Today is Sunday in Port-au-Prince. It is early in the States- most of you are grabbing your morning coffee and thinking about where to watch the Conference Championship games today. I am sitting in the command center and Katie is sleeping. She pulled an all-nighter in the command center and I kindly relieved her so she could sleep.
Haitians are starting church- I can hear their songs right now. Shouts of Hallelujah are echoing over our campus from the church next door. I am hoping that today is a slow day in the relief effort. I know there is much to do, but I can see the signs of stress on campus. People who have been slow to anger are starting to be quick with a rebuke. Who can blame them? It has been 12 days since the earthquake A lot of people are running on 12 consecutive days of 3- 5 hours of sleep, and eventually that catches up with you.
Sitting after church today I thought about a question someone asked me. When I went to the DR, a woman on the team I picked up asked me if I thought that the devil knew he was defeated in Haiti? This woman clearly has not seen enough dead bodies, food riots, looting and general devastation to know that right now evil is alive and well in Haiti. During the church service at our campus, we sang in French the hymn (I wish Brian was with me to feed me the rest of the words) says "This is my story, this is my song". I sang in English jumping in when I could one white voice in a sea of French-Creole. During the sermon from Jer 29:11 I understood a few words. I understood that they were saying, "Thank you Savior, Thank you Savior!"
JT English would say that Haiti will be fully restored one day when everything is made perfect, and I agree. So my answer to that woman is that the battle still rages for Haiti. Evil is not defeated here yet. To declare victory now would mean that we could say there is no more work for us to do and if you have read this blog in the last 12 days you would know that there is plenty to do. Check out www.quisqueya.org to donate to the relief fund, find a work group that is coming to Haiti in the coming months and pour your sweat into the country. If you want to declare victory over a place you have to be part of the effort.
Ben
Sunday, January 24, 2010
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3 comments:
Hi Ben,
I just wrote an email to Ted (sorry I don't know his last name) at your school after being recommended by several people. However the email I sent didn't work. So I hope you don't mind me posting the contents of the email here and ask you to respond and also help me get this request to the right person (possibly Ted):
Hello Ted,
I've been directed to you and the Quisqueya school by both Pancha Moreno of Mennonite Central Commitee Haiti and by a friend of mine and fellow alumni of Huntington University in Indiana, Matt Webb, who I believe has worked at your school in the past.
My name is Paco Michelson and I'm the disaster response coordinator for an international Christian Intentional Community/NGO, called "The Frontiers" (www.thefrontiers.org), not to be confused with American based mission group "Frontiers." Our primary work is in peacemaking and reconciliation as well as education. However, we also respond to natural disasters.
I'm writing you because we currently have a Korean volunteer of ours who is en route to Haiti. He is hoping to join a medical or relief team already on the ground and volunteer with them for a month (with an additional month possible if needed). Of course all costs will be covered by our organization and our volunteer also has a small project fund with him which he can use with whatever team he joins. He has the address of your school with him.
Our volunteer's name is Yun Deok Jang. He has served with The Frontiers on several occasions in the past including Earthquake reconstruction in Pakistani-administered Kashmir in 2006, and serving with us as a one year World Service volunteer in Afghanistan in 2007. He is currently in his final year of studying Emergency Medicine at Sung Duk College in South Korea. This training is not only emergency medicine, but also emergency rescue and trauma, as well as medical technology. He is also licensed in BLS (Basic Life Support) and a scuba diving instructor. Unfortunately, he doesn't speak French or Kreyole, but does speak English, Korean, and Dari (Afghan Persian).
I'm sorry for contacting you in this way. I was really hoping to clear this up before his departure. It is our hope that if its not a burden that he can work and live side by side with your staff and use this fund in conjunction with your relief work. Our volunteer is used to and prepared for difficult living conditions and so would not need any special considerations. He is open to any kind of work and working with any kind of team. He is willing to follow the guidelines and lifestyles of any groups that he is accepted to.
Lastly, I've read on your website that there is a korean team working with you now. It's not really important for him to join a specifically korean team but If you wouldn't mind could you give me the name of the group so that I might contact them as well?
Thanks!
Paco Michelson
Disaster Response Coordinator
The Frontiers International
Also Ben, Perhaps you can tell me directly what the name of the Korean team working with you is? Thanks, and hope that this isn't a bother to you.
Ben,
What a wonderful thought of the sounds of Hallelujahs from those beloved people! Thank you for sharing!
And, for what it's worth :), here's my take on that comment the lady made ...
Some questions are best answered by "yes AND no." I have had to learn to live in some paradoxes of truth as God has shifted me and grown me in my relationship with him, and this is one of those for me. Yes, Satan was defeated the moment Christ died and conquered death, but NO evil is not gone from the earth yet. There is still so much suffering - from the Haitians and other third world situations to people in my neighborhood consumed by debt or addicted to drugs. Evil seems to reign.
In the midst of this broken, BROKEN world, we have to claim and proclaim Truth and Good where we find it, acknowledge and rely on the Power of Christ's Name, and be moved wherever he takes us by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And it's so much easier said (and typed) than done!
May we all be sensitive to the Spirit's nudgings and act and obey, so people may come to know Him and bring glory to His Name because of our love! May we continue to love and serve the people of Haiti, helping them to live, to heal, to hope, to rebuild and reorganize, for years to come - long after Anderson and Dr. Gupta return home and stop reporting.
For it is continual acts of LOVE that drive evil from this world. And THAT is what you two are doing right now! We lift you up and give thanks for you!
Love you both!
Kim :)
Praying for you both. Elle is lying on the couch at our house tonight. It's Friday and we are awaiting a snow storm here in Virginia. Elle is moaning because she just ran 24 miles in freezing weather. She's training for a 50K to run Feb 13th. Callie Jackson will come from TX to run with her. I think they are crazy. About as crazy as Katie and Ben......
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