I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to share about this incredible night. Worship for Haiti far exceeded my every expectation and I was overwhelmed by the response of our sphere of life to worship tangibly. We raised a little over $3,000 that night!!!
My sweet Mom, selling cards and pictures that were donated...100% of profits went to Haiti!!
My Hopey with pictures of Pastor Lavaud's ministry in Haiti in the background.
We also had t-shirts donated at cost by Ken Perkins with 100% of proceeds going to Haiti
Bud and Cindy shared about their trip to Haiti and Starfish Kids
Typically our goal is to raise awareness of an issue that God has laid on our hearts and to offer tangible ways to be a part of the remedy, but there is nothing new for me to tell you about Haiti’s earthquake and the devastation that followed, we have all seen the images on tv, we have heard the numbers, and watched in horror as the dead were buried in mass graves. You all know what Haiti looks like today. But the truth is Haiti needed us long before January 12th. Pre-earth quake Haiti was the 4th hungriest country in the world, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Home to over 200,000 orphans living in institutions. 40% of the population was under the age of 15 and 70% of Haitian people live in poverty with an annual income of $400 per year. All this and Haiti is located just 750 miles of the coast of Florida. It is neighbor to a country that is home to us, the American church, the richest church in the history of Christendom.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the Prophets.” Studying this verse the first question is always the same, who is our neighbor. Jesus was even asked this question to which he answered with the story of the good Samaritan where we learn that everyone is our neighbor, even one who does not share our faith. But sometimes I think we spend so much time defining the word neighbor that we forget to look at the end of this passage…you shall love your neighbor as yourself. As yourself. How do we love ourselves? What does that kind of love look like? Personally I don’t go to bed hungry. I don’t go to bed thirsty. I have a roof over my head, running water in my house. I have more clothes and shoes than any person needs. What would our lives look like if we truly loved others as we love our selves? What actions would it spur? What would we do if we grieved for the Haitian whose house was ruined, who lost a child or spouse, whose business was destroyed the way that we would grieve this loss in our own life? What would that grief look like if it was our own? Better yet what would our actions look like if it was Christ Himself who was hungry or thirsty? In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats, Richard Stearn's, President of World Vision, paraphrases these verses for today's reader;“For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes but you needed more clothes. I was sick and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison and you said I was getting what I deserved” This is an incredible portion of scripture, one that our family has realized over the last few years that we need to take more seriously. The implications of this passage are astounding at the least.
Tonight is personal for us, we are raising money for our daughters first family, the orphanage that cared for Hope until she came home. We are raising money for Remy and Erlande's orphanage. And for Pastor Lavaud who continually shows us what it means to love his neighbor as himself. A few of us have been wiring money to Lavaud and in one of his precious emails he said this, "Thank you so much! We already did donations with this money. This morning, I gave some money to buy medicines for some people who were victims in the earth quake. I know you give it to me for my sake, but it is healing others as well. God bless you !"
Maybe we should let Pastor Lavaud be our example tonight, his business is ruined, his daughters are scared to sleep indoors, his country has been victim to numerous natural disasters and unstable corrupt governments, he is taking care of more than 40 people in his home and when given money he is giving it away. We know that God loves Haiti, that He is bottling the tears of His precious people there, that He is longing to see His church respond and to be His love to Haiti.
THANK YOU to every person that came that night, as a mother it meant so much to me to have my friends come and support us as we worshipped the God who uses us to bring healing to Haiti. We were able to give each of the organizations $1,000!! And special thanks to Pastor Bruce and Church on the Hill North Campus for generously letting us use their sanctuary and sound equipment, I am continually blessed by your view of the Body of Christ.
