With Hurricane Matthew expected to cause major flooding in Haiti, many people from the island nation who live in Central Florida are worried.

On Monday night, people gathered at Church of God in Kissimmee to pray.

“We’re going to stay in prayer, we’re going to kneel down before God, so God can hear our prayers and people can be safe in this weather,” said Myriem Norgisse, a church member.

Norgisse saw the bleak weather outlook for parts of her home country. She joined a couple dozen people Monday night for what was a regularly-scheduled prayer service. But their prayers had a message of urgency.

“We ask God for favor, because this is a country that has suffered a lot,” Norgisse said.

Norgisse grew up in Haiti. Her family has traveled back home often and seen how the country is still rebuilding from a devastating earthquake in 2010.

She worries about what the hurricane-force winds and the more than three feet of rain will do to the country she calls home.

“Especially that area of the south,” said Norgisse. “They can have a lot of mud, a lot of floods. People have homes that are not built to withstand that kind of hurricane, but we also have people that don’t have homes — they live in the woods.”

Communication isn’t as advanced in Haiti, and Norgisse fears some people haven’t been fully informed about the dire situation expected there.

“And my prayer is those people, as much as possible, can hear the news and move out,” said Norgisse.

But Norgisse said she’s holding on to faith — and hope — that the devastation won’t be as bad as what has been reported.

“We ask all of the churches to pray tonight, so God can really work against the winds that are coming,” said Norgisse.