“Pat Robertson said WHAT?” I yelled at my pregnant bride.
Forgetting that I shouldn’t be creating stress for her final trimester I lowered my voice. Another statement, by one who has made a few, that gives just enough “out of context” rope for everyone opposed to Christianity to hang us with. But no one can truthfully represent that Robertson was attempting to call down God’s wrath upon the suffering in Haiti, and it is dishonest to say so
Yes… wisdom in dealing with the worst disaster in the history of the Americas is paramount.
And not in just what we say about it.
Unfortunately something else very bad is about to happen to the Haitian people. USAID, The U.S. Red Cross, and hundreds of other organizations have begun delivering millions of pounds of rice, beans, and medicines. Tankers are shipping millions of gallons of water, and gasoline. And most sad of all, some of this will land in the hands of those who should not receive it.
Having traveled extensively to Haiti, having adopted a child from this poorest of poor lands, I will tell you that in many respects the challenge to Haiti will come from within.
Charities and ministries naively go and begin to hand out aid in whatever form they have to anyone that steps up to grab it. In the violent land that Haiti is, this can often end up spelling conflict, turmoil, and death on another entire level.
The key for effective recovery in Haiti is similar to effective recovery in America. It boils down to integrity. Those who have it should be leading, and those who don’t should be punished.
Unfortunately–all too often–the case is just the opposite.
The sad thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way.
On the upper plateau of the Haitian north country resides Hosean International Ministries. A work that grew out of one man’s commitment to helping his world. That man’s name is Sidionne Lucien. Converting to Christianity in his early twenties Sidionne rejected the morphed national religion of Roman Catholicism mixed with Voodoo. He was rejected by his family and put out of the home. But Sidionne went on to marry and have children; all of them claimed Christianity as their faith. All of Sidionne’s sons applied for and were accepted into U.S. colleges and seminaries and all but one to them returned to Haiti upon the completion of their studies and serve alongside their father’s ministry.
Because of Sidionne’s faith, he felt called to care for the neediest around him. He even pledged to care for, if necessary under his own roof, every child that came to faith in Christ, if their own family rejected them, as his had. To date more than 90 children have grown up in “Papa Sidionne’s” home.
And yet that is merely the beginning of the story, because from this one man’s commitment to God and to his fellow man, the region’s only functioning hospital was built. He and his sons have an entire network of churches, and para-church ministries like homes for widows (an important service considering the life expectancy of Haitian males is so low.) Through the work of Lucien family the only functioning schools in the region operate at capacity daily, and they insure that each child in attendance eats at least one nutritious meal that day.
The impact of this family’s actions even touched my life in that my son was the first out-of-nation adoption they had ever placed.
The integrity and raw commitment to the welfare of their fellow neighbors are why my morning radio show is sending all of the monies we can raise to their work specifically. I have seen with my own eyes, that they will use wisdom in applying it to the most needy, and help the most urgent needs, particularly in this time of horrific suffering.
Though some have attempted to use Pat Robertson’s words as an example of how disconnected Christians are from the suffering of their fellow man, all I need to do is point to Sidionne Lucien to see the only person on earth that I’ve ever felt came close to fulfilling the famous quote often attributed to D.L. Moody: “The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him?”
Let’s hope for Haiti’s sake that we are beginning to!
Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of “‘Baldwin/McCullough Radio” now heard on 207 stations and columnist based in New York. He blogs at www.muscleheadrevolution.com. His second book “The Kind Of MAN Every Man SHOULD Be” is in stores now. And host of “The Kevin McCullough Show” weekdays 7a-9am EST on Sirius 161.
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