Tragic
stories like the Haitian earthquakes has the secular media
reporting from the ridiculous to the sublime in order to get
that perfect shot or that gut wrenching account. Stories
like the doctor who used a bottle of vodka to sterilize a
hack-saw needed to amputate a little girl’s leg are shocking
descriptions that may be true but is this how the story
should be told?
A crowd of over 2,100 people were delighted
by performances from a variety of Christian artists who donated
their time and talents
for the Haiti Benefit Concert with
$230,000 raised. Among the performers were Steve Bell, Caroyln
Arends, Jon Bauer, and many others.
— photo by Romi Schroeder/Samaritan’s Purse
Recording
artist Steve Bell has a different take on things. In his
investigation of Haitian history he discovered that the
indigenous people have suffered two thousand years of
oppression, exploitation and despots to the point of
extinction only to be replaced by African slaves that netted
the Colonists insane wealth. This he didn’t know – but God
did, and now he knows it as well. That makes him and us
responsible.
Bell goes
on to say that "Christianity hasn’t had a lot of good
stories to tell in the last decade and God has stepped in so
the left hand can be bandaging the right hand. Christian
compassion is not pity but self-care. We must be prepared to
go for the long haul – it will take at least five years to
rebuild and unfortunately we have short attention spans.
What is worse than the disaster, is when CNN has left, the
headlines have changed and everyone has gone home."
Focusing
on the positive was Martin Silbernegel from Samaritan’s
Purse who says that their teams in Haiti are consistently
blown away by the generosity of Canadians. People here care
deeply and the faith they have in Samaritan’s Purse is seen
by their giving.
Presently
they have twenty two medical staff working in conjunction
with Baptist Haiti Mission and Double Harvest Ministry
Hospital. They are installing twelve community water filters
that produce 10,000 gallons of drinking water a day. Because
of their ongoing work through Operation Christmas Child they
had a distribution network already in place offering 300
families a day hygiene kits, blankets, solar power
flashlights and tenting plastic. They also have 265 doctors
and nurses volunteering through World Medical Missions,
another arm of Samaritan’s Purse. A barge leaving Fort
Lauderdale has five hundred tons of equipment including
excavators, trucks, bulldozers and vans.
Karen
Taylor of Compassion Canada and her team were just moments
away from checking into their hotel that was flattened. Why
were they spared? They were spared to be a voice for the
Haitian children. They know they were offered something
precious and are now asking how they can be good stewards of
this gift. They now discern what is important and what isn’t
– like 21 bags of luggage they were carrying around.
Relating
her first-hand accounts Taylor said, "the media does not do
justice to the horror going on but more-so, miss what God is
doing. The Church has always been there and Christians are
mobilizing. God has a good plan for Haiti and with 230
churches going door to door working with Compassion Canada,
the distribution has already been in place. We don’t have to
parachute people in. The churches are offering emotional and
spiritual support with Christ being front and centre. No
government, organization or agency can do this. The Red
Cross and The United Nations can only offer physical help.
We provide hope and empower the local church to let them do
what God has called them to do."
Taylor
said that this is a wake-up call not just to give money to
check off their ‘to do’ list but to support Compassion
Canada, to support the local church and to adopt orphans.
She apologized that they had no profiles of Haitian children
available because they don’t know who is still alive.
The focus
of the Haiti Benefit Concert at Centre Street Church was
hope and the good things God is doing. The concert may have
been hastily organized but everyone was on board and there
was a sweet communal spirit that permeated the air. Nobody
was going to get the credit – Jesus was going to get the
credit. With the government matching dollar for dollar the
concert raised just over a quarter of a million dollars.
Bell
summed it up by stating that this is a story that is not
finished and we are a part of it. Carolyn Arends closing
lyrics "seize the day" was a perfect way to end this concert
of hope.
