from Team Leader, Mike Mularoni of Woodbury, MN.

“All is well in Fedja. The Central Plateau had a moderate "shake" from the quake in Port Au Prince.  Praise God!  Many weak structures and houses did sustain damage around Fedja."

According to Deb Johnson, Director of Office Operations for Five Oaks, the church has no further information about conditions or when team members will be able to return to the U.S. 

“While the airport seems to be operational from what various media outlets have reported we are very concerned that the roads leading into the airport from Fedja have sustained major damage and may not be passable in the near future”, said Johnson.

Five Oaks Senior Pastor Henry Williams said, “Our heart goes out to the thousands upon thousands of Haitians that are reported dead from the earthquake. Our church has begun mobilizing to do whatever we can to aid in what we know will be a massive relief effort.”

About 1800 people call Five Oaks Church home.  Five Oaks is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN,  and is working with their relief fund to provide immediate relief in Haiti.

Media Inquiries can be made to the Five Oaks Church Office. Senior Pastor Henry Williams can be available for media comment through the church office.  

Haiti Update

Just a little news from Haiti. Young Mike Mularoni in Louisville sent this update to me earlier today:

Just heard from my Mom.  She and my Dad are presumably with Yves are in PAP but the team is still at the orphanage.  We got cut off but she is pretty overwhelmed by all the death in the streets.  ...Sherri's [Thacker, from Oregon] team is safe and sound in Fedja.  We're trying to pull a team together and get supplies.  I'm working on medical here in Louisville.  Let you know when I know more...

Mike also told me that the orphanage has electricity and water. The nearby dam is functioning and may not have sustained much damage as far as he knows (I took the picture below from the dam a couple of years ago).

We are getting the names of the team members to the State Department through Michele Bachmann and John Kline's office. They want names of all Americans in Haiti for possible evacuation. We will also contact the State Department regarding evacuation information, and then stay in contact with them and with American Airlines.