On the afternoon of January 12, Yonel, one of eight children, was doing what many 12-year-old boys in rural Haiti do: he was working in his family's garden, tending to the animals.

Yonel lives in a rural mountain village, and his family's garden runs along the steep side of a mountain. When the earth began to shake, a boulder rolled over him. Yonel passed out when the boulder hit him and broke several bones. Yonel's brother rescued him. The family made a make-shift stretcher out of a board and carried him to our mission hospital the day after the earthquake.

"If it weren't for this hospital, I wouldn't be here," Yonel says. "I will never forget what they did for me. May God always be with them."

Yonel's sister-in-law died in the earthquake, and he is sad for his brother. But he feels very blessed and grateful because God spared them more hurt and loss. All of Yonel's brothers and sisters as well as his mother survived the earthquake, and their home was not destroyed. Yonel already lost his father before the earthquake, and is thankful he didn't have to experience the painful loss of a sibling or mother.

"I know that God is real, and he allowed me to live," Yonel says.

Rose is just a little girl, but she's already lived through more pain than most people see in an entire lifetime. Her father died before Haiti's devastating earthquake, leaving her mother alone to care for her baby brother and older sister. When the earthquake hit a month ago today, Rose and her mother lost more than they could imagine.

Their home collapsed, crushing her 15-month-old brother and 12-year-old sister along with two workers who were in the house. Rose barely survived.

A wall from the house fell, trapping Rose for an entire day before someone could rescue her. Her mother took the injured girl to a nearby hospital in Petion-Ville, but they couldn't help. That's when Rose and her mom found our mission hospital in Fermathe.

Though Rose's injuries were serious and the deaths of her siblings cut through her heart, she says she wasn't afraid.

"I didn't think I would die because I knew Jesus was with me," Rose says.

The doctors at the BHM hospital used skin grafts to heal the wounds from Rose's badly broken arm, and she remains in the hospital as she continues to heal.

"The doctors and nurses gave me life and medicine," Rose says. "I could have died if it weren't for them. I'm thankful for their courage and their willingness to come. They saved so many lives."

Rose's mother also suffered injuries from the earthquake, but she is now healthy and working to support her precious daughter, her only surviving child.

Join us in praying for total healing and peace for Rose and her mother. They are the survivors, and they know God saved them for a reason. We rejoice in His faithfulness and in the bright future that lies ahead for this special little girl.

Give Hope & Healing to Survivors Like Rose

In many ways, life has been defined for Roosevelt in two stages: Before the Earthquake and After the Earthquake. Before, Roosevelt was like single, thirty-something men in Haiti. He lived with his family and did what he could to earn enough money to help his parents, siblings, cousins, and others in the extended network of family.

After the Earthquake, Roosevelt's life has seemed anything but "average."

When the quake hit, he was at home with his family. The ground began to shake and everyone ran outside of the home--everyone that is, but Roosevelt. Before he could escape the crumbling house, a cement wall fell on him. His arm and leg were crushed, and the pain seized his body.

It took several days before his family was able to take him to the nearest hospital where doctors cleaned his wounds but could do nothing else to help. They sent him home. Roosevelt was in extreme pain; his family was frightened. They had lost their home, and now, they feared, they'd lose their loved one. Then, they heard of the mission hospital in Fermathe, about an hour's ride away. The family loaded Roosevelt into a tap-tap, the local public transportation, and brought him to our hospital.

The doctors at the BHM hospital gave Roosevelt a thorough exam and then weighed their options. Given the gravity of his injuries, amputation seemed the most viable option. But our doctors consider amputation the last resort, to be used only in the most extreme cases when all other options have been exhausted.

Instead, the doctors, nurses and volunteers took great care in ministering to Roosevelt's needs. Only when he reached a stable condition did they operate on him. Instead of amputation, the surgeons were able to take skin from his right leg and graft it to his right arm.

Roosevelt gives thanks for the care and compassion he has received while at the hospital.

"Haiti is a small nation, and we couldn't possibly help because of this great need," Roosevelt says. "If it weren't for the missionaries and doctors who have left their homelands to help, it would be much worse for us."

Roosevelt has begun to heal physically. He is still unsure of the condition of his home or the status of many family members, though he knows that he lost at least one cousin in the earthquake. His heart is hurting and yet, he sees healing there, too.

During his time at the BHM hospital, Roosevelt prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior. He is thankful for his second chance at life and now believes he can abundant life eternal. His life is no longer defined by the earthquake, but rather as Before Christ and After Christ. What was once a bleak, uncertain future, is now filled with the hope and promise of God's eternal love.

On January 12 at 4:53 p.m., Sauver was in a building in Carrefour Bete, just outside Port-au-Prince. As the massive earthquake shook the island, the building collapsed on him, crushing his right leg. Sauver doesn't know who rescued him, but he knows that two people helped him escape the building and laid him in the street. Two other people, also strangers, took Sauver to a local hospital where is right leg was amputated.

When he was released from the hospital, Sauver continued to be in extreme pain, so he came to our mission hospital seeking help and refuge. His house has been destroyed and he has no place else to go.

All five of Sauver's children survived the earthquake, but he still hasn't heard from his extended family. They remain missing.

When Sauver's parents named him, they had no idea the symbolism his name would carry in the face of unfathomable destruction. Sauver's name means "savior." And on February 1, Sauver turned to his personal Savior, Jesus.

As he shared his story with one of our volunteers, she sensed from his answers that he was not yet a Christian. And so she shared the Good News of Jesus, our Master Healer, with him.

"I believe God saved my life," Sauver says. "Without God I wouldn't be here."

Sauver saw the true healing that Christ could offer to him, and he turned his heart to the Lord. Today, Sauver carries his name as a constant reminder that he is healed by His Savior, Jesus Christ.

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for earthquake survivors