It’s like I can’t escape it. I actually feel a little guilty for trying.
In the past couple of days I’ve been overwhelmed with gratitude and I catch myself every time I start to complain. Why? Because this morning I got up out of my bed. I left the warmth of my covers and went to my bathroom with running water. I got to stand at my pantry door and ponder the various options for breakfast before I decided I’d rather stop at the Biscuit Shoppe on my way to work.
So many people in Haiti didn’t sleep in a bed last night. They no longer have a house to provide shelter. They woke up laying in the street, covered only in the dust and grime from the terrible tragedy that has fallen upon their nation. Once their up, they walk out into the rubble in search of clean water… in search of food. There aren’t any options.
I kept the TV on CNN all day yesterday. I watched the pictures and videos finally start to come in from the airwaves. As horrible as we expected it to be… it may be worse than we imagined. The reporters were walking over dead bodies just to take shots of a group of Haitians trying to pull a 15-year-old girl out of the rubble who had been trapped for 18 hours.
I find myself bursting out with prayer as various clips show on my television screen.
We need to help.
I love working for Adventures in Missions. We’re already putting all our efforts into getting people to help in Haiti. I have some friends that work in the Dominican Republic long-term with AIM. Miguel and Kristen Shaul have traveled to the border to get as much information as they can on getting teams into Haiti, and to assess what needs can be meet on the smaller out-lying villages that were also affected by the earthquake. I spent most of the evening yesterday trying to round up World Race Alumni who might be able to take off for several weeks and help organize our disaster relief efforts in Haiti and mobilize short-term teams that we want to send down to help. The other directors and many of my co-workers are working around the clock to make connections on the field, to set-up a fund for donations to Haiti, and to make plans for recruiting and accepting teams to send to Haiti. We all want to help.
This past year I led a squad of World Racers. In February we visited and ministered all across Haiti. I worked with a team at the Cambry Orphanage in Les Cayes. It’s a town in the south that has suffered some damage, but escaped the major devastation. Some of our teams worked in Gonaives, a city north of Port-au-Prince. They were helping with people there and doing some relief work regarding hurricanes that ravaged the city in late 2008. A few more teams worked with a contact that one of the racers, Liz Froba, had worked with in the past. The word from their ministry, Canaan, is that everyone is fine. They are located closer to Port-au-Prince and are preparing to help as best as they can. Many of the locals there have family and friends that they still haven’t been able to get in contact with. Finally, two teams worked with another missions organization in Jacmel Haiti. This is what I read about that city on CNN this morning:
“The people of Jacmel, Haiti, are lining the streets, setting tires on fire to light up a town that has been reduced to rubble in many parts and is without power. The flames are all that illuminate what remains of this town on the southern coast of Haiti, about 25 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince, Haiti.” – CNN
If you’re like me, and you want to help. If you just can’t allow yourself to escape to our everyday lives when something like this is just a few hundred miles off our country’s shores… then please join us at Adventures in Missions.
Here’s how you can help:
Give a Gift.
Click here to give a tax-deductible financial gift for the purchase of supplies needed for first response (food, blankets, shelters, basic health care, etc.).
Give Prayer.
Continue to pray over the country of Haiti, over the ministry that we’re establishing down there, and for the restoration of lives! Leave a comment on this blog with a prayer for the Haitian people.
Give Yourself.
Spots are still open on the July 2010 Race – second stop is Haiti. Apply Here!
