BANDON — To Bandon High School teacher Ellen Howard, the earthquake in Haiti is more than a tragic event.

It's a personal calamity.

Her daughter, 26-year-old Joanna Howard, was in Port-au-Prince when the 7.0 earthquake struck.

Howard was in her classroom Jan. 12 and didn't even know there had been an earthquake. Then her husband, Rick, called.

"He asked me if I knew how the Heartline Ministries clinic was made and whether it was two stories and made of concrete," she said.

"Then he said, 'There's been a terrible earthquake and we don't know if Joanna is alive or not.'"

Joanna, who graduated BHS in 2001 and is a midwife, has been living there since September, working with the Christian-based organization.

"I must have been in shock, because I was thinking things like 'How will they send her body back?'" Howard said.

When Joanna was 19 and first left home to go to the Philippines, Howard had a difficult time accepting her decision. As comfort, Howard recited Psalm 84 to herself every morning.

"It states, 'Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere,'" Howard said. "That means it's better to walk one day with God than to stay in your comfort zone.

As she was driving home last Tuesday, Howard repeated that Psalm, telling herself that whether her daughter was alive or not, she was with the Lord.

But good news came.

Soon, she learned all of the people working for Heartline Ministries were accounted for and safe.

That night Joanna sent a message to her family: "I am OK and safe, please be praying. I have no idea how bad the damage is in Haiti."

Joanna, who was raised in Bandon, didn't question what she needed to do after the quake. She rolled up her sleeves and tended to the wounded.

"Jan. 14 — 10 a.m. Today is really hard. People are desperate, we are running out of supplies for the makeshift clinic."

She is no stranger to hard and, sometimes, heartbreaking work. She spent 31/2 years in the Philippines, learning and then teaching midwifery, with additional trainings in Australia. She also has worked in Bali and Papua New Guinea. She arrived in Haiti in September 2009 and was home in Bandon for the holidays before returning several days before the quake.

As she got Joanna's messages day after day, Howard updated her students, who put out collection cans and are organizing a fundraiser.

"Jan. 17 — 7:59 p.m. All of our doctors have arrived. We will start seeing patients in the morning. Please pray for courage and that everyone will work well together and for our safety."

Heartline Ministries will need about $200,000 to rebuild its facilities and to help workers rebuild their homes.

"They want to do something," Howard said of BHS students. "We may feel like we aren't affected, but we are."

The Howards credit their faith for helping them deal with fears for their daughter. That same strong devotion is helping Joanna deal with the daily horrors of the devastation. She plans to stay in Haiti. Her parents are doing what they can to help on this end. Howard started a group on Facebook, We Support Heartline Ministries, asking people to pray and donate. By Wednesday morning, the group had 694 members.

"This is something I can do," Howard said.