On Jan. 12, for the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake, thousands of people flocked to the Shalom Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The "church" is just a plywood stage under a patchwork of tattered tarps.
The crowd was so large that it spilled down a muddy hill toward a tent camp for earthquake victims. Most of the singing, swaying congregation were so far away they couldn't even see the podium.
The evangelical mission now claims to have more than 50,000 members and one of the most popular radio stations in Haiti.
This church is a product of the magnitude-7 quake that destroyed much of the capital. Father Andre Muscadin formed it because he says God had told him there was going to be a disaster. A few days later, the quake hit. In the aftermath of the quake, Shalom grew rapidly. Muscadin says many Haitians turned to religion for strength and assistance.
But why did they turn to his church in particular?
"Because we have God here," he says.
He also has an extremely powerful radio transmitter that broadcasts his evangelical message and music across the country.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: npr
