Charles and Patty Maddox were forced to evacuate as violence escalated in Haiti in February.
Charles
and Patty Maddox, United Methodist missionaries who host the Methodist
Guest House in Port-au-Prince, were forced to evacuate as violence
escalated in Haiti in February. Charles returned to Haiti on April 12,
and Patty plans to return later in the month. A UMNS Photo by David
Morton, Photo number W04071, Accompanies UMNS #174, 4/15/04
NEW
YORK (UMNS) - A United Methodist missionary is back in Haiti to resume a
ministry interrupted last February by political upheaval and civil war.
Charles
Maddox of Louisville, Ky., arrived in Port-au-Prince on April 12. His
wife, Patty Maddox, will join him in late April. She was in the United
States when her husband departed from the island nation in February
because of increasing violence there.
A
United Methodist missionary based in Honduras, the Rev. Paul Jeffrey,
also will travel to Haiti for a short-term assignment with an ecumenical
organization, Action by Churches Together. Jeffrey, a journalist and
photographer, will gather data and report on the aftermath of the recent
conflict, in which Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced
into exile.
Charles
and Patty Maddox, who previously served in Ghana, work in Haiti with
the Methodist Guest House. The house serves as the local base for many
of the dozens of United Methodist Volunteer in Mission teams that visit
the island nation each year. Teams were withdrawn and suspended when the
fighting became intense two months ago. More than 700 people serve on
volunteer teams to Haiti each year.
The
Maddoxes will consult with local Methodist leaders in assessing the
factors that will determine when volunteer teams can safely return. The
International Red Cross reported April 12 that serious security issues
continue.
UMNS photo by the Rev. David Morton
This Haitian child benefits from the Haiti Hot Lunch Program, sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
This
Haitian child, shown in a 2003 file photo, benefits from the Haiti Hot
Lunch Program, sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries for children at Methodist schools. The hot lunch is often the
only meal the children receive all day. A UMNS photo by the Rev. David
Morton, Photo number W04064, Accompanies UMNS #134, 3/29/04
In
the hills on the north side of Port-au-Prince, the guest house and its
indigenous staff were not physically affected by the fighting in
February. The house is a joint project of the Methodist Church of Haiti,
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and the Caribbean
Council of Churches.
Church
World Service has distributed a shipment of food and medicines in
Haiti. Don Tatlock, the agency's international disaster liaison,
reported hearing accounts from church pastors of recent violence,
although abuses were lessening. He noted that the country remained "very
fragile" and needed financial assistance for emergency relief, recovery
and development activities.
The
United Methodist Committee on Relief continues to provide assistance to
Haiti. Donations to the United Methodist Committee on Relief, earmarked
for Advance No. 418325, Haiti civil emergency, can be dropped in church
collection plates or mailed directly to the agency at 475 Riverside
Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations can be made by
calling (800) 554-8583.
Church bulletin inserts on the crisis in Haiti can be downloaded from http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor, the agency's Web site.
*Wright
is the information officer for the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries. News media can contact Linda Bloom at (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.