My first day in Haiti was an overwhelming mix of surreal images, turbulent emotions, and uplifting moments. I’m still trying to make sense of it.

Driving through Port-au-Prince from the airport, the city’s devastation was unbelievable, almost apocalyptic. Imagine if our White House, plus the Capitol building, the National Cathedral, the Supreme Court, and the police headquarters in Washington, D.C., collapsed. Hard to get your head around that, isn’t it? That’s Haiti’s reality. In mere seconds, the earthquake changed the capital city forever.

I visited one of Port-au-Prince’s struggling, overburdened hospitals to help distribute medical supplies. It looked like a war zone. There were wounded people crowding the courtyards and hallways, with doctors and nurses working feverishly to treat them. As shocking as it was, I was told that this was a vast improvement from last week, when the parking lot was littered with corpses.

The hospital staff were happy to receive the medical supplies, as they’d run out of even the most basic items. A human chain formed to unload supplies from the truck to the hospital storeroom — volunteers passing boxes of antibiotics, tetanus shots, and gauze.

Then, at 4:45 p.m., the time when the earthquake struck exactly a week earlier, everybody fell to their knees and prayed and praised God. People sang “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art” in French and English.

What an unforgettable moment. That people can praise God in the midst of such suffering is a tremendous testimony to the power of God in Haiti.

May this encourage you, as you pray. God’s hand is on this broken country and its grieving, wounded people. God is moving among those who are here to help. God is here.