Flecks of sawdust filled the air amid a deafening chorus of hammers, power saws, compressors, and nail guns. A forklift added to the commotion, moving loads of lumber toward the head of an assembly line for making temporary shelters in Leogane, Haiti.

More than 100 Haitian men and women are working at the Samaritan’s Purse production center, preparing ready-to-build shelter kits for 10,000 families that were left homeless by the January earthquake.

Saphina Francois grabbed 8-foot-long two-by-fours, two at a time, and quickly cut them to size for the next station on the production line. She lost her home and her husband in the quake and was left to provide for six-year-old twins and a three-year-old.

The job on the Samaritan’s Purse assembly line was an answer to prayer.

“I prayed that the Lord would help us through our time of struggle,” Saphina said. “If I didn’t put my faith in the Lord, I wouldn’t be here today.”

At a time when unemployment in Haiti is near 70 percent, employees at the production center are earning above minimum wage, learning job skills, and helping rebuild the country.

The men and women on the assembly line build frames in sections that can be easily transported to shelter sites for final assembly. The shop produces 70 shelter kits per day, and the workers at a second production center across the bay in Titanyen are working at the same pace.

The rest of the Haitian workers are on construction teams, assembling temporary homes in more than a dozen shelter communities.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mary Sene was pounding nails and putting up frames with a building crew at a shelter site in Leogane, the epicenter of the January quake. Mary was thrilled to have a job. “It helps me feed my children and send them to school,” she said. “It’s not too hard for me. I can do it.”

But Mary left work with more than a paycheck last Wednesday—she had a Creole Bible in her hand and the Holy Spirit in her heart.

The foreman of the production center in Leogane, Pastor Yves Bijou, went to the building site that morning to lead the workers in a short Bible study. When he gave an invitation, 13 people, including Mary, stepped forward to accept Christ.

“I used to go to church and people asked me if I wanted to be saved, but I wanted it to be real in my heart,” Mary explained. “I injured my leg in the earthquake and it took two months to heal. I asked God to help us and He did. He also gave me this job. When I heard the pastor speak this morning, I knew in my heart God was real. I am happy to be saved!”

Yves Bijou takes his job as a pastor and foreman seriously. He expects excellence from his employees and gives them spiritual encouragement as they work.

“I lead devotions at the shop every morning because I want people to know God,” he said. “It’s also important to teach them a trade for the future. For many, this is their very first job. What they learn here can help them for years to come.”

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Samaritan's Purse , Haiti , Help for Haiti , Producing Workers for Christ