Friday, January 15 2010 5:43 PM EST2010-01-15 22:43:17 GMT
Members of a Mid-South church were on pins and needles this week, as they waited to hear the fate of hundreds of children in Haiti they just visited last month.More >>
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - A Memphis woman who survived Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti said she believes God spared her life.
Deborah DeWitt explained the moments after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
"You're just shaking," DeWitt said. "You're tense. All of your muscles are tight because you've been holding on."
DeWitt told fellow Mississippi Boulevard Baptist Church members that God called her and ten other Nashville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) missionaries to Haiti.
"I didn't have any special skills," DeWitt said, "I just went."
The morning of the quake, DeWitt's group toured Haiti and then made a stop at a grocery store.
"We purchased what we wanted, we got back in the van and before our leader could even close the door, the ground was moving, the van was moving and the store that we had been in collapsed," DeWitt said.
DeWitt said the store collapsed literally seconds after her group had left it.
They went back to their guest house to find six people been buried there. They slept where they could.
DeWitt said the aftershocks were just as frightening as the quake.
"They were almost as bad as the earthquake and they just kept going on all night," DeWitt said.
The next morning, their house manager told them they were no longer safe where they were. He drove them to the U.S. Embassy. A U.S. Coast Guard plane picked them up Wednesday night.
DeWitt made it back to Memphis Thursday.
"When I got out of Haiti, as soon as I called my son, I just broke down," DeWitt said.
DeWitt said she is now composed because she learned she did have a skill for this mission.
"He sent us there for a reason and He saved us for a reason, so that we could come back to the U.S. and tell the people of the world about Haiti," DeWitt said.
She described Haiti as wonderful.
"Even though there's poverty everywhere, there's always a sense of community,'" DeWitt said.
DeWitt said she plans to visit Haiti to focus on the orphanages.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 10:58 PM EDT2013-05-22 02:58:13 GMT
The votes are in, and preliminary results show Chokwe Lumumba has come out on top in the Democratic Party Runoff Election against Jonathan Lee. With 100% of precincts reporting, Lumumba claims the electionMore >>
The votes are in and preliminary results show Chokwe Lumumba has come out on top in the Democratic Party Runoff Election against Jonathan Lee.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 10:34 AM EDT2013-05-21 14:34:41 GMT
NOTE: Photos and videos will be added to this story later in the evening. The Walthall County Sheriffs Department along with The Humane Society of the United States are in the process of raiding a puppyMore >>
Among the dogs, many are dead, and skeletal remains were mixed with living animals in small, dark, filthy enclosures.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 6:21 PM EDT2013-05-21 22:21:59 GMT
James Hutto interrupted his own capital murder trial Tuesday morning, angry that judge Bill Gowan decided against the admissibility of certain evidence. "None of that matters? F***. I don't give a f***More >>
James Hutto, accused of capital murder in the beating death of 81-year-old Ethel Winstead Simpson of Clinton, expressed anger over certain evidence in court Tuesday.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 2:15 PM EDT2013-05-21 18:15:12 GMT
The two men battling for the chance to become Jackson's next mayor campaigned into the night as voters prepared to go to the polls for Tuesday's democratic primary runoff. On the WLBT 6pm report, we talkedMore >>
The two leading men battling for the chance to become Jackson's next mayor campaigned into the night as voters prepared to go to the polls for Tuesday's Democratic Primary runoff.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 5:48 PM EDT2013-05-21 21:48:55 GMT
The storm system from Oklahoma is moving eastward Tuesday night. A Tornado Watch is in effect for Humphreys, Attala and Holmes counties until 10 p.m. Tuesday. The brunt of the action will stay northMore >>
The storm system from Oklahoma is moving eastward Tuesday night. A Tornado Watch is in effect for Humphreys, Attala and Holmes counties until 10 p.m. Tuesday.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 6:35 PM EDT2013-05-21 22:35:19 GMT
The Mississippi Tea Party carried a nationwide protest of the IRS to the streets of downtown Jackson at high noon. The issue, IRS security of conservative groups like the tea party. We found some 20-25More >>
The Mississippi Tea Party carried a nationwide protest of the IRS to the streets of downtown Jackson at high noon. The issue is IRS security of conservative groups like the Tea Party. More >>
Friday, May 17 2013 7:16 PM EDT2013-05-17 23:16:53 GMT
One person has died in a crash near Harrisonville, MO, Thursday evening. The crash happened on Missouri Highway 7 and Walker Road. It involved a car and a tractor-trailer. Harrisonville is in Cass County.More >>
Savannah Nash celebrated her 16th birthday last week. She died Thursday when her car slammed into a semi while she was texting during her first time driving by herself.More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 11:48 PM EDT2013-05-21 03:48:15 GMT
A woman has been arrested after she allegedly locked her four young daughters out of their home for days at a time.A witness told police that the four girls, ages 7, 5, 3 and 1, had been in the same dirtyMore >>
A woman has been arrested after she allegedly locked her four young daughters out of their home for days at a time.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 1:35 PM EDT2013-05-21 17:35:44 GMT
Linda Gale Reed is accused of stealing over $20,000 from her employer in Copiah County, Moore Fabrication. That's what led investigators to change her status from missing to wanted during their 2012 searchMore >>
Linda Gale Reed is accused of stealing over $20,000 from her employer in Copiah County, Moore Fabrication. That's what led investigators to change her status from "missing" to "wanted" during their 2012 search following her disappearance.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 1:41 PM EDT2013-05-21 17:41:07 GMT
The Jackson Police Department is searching for two men who robbed a cell phone store Monday night. Shortly before 7 p.m., two male suspects entered the T-Mobile store at 4924 I-55 north. They robbedMore >>
The Jackson Police Department is searching for two men who robbed a cell phone store Monday night.More >>
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