Rescued from the rubble

A family praises God after a teen-aged girl survives a harrowing ordeal in the rubble of the Haiti earthquake.

Eighteen-year-old Ronite Tisme was learning dressmaking at a mission school near Port-au-Prince when the floor and walls began to shake violently. Ronite’s leg was crushed as the roof collapsed and pinned her to the floor.

“I was afraid, but I prayed that God would send someone to find me,” Ronite said from her hospital bed, surrounded by family. “I just prayed and waited for someone to come.”

Ronite was buried in the rubble for hours after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti on Jan. 12. She heard no signs of rescue.

At one point she imagined she had drifted off to sleep and heard a voice calling her name. As the voice grew louder, she realized she wasn’t dreaming at all. The voice was her father’s, urgently calling her name.

“When I heard my father’s voice, I knew he would save me,” Ronite said. “I called out and tried to tell them where I was. I knew they would find me.”

Ronite’s father was overwhelmed when she responded to his call.

“I praised God and gave Him glory,” he said, lifting his arms and eyes upward. “And then we started digging. We got tools and we used our hands and we pulled the broken pieces away.”

For the next two days, Ronite’s entire family dug through the rubble. All the time they talked to Ronite and prayed with her to give her comfort. On the third day, they finally freed her and pulled her to safety.

“When we found her I thanked God for saving her life,” her father said, with tears in his eyes. “We are so thankful.”

Ronite was taken to the Baptist Haiti Mission hospital, where her injuries were treated by doctors with the Samaritan's Purse emergency medical team.

Dr. Richard Furman was among the physicians on the team caring for Ronite.

“When I heard Ronite’s story, I immediately thought of story of the Good Shepherd, where Jesus said His sheep know Him and follow Him because they know His voice,” Dr. Furman said. “Imagine the joy Ronite’s father felt when he called her name and she answered. What a wonderful illustration of our Father’s love for His children.”