Looking at the devastation and despair brought on by the cataclysmic earthquake in Haiti earlier this week on television newscasts is sobering. Imagine being a person who has been there and worked with the people of that country in the missions field.

That's exactly what Pastor Fred Stapleton and his 16-year-old daughter Priscilla have done, along with a group of teens and young adults from their church in Hudson, Cornerstone Covenant Church.

Fred led a team of young people to Haiti to work with churches and children there just days before the magnitude-7.0 earthquake ravaged the island nation located southeast of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, Jan. 12. It is considered the worst quake on the island in more than 200 years.

The quake, centered near the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, is blamed for the deaths of 45,000-50,000 people, according to estimates by the Red Cross. So many people were killed in the quake that government workers in Haiti are burying bodies in mass graves across the country, and the destruction has made it difficult for aid organizations around the world to provide relief necessary to the residents of the nation.

"We just took a group of young people to Haiti," said Fred, noting that the group was there Dec. 22-Jan. 1. "We have been working with churches and school children there in the town of Rousseau since the mid-'90s. They are some of the most loving people in the world. They've been through so much and yet they continue to praise God."

The events of Jan. 12 have thrust those same people in the public's eye as they try to pick up the pieces of their lives, those shattered by a natural disaster of gargantuan proportions.

Fred said his group worked with one church of 500 people in Port-Au-Prince. A group of children lived in the basement of that church, which was leveled by the quake. The church collapsed, but Fred found out that all those children he knew living there were alive and well. None of them were in the basement at the time of the collapse. He also found out that nearly every person from the church has been accounted for.

"I just prayed and sought God for them," Fred said. "He hears before we even ask. The church collapsed, but the basement did not. We found out all those children were safe. Homes were destroyed all around them, but it was like God covered those people and protected them."

The pastor said it was not surprising that there was so much destruction associated with the earthquake. The homes are poorly built and could not withstand such a force of nature. When he heard about the earthquake, Fred said his heart ached for those people impacted by it.

"My heart just broke," he said. "I know how devastated they were. I just started weeping, but I had hope and started praying for those people God connected us with while we were there."

Like her father, Priscilla knew how bad the situation would be.

"We saw how bad those buildings were built, and I knew they would be in trouble," she said. "I was so worried about them. But we found out they were alive and OK, and I just praise God for that."

Fifteen-year-old Meagan McNeely also made the trip to Haiti, noting how worried she was about those people she had gotten to know during her visit to Haiti.

"It makes me worried about those children there," McNeely said. "They say home is where the heart is. I think our hearts are still there with those people."

Receiving news that the people she knew were safe was comforting to McNeely.

"That made me feel relieved to know they were OK," she said. "I just want them to know I'm praying for them. If I could bring them here, I'd gladly switch places with them."

Fred said he felt powerless to help those people he had grown to know and love during his visits to Haiti through the years.

"I felt like the father who could not get to his children who were in an unsafe place," Fred said. "They were like family members we couldn't reach. We were heartbroken."

A group from Covenant will be heading back to Haiti in March, and Fred anticipates a lot to be done when they arrive. At the present time, there are difficulties getting necessary relief supplies like food, water and medicine to the people of Haiti because of the destruction. Once some of the cleanup commences, the group from Caldwell County should be able to work, minister and make a difference in the lives of the island people caught up in the mayhem brought on by the quake.

"We can do more once there has been some cleanup," Fred said. "We're already raising money to assist with their aid. We'll go in and try to help those people rebuild their lives."

Priscilla plans to keep praying for the people she has been ministering to on the trips to Haiti.

"They need clothes, housing, food and water, but what they need most is a lot of love," Priscilla said. "I've not been able to talk with the people we know, but when I do, I want to let them know I'm praying for them and love them. No matter what, God is with them."