From the WSJ:

Acts of homespun ingenuity characterize much of the Haiti fund raising. Jeff Winton, a seventh-generation North Harmony, N.Y., dairy farmer, says he sold four cows and two bull calves and donated the proceeds, $4,000, to the Coalition for Haitian-American Empowerment, a New Jersey nonprofit.

“The more we sat in front of the TV, the more we realized we needed to do something,” he says.

Below is a photo of Sister Jane Meyer making a 14,000-foot skydive, capping an $88,000 fundraising for St. Agnes Academy in Houston.

If you would like to do something less risky but effective, please consider presenting a song with your church worship team on behalf of the poor.

Photo cred:  Wall Street Journal

Michael W. Smith gets it.

So do a lot of other Christian artists.

Click above or here to view video.

Download the song here ($1.29 via itTunes) or click on banner below.

Good overview below and here by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church/Seattle on the damage done by the Haitian earthquake.

He and pastor James McDonald from Chicago spent 32 hours after the quake on-the-ground.

This provides a good, broad historical background on Haiti for those not familiar with Haiti.  He describes not only how devastating this earthquake was to the people, but also how and why the work of churches is essential to the recovery and rebuilding of Haiti.

If you’re looking for a fairly short (about an hour) overview of the Haiti earthquake and how the church is responding and why this response is essential, this is excellent.

Please share broadly.

View on YouTube here.

Here’s a follow-up from an earlier post, illustrating that compassion and good intentions are not sufficient elements in helping the poor:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A group of 10 American Baptists were being held in the Haitian capital Sunday after trying to take 33 children out of Haiti.

The church group, most of them from Idaho, allegedly lacked the proper documents when they were arrested Friday night in a bus along with children from 2 months to 12 years old who had survived the catastrophic earthquake.

The group say they were setting up an orphanage across the border in the Dominican Republic.

Full AP story (via OneNewsNow) here.

Cross International has many years of ministry experience in Haiti, and works with churches and missions (and orphanages) already on-the-ground.

For more about our efforts, go here.

Contrast with these photos immediately following the January 12 earthquake.

Click here to learn more & support relief to Haiti.

Cross International updates our website throughout the week with reports from staff and partners on-the-ground.

Go here to find out the latest…

…and keep praying and giving.

Photo: Cross International

Good word here from Together for Adoption about Haitian orphan adoption:

Given the current situation in Haiti, here is my question to those who are interested in adopting a child from Haiti: “How long are you willing to wait to give a Haitian orphan a home?”

My concern is that our compassion for Haiti’s orphans, our desire to give them a home, won’t have the necessary patience (endurance) to see it through.

What Haiti’s orphans need once adoption opens back up is Christians who have gospel-endurance.

Also see the very fine book When Helping Hurts (Moody).

Wisdom should guide our compassion and actions, all of which should bathed in prayer and washed in God’s Word.

Taken in and around Port-au-Prince immediately after the January 12 7.1 quake.

Also viewable on Flicker.

Please use as points for prayer.

Click here to learn more and support Cross International’s efforts in Haiti

He was right where He always is – in the midst of His people.

See this story (video below) about 69-year-old Ena Zizi, who was trapped for 7 days in the rubble of the National Cathedral in Port-Au-Prince while praying, along with other stories.

This Telegraph report is one of the few from secular news sources who recognize and report of God’s hand in the disaster:

Cross International efforts in Haiti can be tracked here.

Please pray for three of our project officers – Mike Henry, Mike Wilson, and Claudio Merisio – who are on the ground in Port-au-Prince with our partners in Haiti.

Two salient observations from Faith and Reason, Cathy Lynn Grossman’s blog at USA Today:

Faith groups offer the fundamental social network for education, welfare and health in a nation with virtually no government — and that was true before the quake.

- “Youth in lawless Haiti at risk for sex trade, slavery, murder” (posted Jan. 20)

Some evangelical chaplains beat most doctors in reaching Haiti — rushing in with spiritual care on the first flight along side medical teams and supplies from Samaritan’s Purse.

- “Faith relief moves fast:  Chaplains reach Haiti, solar Bibles enroute” (posted Jan 19)

Photo: CrossInternational.org