Daniel Thelusmond is the young man we wrote about on January 16 who lost his fiance in the earthquake. Daniel spent two years in the United States, pursuing his college decree, from September 2005 to June 2007. He and Glenn Bridges from California have a very close relationship. Currently Daniel teaches school in an English speaking school in Port-au-Prince. Below is Daniel’s January 12th experience in his own words.
January12th: My “Fiery Furnace Experience”
Listening to an old sermon would be the last thing in a young man’s mind—especially one who’s driving home from work in a nice Mazda 626 on a Tuesday afternoon. He’d rather listen to some good, rock Christian music to prevent him from falling asleep on the wheel. Well, I did the opposite.
God ordained that I listened to a sermon recorded on a CD that I bought from the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville back in 2005 when I went to the States for the first time.
The sermon is about the fiery furnace experience of the three Hebrew young men who refused to bow to the king’s image.
I listened carefully as I stopped at a gas station for a refill. The preacher was loud and clear when he said, “Some of you may be going through a fiery furnace experience this week. However, if you’re Christians, you don’t have to be afraid of the fire. No matter what happens, you can count on God. He’ll be there to protect you.” “The king saw four people in the fire,” he continued. “Only three came out because Jesus is still in the fire waiting to preserve the lives of His children every time they go through a fiery furnace experience.”
When I got home, I decided to finish the report cards which were due that week. Then I stopped because I was very tired. When I felt the earthquake, I was sitting at my working table, drinking coffee, and watching TV. I watched as my chair rocked in all directions, but I kept right on drinking my coffee. I had such peace in my heart from the sermon I heard earlier. I had no idea that the earthquake hit Haiti at such a big magnitude. I remained in the first floor of the 3-story building until the earthquake has receded.
When I came out, my car was still parked behind the house. I heard people screaming. Others were running without knowing their destination. I had compassion for a particular little boy who broke his neck. I automatically transformed my car into an ambulance to rush him and other victims to the hospital.
After what seemed to be a whole day through traffic, I stopped in front of the collapsed hospital. Everybody was crying to God for help. I wasn’t ready to give up. I went to a different used-to-be hospital only to find out that even the sick people felt they had to evacuate the area. As I drove more, I noticed collapsed buildings, smashed cars, injured people, and dead bodies everywhere. What I saw in the streets that night made me think I was watching the Haitian version of the movie “Left Behind.” The only reason why I didn’t believe my thoughts came from my Christian faith, for I knew that I couldn’t be left behind.
Since I could do nothing for the victims, I finally decided to go check on my fiancé. I’d dialed her phone number countless times earlier, but I got no answer.
When I got there, her family was standing outside the gate. At my request, her mom broke the news to me that she was still at the school of nursing when the earthquake occurred. Her mom and I got in the car to go search for our beloved Alexandra.
Unable to get anywhere in the car due to the heavy traffic, we walked about ten miles to her school. The first floor and the second floor of the building were still standing when we arrived. Students in those floors were dismissed before the earthquake. Ironically enough, only the second floor collapsed, and that’s where the students were having their last class.
From that Tuesday till Thursday, we worked hard to save a few lives. I even crawled under the rubbles trying to rescue my fiancé. About 20 of the class of 208 students came out alive, but my fiancé lost her life.
When I spoke to her that Tuesday morning, she told me she was late for school. I said, “Don’t worry, Andra! I prayed for you this morning. You may go in peace. God is with you.” Later, I learned that I should have said, “Go home in peace. Jesus will carry you in His arms of love.
On January 2nd, we went to her mom’s room and told her about our wedding plans. Then on the 12th, she went to be with the Lord. She was such a nice young lady. I couldn’t believe God took her away from me so soon.
I have been supporting her mom ever since the earthquake. In fact, I live with her now. As for her, I am a double-person. I represent both myself and her daughter Alexandra.
God has given us the strength to accept His will. He’s wiped all our tears, and we are doing His work with gladness. Now, we are living proof that His mercies and His faithfulness never fail. May His name be glorified in our lives!
Daniel Thelusmond
It is so good to hear from Doug about what God is doing through Pastor Diogene and his outreach ministry team. The nightly meetings have continued this week with many more responding to the invitation to follow Jesus. This morning Diogene purchased 400 new Bibles to present to the 400 new believers. Yesterday from 1pm to 4pm they had meetings for all new believers. They divided them into three groups; children, young adults and older adults and began teaching them the foundational truths of the faith. They will continue these classes for several weeks. Thank you for your prayers for these new brothers and sisters in Christ. What a joy it is to see God at work in their lives!
The food distribution is also continuing. Yesterday and today the distribution team sent out several loads of packaged up rice, beans, pasta and cooking oil. God is using this avenue to open the hearts of these people to receive the Living Bread of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for your support and partnership with us. God is using you to really make an eternal difference in these Haitians’ lives.
After a week-long evangelistic crusade in Port-au-Prince, Pastor Diogene’s church met Sunday morning (February 14) at 6am. And they worshipped, prayed, and listened to God’s word until noon. Near the end of the service, Diogene issued another invitation to respond to the gospel, and 75 people came forward. Following this, Diogene asked that anyone who had put their faith in Christ during the previous week come forward. The total was more than 300 souls!
Sunday evening they met again for a time of worship and celebration for the work God is doing in Haiti right now. And they have decided to extend the crusade for another week!
Doug took these photos of the crusade.
Tags: evangelism
Doug made it to Haiti last night about 10:00. This morning he received a short report on the crusade. Last night over 2000 attended. The first five nights over 200 prayed to receive Jesus as Savior. Pastor Diogene and his ministry team have connected each of these new believers with a big spiritual sister or brother.
The expectation is that there will be many more in attendance tonight and tomorrow night. Please continue to pray for a great harvest. God is certainly working in the hearts of many — drawing them to himself. It is so great to see His purpose accomplished in the midst of so much tragedy. We give all the glory to our God and King!!
After what seems like a very short time back home, I am now sitting at the airport waiting for my flight back into Haiti. I am anxious to return, to continue with our efforts in food and shelter distribution. The reports about food distribution in the entire city have been mixed. It is a very big job to feed almost 2 million people; a job that takes very good organization and planning. As a small organization, we are trying to take care of the immediate neighbourhood around the Port-au-Prince church.
Thank you for your prayers for the crusade in Port au Prince. I received a report from Pastor Diogene this morning. He and his ministry team are praising God for His work in the lives of spiritually hungry Haitians. Last night the crusade began. There were almost 500 people out on the street in front of Diogene’s PAP church. They have blocked off this section of the street making it possible for many people to gather. And 24 people responded to the gospel message last night — praying to receive Jesus and become His follower. Among them was a 16 year old girl who was a powerful witch-doctress. When introduced to Jesus, this young lady fell to the ground. Diogene said, “that was something special, to see God’s power take over in her life.” Diogene then sent a team with the young lady to her house and they collected and burned everything she had that was connected to her voodoo past. This young lady has been set free from the enemy’s grasp and is now a new child of God. Thank you so much for your partnership with us as we continue to pray for a great harvest of souls as the crusade continues throughout this week. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: evangelism, food relief
I was able to get through to Pastor Diogene this morning. He sounded more rested and energetic — thank you for praying for him.
As president of the UEBH (Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Haiti) Diogene had an office in a STEP Seminary building. That building was destroyed in the earthquake. All the UEBH offices and the STEP offices were in that building. So Diogene has been in a lot of meetings to discuss what direction God would have them go in this area. Please pray for wisdom for Diogene and his UEBH leadership team.
Pastor Diogene reported that none of the over 250 pastors in the UEBH had died in the earthquake. However some of them have lost wives and several have lost children and many members of their churches. Diogene has had much opportunity to minister to these pastors. Our food distribution ministry is now reaching out to 15 of these pastors who have not yet received aid from the UN or World Food Program. Each of these pastors has there own “camp” that they are reaching out to with food. Thank you for praying for these pastors as they deal with their own grief and then also minister to so many hurting within their churches.
Yesterday Glenn visited several of our schools and churches. He didn’t find any structual damage — however there are small cracks that will need some attention. We are thankful that all of these buildings are still habitable and our school ministry can continue.
Pastor Diogene and his ministry team are preparing for the evangelistic crusade that will begin next Monday. They are cleaning up an area close to the PAP church, building a raised area to lead from and putting up some large tarps for some cover. But most of all they are praying for God to open many hearts to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for being part of this prayer team.
Thanks so much for partnering with your prayers and support.
Tags: earthquake, evangelism, food relief
Glenn arrived in Tricotte last night and will be spending the next few days there. Tricotte is about 120 miles north of Port au Prince and is the location of our orphanage. Most of our 33 elementary schools are in that general area. Glenn will be traveling to many of those school villages in order to verify the welfare of our students and the condition of the school buildings and churches. We have had general reports that all is well but we want to do a thorough inspection to be sure there is no earthquake damage. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: earthquake, food relief
Doug is on his way home — his family has given a great deal these past three weeks — and we thank them for that. Doug’s work in Haiti has been so timely. I am encouraged, watching how God has used Doug. The gifts that Doug used during these past three weeks are an example of spiritual gifts in action. Many of the things that Doug did while in Haiti were way out of his comfort zone. But with God’s supernatural enabling, Doug accomplished much in the strength of the Lord. Thank you for your prayers for Doug. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: earthquake
