Haiti: Where Do We Go From Here?
- Dave Rodriguez
- Jan 17, 2010
Words from another time and place – another tragedy – that describes both what we have been seeing and how many both inside of Haiti and out are feeling...
Lament. 2:11-12 (NIV)
My eyes fail from weeping,
I am in torment within,
my heart is poured out on the ground
because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.
12They say to their mothers,
"Where is bread and wine?"
as they faint like wounded men
in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away
in their mothers' arms.
Lament. 3:16-20 (NIV)
17I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord."
19I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
What I’d like to do is help us get our bearings in the middle of this tragedy. Not just for this moment but for the future because inevitably we will face yet another catastrophe in the future.
I’d like to try to address two important questions in the wake of this crisis:
Why? and What now?
Why did this happen? Why Haiti? Whose fault is this?
What now? How should we respond? Corporately. The governments of the world will bear huge responsibility and seem to have taken the lead. But I am concerned about both the church corporately and you individually.
Before we begin to deal with those questions I want to get some context.
Just two months ago Curtis Honeycutt, Kerry Snyder of our staff and Barry Rodriguez of World Next Door went to Haiti to scout out potential mission trips for Grace and begin to tell the story of what is happening there.
Give us some perspective on the scale of this crisis:
- Population and area of the quake
- The scale of the poverty
- Current conditions on the ground
How are you guys feeling having just been there and met the people of Haiti?
- refer to Barry’s article in World Next Door
Now let’s get to those two crucial questions – Why? and What now?
Why?
Why did this happen?
"Sometimes you have to wonder if the planet itself is not conspiring against this humble little nation," Leonard Pitts Jr. The Miami Herald
Perhaps the most controversial opinion on this question was raised earlier in the week by Pat Robertson – Head of Christian Broadcasting Network who suggested that Haiti is cursed. Implications were that either the devil was practicing some kind of voodoo on Haiti or perhaps they were under some kind of judgment of God for having a pact with the devil.
I would normally ignore what I perceive to be, at best, an irresponsible comment but because it has caused such an uproar and confusion I’d like to deal with it.
- first Pat Robertson has had very positive impact on many and for that we can be grateful but Mr. Robertson has neglected some important truths of scripture...
"Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." - Genesis 8:21
"The God I serve, the God of the Bible, does not cause evil. God is not a vengeful and retributive being, waiting to strike us down. Evil happens, whether at the hands of corrupt people or because the earth shifts along a fault line and the world rumbles. When evil strikes, it's easy to ask, where is God. The answer: God is suffering in the midst of the evil with those who are suffering. Throughout the Scripture, we find a picture of a God who is with the people, even in their darkest hours. Today, in Haiti, God is suffering with those who are suffering." Jim Wallis, Sojourners
So...if God did not cause this then who did? We get a hint in...
"Cursed is the ground because of you..." - Genesis 3:17
There indeed is a curse on creation but it was not brought about by a pact between Haitians and the devil.
"20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." - Romans 8:20-23
The earth groans. The Planet and humanity are frustrated. Creation is in slavery and waits to be liberated from its bondage to decay
Why? Vs 20 - Someone subjected creation to this pain
- the way I understand it based on Gen 3 – it’s humanity’s fault. Adam and Eve followed by the rest of us
- the world is broken due to our sin down to the tectonic plate level
- some of this brokenness we see in corruption and deliberate ineptitude
- slavery of years ago
- rampant gov corruption for decades
- all of it compounded in a way that chained the Haitians, like so many in the developing world to a nearly unbreakable cycle of poverty
When the earth shifts the chain of poverty tightens like a noose around their necks.
But we must move beyond the why to the most important question...
What now?
For that answer let’s return to Romans 8.
"19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." - Romans 8:19-21
The creation is waiting for something to happen: (19) “the sons of God to be revealed” ....(21) ”the glorious freedom of the children of God”
- some would say that day is a future day – a day of future redemption
- God cleans house , starts over
- A day pictured in Rev 22 – “no longer will there be any curse”
- We all long for a day like that. But may I suggest that though the final redemption of all things, and ultimate healing of the creation is a future hope...it can and should begin right now.
- The creation is waiting not for the children of God to be revealed later but for us to show up right now - today.
- Haiti is waiting to see if we will show up.
- If who we say we are is just words or has substance
- If the sons and daughters of God will embrace our mission
The world will respond to this crisis but no one can do it longer or better than the church.
Thank God for USAid, the 82nd Airborne, and the help of many world governments...but they are not Plan A for the redemption and healing of the world
The church is plan A – and there is no other plan.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
"18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." - Matthew 16:18-19
He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
"As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." - Matthew 10:7-8
The church has been called out to edge.
- we have been given authority – storm the gates of hell
“My view of Christianity is such that I think no man can consistently profess it without throwing the whole weight of his being against this monstrous system of injustice that lies at the foundation of all our society; and if need be, sacrificing himself in the battle.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe
- we have been given a mandate – heal
"Sympathy is no substitute for action." - David Livingstone
So, the answer to “what now”? is for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed...it’s time for us to show up.
How will Grace show up?
We will be taking a special offering beginning in a few moments and lasting through the week.
Through two organizations with which we have partnerships
Nehemiah Vision Ministries is an international organization focused on transforming the lives of people in Haiti through education, health, and spiritual development. NVM was founded in 1995 by Pastor Esperandieu Pierre. Right now NVM is focused around building the community of Chambrun by operating a school, running a children’s home, feeding the malnourished children through a school feeding program, sending regular medical teams from the States, and even began a church that meets in the school about one year ago. NVM is meeting basic needs so that the children can learn in school and be trained and equipped to contribute to their own personal development and eventually rebuild Haiti.
NVM has become a relief agency in previous natural disasters, and is poised to do the same again for their local community and for the larger community. They have done this by providing what they do best, getting basic supplies to people who desperately need them, including food, water, and medical supplies.
We have been laying the groundwork for both adult and senior high trips in the future.
Kids Against Hunger exists to feed starving children throughout the world by packaging highly nutritious, vitamim-fortified meals in the USA and sending them to feed starving and malnourished children and their families through partnerships with humanitarian organizations. The goal is to provide a stable nutritional base from which recipient families can move their families from starvation to self-sufficiency.
The food is made from four readily available dry ingredients that are easy to package, keep for long periods of time, and require only boiling to prepare. It is simple, but a nutritionally complex and well-balanced meal that is tailored to a broad diversity of ethnic tastes.
Grace has partnered with KAH the last two years through Weekend of Service to pack thousands of meal packets that feed a family of 6 for a day.
Many of their meals have gone to Haiti in the past, most will go there now.
$5,000 will provide the supplies to make 25,000 packets that feed 6 people for one day. Our local Hamilton County chapter has access to supplies to make 200,000 packets ($40,000 worth). Depending on our offering, we will commit to making a certain amount of packets that will go either directly to NVM or to the general Haiti relief effort.
In addition - On Friday of this week (January 22nd) we will open registration on-line to volunteer to pack the number of packets we have committed to filling. If we end up committing to 200,000 packets, we will need over 600 volunteers to commit to a 4-hour shift to fill the packets. Further instructions will be on our website.
And this is all just a beginning – Grace church is about to show up – we’ll keep you informed as to how you can get engaged.
3 ways to give: Right now, on line, walk in all week.
NOTE: PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH AND NOTE ‘HAITI’ ON THE MEMO LINE.
Before we take that offering there is one other answer to the What now?
One more time turn to Romans 8.
"26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." - Romans 8:26-27
Last night as I sat glued to the TV flipping btw news stations I was messed up. Torn emotionally by the images.
And all night long I slept fitfully waking up and every time I did my mind went to the people and children I saw.
How do you pray for such horror? And such pain?
- Thank God when we can’t muster the words – the Spirit can.
- And he takes it one step further ... he groans – he expresses the emotions that lie deep within.
So in a moment we will try to pray – do not leave....
Because when we pray – we show up – we once again answer the “what now”?
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Let him bury his face in the dust--
there may yet be hope.
Lament. 3:19-32
Attentive PRAYER
- For the people of Haiti
- For the church in Haiti
- For the church worldwide
