Final Reflections on Haiti

I am sitting on the veranda of a restaurant overlooking the Caribbean on the south coast of the Dominican Republic. I had a good night's sleep in a bed after a hot meal. I even had a shower last night! It is amazing how grateful you can be for the little things. This will likely be my last report on Haiti - when I return home, my attention will be diverted to other things.

My heart is heavy for the children of Haiti - the adults too. They are a kind and happy people, even in the midst of so much suffering. They were so grateful that we were there. My job with the team during the times that we were doing the medical clinic on the plaza, was to float from station to station and help where I could. I was also assisted with the evangelism team. In doing this, I had the opportunity to walk up and down the line of people waiting for medical care. At times, the line would grow to 150 people standing in the hot sun for hours. They were so patient and grateful for even a sip of water. In all that time, they maintained good attitudes. The Christians in the crowd continued to praise God and look to Him.

Many asked why God allowed the earthquake to happen. They asked me of there sins were worse than the sins of other nations. I told them that Jesus was once asked the same question about a tower that fell on a bunch of people and killed them. He said that there sins were no worse than the ones who did not die - but unless we all repent, we too will perish. I told them that Haiti's sins were no worse than America's sins. But, there was a message for all of us in the earthquake: unless we all repent, we will all perish. The Haitians understood that judgment was coming. So many were grateful to be alive, and in gratitude mixed with fear of God, they repented and turned to Jesus - almost 200 of them in 2 days (I was wrong on the 150 that I earlier reported - it was more).

Many rejected Christ as well. One guy yelled at us because he said they needed food, not Jesus. Many more did not respond. I shared Christ with one young man named Phillipe James for about 30 minutes. He was a musician in his mid-20's with dreadlocks. He spoke English very well so we were able to talk freely. He had lots of questions about God but was not ready to leave his sinful lifestyle behind. Phillipe did not believe in cheap grace. But God was working on His heart. I could sense the conviction and the struggle. Phillipe wanted to know Jesus but he could not leave his old life. I told Phillipe that I would pray for Him and that I hoped that he would one day come to Christ. I told him that I hoped to see him in heaven one day. He is homeless like so many others in Haiti, just wandering the streets. Please pray tha he finds a home in Christ.

I want to close out my reflections by writing about Patricio. Patricio helped us throughout the week and always had a great attitude. His smile was infectious. I called him Snoop because he looked just like the rapper, Snoop Dog. The thing about Patricio was that he lost his wife and 2 children in the earthquake. His house fell in on his wife and the children's school fell in on them. He lost his home and his entire family. Today (Sunday), the team was going to dig through the rubble for Patricio's family. Yet, he continued to help us serve others all week long. If I lost my wife and children that way, I could not see myself doing what Patricio did, much less smiling like he does. May God bless Patricio today.

The world will soon move on from the Haiti earthquake to something else. But it will forever mark these people. They still believe in God - perhaps more now than ever. They are crying out to Jesus by the hundreds. They need help that they know only God can provide. As Christians come and bring food and medicine, may they also give a reason for the hope that they have in Christ. May they come and hold the babies, rocking them to sleep, like the German teenager with our team. May they bandage wounds like Butch, my friend from North Georgia. May they give out cups of cold water and pray and comfort and build shelters to protect from the sun and rain. May we show who Christ is through our deeds, demonstrating the Kingdom. May we also tell them who Christ is through the gospel, the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Comments

[Charley Elgin]

Welcome Back Alan

Sharing the Gospel and meeting physical needs during disasters, and other times, are both imperatives for the Church. The Red Cross can only offer a bottle of water, you offered living water also. But finding the proper balance is often the challenge. Apparently God sent the right people on your team with the giftings for both. Well done!

Reference to your comments about not seeing other ministries during your time there. If you recall that was true of Katrina during the first weeks. Everyone is heads down. Frantically attempting to meet the overwhelming needs at hand. All you do is work and sleep, and not much emphasis on the sleep. Not much time to look around at what others are doing or not doing. We did send people out to find other Disaster Relief Organizations (DROs) that we could send people to when we couldn't help for one reason or another. Each group has its own notion of how to get things done, it's charter or mission and chain of command. In Haiti's case, maybe even a different country of origin. With no working communication infrastructure in place, staying connected is very difficult, even if you do find other groups providing aid. The best you can do is to send someone to deliver the message. Do you remember that cell phones didn't work initially except for texting. Isn't it curious that you received responses about who was there and what was going on from people who were not even in Haiti? Information is pushed back to the states more easily that it is shared between DROs. During Desert Storm 1, my family often knew more about what was going on that I did, and I was in Saudi Arabia assigned to 3rd Army Headquarters, following the movement and operations of the Coalition Forces. The focus of communication is not in country, but back to the masses who want to be informed. My point is that you could not possibly know about other groups if you didn't happen to come across them because you were too busy meeting needs. No apology was necessary. Thanks for carrying the message of Jesus to the people. Charley