photos with CNN iReport Carmella Delerme of Miami , Florida , said her mother clung to her Bible for days , reading psalms over and over again , as they waited for word on the whereabouts and condition of Delerme 's sister and other relatives . When her sister , who was in Haiti on a missionary trip with their Seventh-day Adventist Church , called late Thursday , Delerme said , `` I went straight to church and prayed and prayed and prayed . We continue to pray for those who are lost and still in need . '' On the streets of Port-au-Prince , with many of their churches crumbled , people have gathered to worship and sing Catholic and Protestant hymns . `` That 's the soundscape of the country right now , '' said Elizabeth McAlister , a professor of religion and anthropologist of Haiti who teaches at Wesleyan University in Connecticut . `` It 's the business of religion to create meaning out of chaos . ... Tragically , the business of religion is getting a lot of trade today . '' See complete coverage of Haiti earthquake It 's often said that 80 percent of
Decatur , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Given all their country and people have been through , between political upheavals , human rights abuses , hurricanes , abject poverty and last week 's earthquake , `` If Haitians were constantly questioning their faith , they would all be atheists . '' These words came from the Rev. Eric Hill as he prepared to lead Haitian Mass Sunday at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Decatur , Georgia . Some of the 100 Haitian parishioners who gathered raised their hands to the heavens in praise , grateful their loved ones had been found . Others bowed their heads and clenched their hands for those lost , still missing and all who suffered . One woman wept out of guilt because she -- a U.S. citizen -- had been able to leave her devastated homeland a day after the quake , while so many were left behind . Their unshaken faith and devotion to God is the same sort that 's played out in other houses of worship , in living rooms and on the torn-up streets of Haiti . Are you in Haiti and safe ? Share your story ,