Church mission teams stranded by Haiti violence return to Alabama

The mission team from Faith Community Fellowship in Trussville, Ala., returned from Haiti on Tuesday. (Facebook)

TRUSSVILLE, Ala. – Two Alabama mission teams have returned back to the state after being stranded in Haiti for days amid a government spike in fuel prices.

News outlets report that the Faith Community Church team in Trussville and group members from First Baptist Church in Russellville arrived back in Alabama this week. The groups of nearly 50 students and chaperones had been in a secure compound since July 7.

The State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs advised American citizens against traveling. The incident caused the closure of the airport in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the stoppage of many flights to and from the U.S.

The cancellation of flights stranded church groups and volunteers from a number of U.S. states, including South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Church officials say another group is expected to be on its way.

First Baptist senior pastor Patrick Martin is on the Haiti trip. In a Facebook post, he urged people to pray for the travelers.

"Praise God. Please continue praying. Pray for us to get out, but also please pray for those we are leaving behind," Martin wrote. "Pray for Haiti. It's a beautiful country with beautiful people. They have a bad reputation thanks to a corrupt government that would rather pad their own pockets than care for their people. Pray that the gospel would be a shining light in the middle of poverty, and that the Kingdom of God will advance through the efforts of those in country, as well as those who come in like we did.

Martin added: "We will be back. I promise."