Haiti and the Church's response

I gave this talk at Grace Harbor church on Sunday. I believe you all know, but I spent a month there in the last year and had planned (and still plan) on spending a couple months there this Summer. I am finishing a video today showing what the organization I've worked with - El Shaddai - is doing in Haiti for earthquake relief as well as raising orphan youths to be the future leaders of the country.

Donate directly at www.esmihome.org

For those of you that may have joined the Grace Harbor community during the last season, or maybe visiting with us today, you should be aware that we have had the opportunity to be a part of two missions trips in 2009 to Haiti providing medical care and relief for a network of orphanages.

The pictures and video that has streamed in this week of the horrific tragedy in Port-au-Prince are difficult to comprehend, and move even the strongest of us to tears. Estimates are now over one hundred thousand dead, many more still unaccounted for, and at least 3 million homeless.

Not only was one-third of Port-au-Prince completely leveled, but also many of the surrounding villages were also destroyed. PaP’s port , which is the countries main source of food, has been completely destroyed. The 5 Story United Nations main head quarters has collapsed, most likely killing everyone inside. The Presidential palace and government buildings have also collapsed, killing countless number of government personnel and members of parliament. Rather than allow Haiti to sink into anarchy, which is certainly is on the brink of doing, The U.S. has sent in 10,000 military personnel and taken over the airport.

Fortunately , all the orphans we’ve worked with are safe. The only orphanage that is near PaP, called Carrefour in the town of Brouchette., suffered only minor damage with one wall collapsing and the children unscathed. At Cambry, the main orphanage, some of the children were traumatized enough to jump out of the building they were in and broke their arms and legs.

I’ve been receiving daily updates from our friends in Haiti. Brothers Dony & Louis operate El Shaddai Ministries, the Church we support along with the network of orphanages they operate. Louis has been sharing his stories from the ground:

" WE RESCUED A YOUNG GIRL AT DELMAS 40. BROTHERS, IT IS UNBELIEVABLE AND HORRIBLE, MORE THAN ANYONE COULD IMAGINE. One school has 350 children buried under it. Another nursing school, 100 students. No food. Day 4 without food and water in PAP. Interviewed a family that lost 12 people. PAP not a city that can be rebuilt easily. Hundreds of thousands of people sleeping on the streets. Some are sleeping in tents but there are not enough. Visit to the hospitals-no antibiotics, no medication, not enough personnel to minister to the people. No gas in PAP. People are moving back to the provinces so ministry cannot only be in PAP but need to go to the villages to them too. Still a lot of areas without help. A lot of people still in need of help. May God continue to guide us and have mercy on His people.”

Louis has taken control of a clinic 15 minutes outside of PaP to use as headquarters for the relief effort with a guesthouse that can hold 200 people. They’re bringing in a couple doctors and 5 nurses. The banks aren’t working in Haiti either. They’re accepting funds through esmihome.org – 100% will go towards relief.

When disaster strikes an impoverished and oppressed people, the world asks why? I have already received the question from my own family and associates in semantics that mimic the question where is your God? The falsity of the logic of the world is that it plagiarizes the Christian worldview to undermine it. No one denies there is an ethical dimension to suffering, yet we actually have reason to explain and defend it. For we believe that there is value in every human being, that everyone is of worth and deserves dignity. The Christian story says this. It confirms this. That while we were still repugnant, Christ bled for a broken world. The pain of Christ’ suffering if what draws us to Him. The suffering of Haiti is what draws us to Haiti. Let us open our hearts and bear their burden with them, let us put our faith in our wonderful God who invites beggars into the banquet and who makes saints out of sinners. It is with this ultimate love and complete faith that we are to respond.

I know we quote this gentlemen almost as often as Saint Paul, but at times like these I am reminded of Anthony Hopkins role as C.S. Lewis in Shadowlands: “Where was God on that day? … Isn’t he supposed to be good? Isn’t he supposed to love us? Does God want us to suffer? …. God wants us to be able to love and be loved. He wants us to grow up. … Suffering. or To put it another way. Pain. Is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. We are like blocks of stone. Out of which the sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of his chisel. Which hurts us so much. Are what makes us perfect. “

Kings 8 : 37 whatever disaster may come, 38 when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—…. 39 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men)

We thought now would be a good time in our service to break off into groups of 2 and 3 to give each of us a moment to pray for the people of Haiti and the entire situation. Let us be praying for a clear role for Grace Harbor and how as a community we can play an effective role. In the midst of Hollywood and the rest of the world’s response, we need to be patient and wait, understanding that God may have us playing the 2^nd half or even the fourth quarter.

Prayer for Haiti

- ask God to raise up moral and effective leadership in the relief effort and the country

- Pray for an abundance of food & clean water to fill Haiti

- For heavy machinery and engineers necessary for clean up

- For safety of women, children, the elderly and others who suffer under lawlessness

- For the role of the Church in response to suffering