Even after losing loved ones and homes, Haitian survivors picked their way through the rubble of their broken country to sing praise to God and pray in damaged churches.

Some gathered under open skies after Matthew ripped away the roofs and even walls of their sanctuaries.

At least one church was so badly damaged that worshipers set up an altar and prayed outside.

Elise Pierre, who said she was about 80, said she believed it was a divine miracle that she and her loved ones survived.

“If God wasn’t protecting us we’d all be gone today, blown into the ocean or up into the mountains,” said Pierre, whose straw hat almost concealed a gash on her forehead, inflicted as her sheet metal roof collapsed during Matthew’s fury.

Meanwhile, over in the Bahamas, churches were also hit hard by Matthew.

Pastor Barbara L. Rahming’s church was badly damaged, with the walls on both sides of the building completely blown away. Even so, she’s keeping her eyes on God.

“It’s a disaster as far as the building is concerned. Everything is out, it’s finished. We are trusting the Lord to make a way, and I know He will make a way, for all things work together for good,” she said.

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