“We’re alive,” Beaucejour replied.
For more than 20 years Cohoon and his church, Emmanuel Lutheran in Kettering, have supported Beaucejour’s work in his native Haiti through the Emmanuel Christian Mission compound which houses two orphanages, a school, and a church. Cohoon is now director for the Caribbean ministry of Children of Promise International, a Christian relief agency with world headquarters in Centerville.
Wilson spoke to Beaucejour after the third shock from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Leogane is 25 miles from the quake’s epicenter, the Haitian capital, Port au Prince.
The orphans were all safe, Beaucejour reported, but the church building sustained heavy damage. Cohoon feels grateful it wasn’t worse. An Emmanuel Christian Mission staffer was scheduled to pick up a check from Children of Promise International later this week. “Thank God they didn’t send him Tuesday, or he might have been in town when it hit,” Cohoon said.
After speaking with Beaucejour, Cohoon was able to reach his wife Rose in Ottawa, Canada, where she is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for leukemia. The couple’s two youngest children — their daughter Othmar and son J.J. — are with her, while older son J.L. attends school in Toledo.
Cohoon travels to Haiti frequently but doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return. “Why did this happen to them, when they’ve already suffered so much?” Cohoon asked. “The cost of food and fuel and running things will increase dramatically. We have to pray that somehow we can see the Lord’s hand in this.
Cohoon’s prayers this week begin with a simple plea: ‘Lord, these are your people.’”
Donations to help the Emmanuel Christian Mission can be sent to Children of Promise International, 6844 Loop Road, Centerville 45459.
Contact this reporter at mmccarty@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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