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Missing mission execs seen entering destroyed Haiti hotel Linda Bloom, Jan 14, 2010
UMNS PHOTO BY CASSANDRA HELLER
The Rev. Sam Dixon, head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, addresses directors of the denomination’s Board of Global Ministries in October 2008.
By Linda Bloom United Methodist News Service
Three missing United Methodist mission executives were seen entering the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince shortly before the Jan. 12 earthquake rocked the capital, destroying the hotel.
Even as hopes for their survival dimmed, officials with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries were still holding out hope Jan. 14 that the Rev. Sam Dixon, top executive of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR); Clinton Rabb, head of Mission Volunteers; and Jim Gulley, an UMCOR consultant, are somehow still alive.
“We have a recent e-mail that some survivors were rescued from the Montana,” said Bishop Joel Martínez, the board’s interim top executive. “Apparently, rescue operations are continuing.”
“We have a recent e-mail that some survivors were rescued from the Montana,” said Bishop Joel Martínez, the board’s interim top executive. “Apparently, rescue operations are continuing.”
The Rev. Suzanne Field Rabb, Clinton Rabb’s wife, said she appreciates the concern of others as she experiences the “mystery of grief – hanging between hope and fear.”
“It’s nice to know that people are thinking of them, loving them, praying for them – and are willing to be in vigil with me as I wait for this very difficult time to unfold. They help me stay present in this so that I don’t get lost.”
Staff from the Board of Global Ministries in New York gathered for a prayer service for their missing colleagues Jan. 13, sharing Scripture and offering prayers of the people. “As the names of people were lifted, there was a strong sense of community,” said Melissa Hinnen, UMCOR staff writer.
At the hotel
The Hotel Montana on the outskirts of the Haitian capital tumbled to the ground when the earthquake struck. French Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet reportedly told Agence France-Press, “We know there were 300 people inside the hotel when it collapsed; only around 100 have got out, which greatly concerns us.” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, quoted in The Miami Herald, said, “Troops have been working through the night to reach those trapped under the rubble.”
The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR executive, said a car had dropped the three men at the Hotel Montana. “The driver reported he had driven about five minutes (afterward) when he was stopped by the earthquake,” he added.
The president of the Methodist Church in Haiti had been invited to accompany them to the hotel but did not go because he had another meeting, he said.
Another United Methodist, Sarla Chand, vice president of international programs for IMA World Health, also had a scheduled meeting at the Hotel Montana the day of the earthquake. Chand is a former staff member of the Board of Global Ministries.
Douglas Bright, a spokesman for IMA World Health, said on Jan. 14 they still had not heard from Chand or her colleagues, Rick Santos, the agency’s president, and Ann Varghese, program officer for Haiti.
“They were scheduled to be at a meeting of the Hotel Montana with people from the University of Notre Dame the afternoon of the quake,” he said. “The meeting broke up just prior to the earthquake.”
The Notre Dame participants were located and are reported to be safe, Mr. Bright said, but IMAWorld Health cannot confirm the whereabouts of its staff, which was staying at the nearby Prince Hotel.
IMAWorld Health, a specialist in providing essential health care services and medical supplies to people in need, has a close relationship with The United Methodist Church. Mr. Dixon sits on the organization’s board of directors.
Mr. Dixon and Mr. Gulley had been in Haiti since Jan. 10 or 11, but Mr. Rabb had just arrived the day of the earthquake, coming from Cuba. The trio was staying at the Methodist guesthouse outside Port- au-Prince.
Suzanne Field Rabb said she last talked to her husband at the airport early in the morning of Jan. 12.
“Clint’s call to ministry means that he would go out into volatile and difficult places and love people. He has such a loving, open heart for others. That’s what he is all about,” she said.
The three men's luggage is at the Methodist guesthouse.
“Sam even left his suit coat at the guesthouse,” Mr. Hazelwood said.
He noted that all were seasoned travelers who had been in dangerous situations before. “If there was a way they could have protected themselves, they probably did,” he said. “My hope is they could be safe somewhere under that rubble or at least alive.”
Linda Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. For more UMNS stories, visit http://umns.umc.org.
UMNS PHOTO BY CASSANDRA HELLER
