Hudsonville Rev. Stephen Igo says Haitian earthquake aftermath 'made my soul tremble'
By John Agar | The Grand Rapids Press
January 19, 2010, 8:21PM
Hudsonville pastor Stephen Igo was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake.
HUDSONVILLE -- In the hours after the earthquake in Haiti, Pastor Stephen Igo wasn't prepared for the loss and the profound grief of survivors he and others encountered on their way to the devastated capital, Port-Au-Prince.
A female high school student is rescued from a collapsed four-story school building in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She was one of ten saved. Forty to fifty were reported at the time to have been killed. The Rev. Stephen Igo from Hudsonville helped in the rescue efforts.
Igo, pastor at Cedar Presbyterian Church, returned home on Sunday. He said he will never forget the "profound sorrow" of so many, but he won't forget the spirit, either, of the Haitian people, who struggled with daily life even before the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Outside a collapsed school were the bodies of 15 girls. Some were found seated at desks, pens still in their hands. Igo saw families that were destroyed and heard the wailing of parents.
In silence, he walked to the girls' bodies. He raised his hand and said a prayer.
"It made my soul tremble," he said Tuesday.
Just moments after he blessed the victims of the four-story school collapse, his group, which brought power tools, shovels and a jackhammer, helped Haitians -- who had dug overnight with their hands -- rescue 10 girls trapped in the rubble.
In an e-mail, he wrote: "The Haitian men rallied. All morning, we listened for voices, drilled holes, sent workers down into the belly of death and the grave, and lifted young girls to the light of God's new day for their lives. In mercy and grace, God gave these exhausted, dust-covered girls a second chance."
Igo, and his 16-year-old son, Jon, were staying with friends outside of Port-Au-Prince. His son and others left the night before the earthquake. Igo recalled he was swimming in a pool, when he felt dizzy and the water started sloshing. He soon got a message from a friend in the capital that a massive earthquake had hit.
"They thought the world was coming to an end," he said.
Early the next morning, Igo and others went to Port-Au-Prince. In the immediate aftermath, faith-based and nonprofit groups act as first responders, but after professionals showed up from other countries in the following days, Igo said he and others were no longer considered essential.
But the decision to leave was not easy, he said. No one wanted to abandon the Haitians.
Igo and others were flown out by NASCAR's Hendricks Motorsports and greeted by a crowd at a Florida airport. He needed a ride to Fort Lauderdale, two hours away. A woman approached and said her husband would take him.
"It's just the power of the community of faith," Igo said.
Igo said he was stunned that so many want to help Haiti. People want to help with the immediate response, but long-range support of organizations that know the community create "micro-ministries" that will prove crucial, he said.
Rebuilding New Orleans after the hurricane pales to the task ahead in Haiti, Igo said.
"(New Orleans is) an American city," he said. "I can only estimate that in Port-Au-Prince, it'll be a five-, seven-, 10-year rebuilding project. After a period of time, people lose that passion, zeal."
He said he is also concerned because the Haitian government is "historically fiscally unreliable."
Igo said he couldn't help but feel humbled by his experience.
"I realize the frailty of human life," he said. "We all know it, but sometimes Americans and Christian people, in a way, need to be reminded."
