Haiti Benefit Concert focused on the positive  Hope for Haiti  by Don McAreavy 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.