Haiti reflections
From my friend Lisa Martin:
This morning I am watching the news…
Haiti…
I saw the faces of children screaming with empty hungry eyes, bodies covered in blood that the living had to literally walk around to get to a food line, and poverty beyond imagination…
the news then showed a missionary team from the states, hurrying to the plane to LEAVE…
and then with tears in my eyes, I watched a group of Haitians lift their hands and sing, praising God in the middle of destruction and horror..
Lord give grace to the people of Haiti. provide them what they need as they call out to you in their poverty, praising your name and holding on to you, when faith is all they have…
and Lord, call us to accountability as a supposed Christian nation who speaks the name of Jesus, then walks away…
Amen
What are you think, feeling, praying?
January 14th, 2010 at 11:56 am
My first reaction is sadness that missions teams would rush from the very site of so much desperation where they are so needed.
On further thought, I considered the idea of short-term missions teams, often filled with teens and well-intentioned adults, sent to build churches and put on kid-friendly skits about Jesus. They went with the excitement of experiencing a new country, learn how others live in extreme poverty, hoping to play with the kids and share meals with the adults, and that’s about it. Of course now more than ever their skills are needed, but what about the psychological impact? As a parent, how would you feel if you were here in the States, watching this devastation go down in Haiti and knowing your teen is there, totally unprepared to walk down streets lined with dead bodies, watching children scream through bloody faces, and witnessing chaos everywhere? Would you want the team to stay on indefinitely trying to help in any way possible? I don’t know what I would think. But I think those rushing there to help right now are very admirable. They know what they’re stepping into and they go in bravely. I’m grateful to see many true Christians dropping everything and heading to Haiti. I wish I could…