I was in Haiti as part of the relief efforts in February of this year, and I do find some differences and I find also some similarities.

What is similar, for instance, is that both the natural disasters [are] affecting extremely poor populations. In Pakistan when you go to the countryside, those people are extremely poor. If we speak about the regions away from the urban areas, those people really have nothing to live with.

And then on top of it, if you put the flood; it’s really hard to imagine the people who have survived, whether they were poor like this before the flood or as a consequence of the flood.

As in Haiti, the effect on the population is even worse because those people had nothing to begin with and therefore an even less position to really respond to the disaster or even be prepared for this kind of thing.

If your worship team or choir would like to help support efforts like these, please contact me and ask about how to present a song for the poor.

To find out about progress in Haiti, go to CrossInternational.org/Haiti.

Here’s the description from the Miami NPR station’s website:

This piece reconstructs an inspiring moment amid tragedy and pain, at a makeshift hospital tent in Port-au-Prince.  In it, four medical professionals from South Florida recount their experience landing in Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake, and struggling to meet a desperate need for medical help.

One describes the situation as “a war zone.” Another describes a feeling of worthlessness, given the scale of the catastrophe.

But then something happens that surprises them: a man begins to play a guitar in the corner of the tent, and patients begin to sing.  Soon every Haitian in the tent is singing or clapping or dancing.  The song: “Jesus, thank you for loving us.”

Stay with the story to get the full impact.

Project Medishare is one of the efforts Cross International assist post-earthquake, but all the glory goes to God here.

Here’s the promo blurb:

Unprecedented amounts of money have been pledged to Haitian relief in the last few months. American households have given over $1 billion and in March, 120 countries pledged over $9 billion(!) to rebuild. The only problem is that – historically – blanketing a country in aid and money has never really worked so well. Is there a chance this time things could be different?

Do you consider safety, or your health,
A sign from me?
I am not awed by might, nor struck by wealth,
Or poverty.

O, I am struck! And crushed. Buried, I wince,
And dying, pray,
A sympathetic Priest in Port-au-Prince,
Even today.

But there, in those United States the boot
Is on my face.
“Saul, Saul,” I ask, “Why do you persecute
And not embrace?”

Your King, I lift my arms to you in peace
And patient grief;
And summon now to Haiti enemies
For my relief.

Because the southern seaside town has only a small harbor with a wharf that cannot accommodate large vessels, small boats were used to transport the relief supplies to shore.

Loading the 20-foot containers on the little boats was quite a feat!

Your worship team can make a difference for the poor in Haiti and around the world with free Harmony of Hearts materials.

Click here to find out how.

(courtesy of the Cross International Field blog)

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

So do a lot of other Christian artists.

Click above or here to view video.

Lyrics:

There is hurt there is trouble – there are tears on the ground
from the ash and the rubble – there’s a cry ringing out
you’ve been shaken by loss; you’ve been by shattered by fear
Give me eyes that can see it – Give me ears that can hear

When you hurt I’m hurting – when you’re bleeding I bleed
When you cry I’m crying; I am down on my knees.
When there’s nothing left standing, and there’s no reason why
Lets go walking on the water to reach the other side

Stretch your arms and help the brokenhearted
Say a pray that change will come
We will fight for the children who were hurting
Lets stand as one and come together now.

Be the light in the darkness – be the peace in the storm

Be a shelter for someone when the rain starts to pour.

Be the hands that bring healing and the hands that provide

Let’s go walking on the water to reach the other side.

Stretch your arm and help the broken hearted
Say a pray that change will come
We will fight for the children who were hurting
Lets stand as one and come together now.

It won’t be long – keep holding on
Hold your head high; hold your head high
Keep standing strong – you’re not alone now
Hold your head high; hold your head high

~~~~~~

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

The Celebration Worship Team will perform along with bluegrass artists Southern Reign.

Celebration Baptist is 30 miles west of Jacksonville, just off I-10.  For a map, click here.

Thanks to Chet and Rosina Gray of Celebration Baptist for putting this together.

If your church would like to hold a benefit concert, contact me @ 1-800-391-8545 ext. 174 or via email.

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.