My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work (John 4:34)
As Dr. Sinclair Ferguson has expressed from the pulpit at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, Christians have an obligation before the Lord to either “give or go.” Bruce Williams, Paige Tyler, and I are thankful for the opportunity to “go” to Haiti as representatives of Haiti Under God (HUG), for which a portion of First Presbyterians’ Easter offering was collected.
We can read about the needy and envision hungry, desperate people living in squalor – and thank God we were born into better circumstances. We can even sympathize from time to time – when we hear about the area or see something on television. Going changes everything.
On television, you can’t feel the crush of dozens of men at the exit of the airport who are anxious to carry bags for tips just to feed their families for the day—or experience the oppressive stench of human waste and rotting garbage. On Facebook, or in daily iPhone news alerts, you miss the fore- boding faces of a people who have had more lows than highs in their history.
In Port-au-Prince, thousands live among the rubble from the 2010 earthquake, many in tents so dense there is not a breath between them.
Yet, Haitians are resilient, hopeful, vivacious people who relish simple pleasures and kindness from strangers. Their faces express delight at smiles and small acts of compassion. Their churches resound with worshipful voices that temporarily drown out the overpowering street noise. No media can capture the emotions of a woman in the early morning light walking through a narrow alley through garbage, with hands held high, verbally praising God for another day.
