Haiti and Chile Update

Chile

Churches Helping Churches is prayerfully reviewing how and when we can best help the areas affected by the Chile earthquake. Since this development is so recent, we still don’t know what the damage is yet. Therefore, we are postponing any type of benevolence offering at this moment. Meanwhile, we continue to remain focused and committed to the efforts that we have begun in Haiti.

Haiti

I’ve come across the word “Haiti” at least 1,000 times in the past week – in the news and on the radio, in conversations and in prayers, in articles and in emails. Most of the time, I hear awful stories and statistics. True confession: I don’t even bother putting myself in their shoes anymore. It’s just too painful. But this blog post isn’t about that. I want to tell you what I hear about the other half of the time.

Relief organizations have flooded Port Au Prince. In some areas, so much aid has reached the people that bags of food are being returned to the distribution centers. So many foreign aid workers have responded to crisis that some are looking for work to do. The job is nowhere near finished, but I am absolutely blown away by the generosity and service of the international community. If you’ve given to some of these agencies, it’s showing.

Furthermore, I am blown away by the generosity and service of God’s people that gave birth to Churches Helping Churches. Here are a few updates for you:

Haiti Trip

I am leaving for Haiti tomorrow with very specific objectives in mind.

• First, I am meeting key Christian leaders within Haiti to refine a church planting strategy into the tent cities. FYI, the tent cities are exactly what they sound like. People who are homeless or afraid to enter their buildings are living in large communities of temporary tents. We are exploring how we can bring the church to them.
• Second, we are partnering with Calvary Chapel, who is launching a holistic care base camp. This project is in full swing! The goal is to provide for all of the needs of those who are displaced, from food to medicine to counseling, even VBS for children. We will bring back pictures!
• Third, remember Jacques? He and STEP Seminary are still housing 2,500 people. The wall to the seminary has been rebuilt to provide protection from the violence outside. Many of these pastors-to-be have had their dreams crushed. We hope to get them back on track, so they can someday lead churches that serve the local community.

In these efforts, we are coming alongside existing churches and organizations that were already in Haiti pre-earthquake. Please pray that this trip would be fruitful and accerate our efforts.

T-shirts

T-shirts are for sale. Proceeds from your purchase will go to Churches Helping Churches. Buying this shirt helps support a church. Wearing this shirt helps promote awareness. You can’t go wrong on this on fellas! =)

Thomas Hurst

Thomas is a Pulitzer Prize-finalist photojournalist who currently serves on staff at Mars Hill Church and was part of a team that traveled to Haiti on behalf of Churches Helping Churches. Check his posts in coming weeks as he shares his thoughts on particular images he took and moments he and the team experienced in their 32 hours on the ground in earthquake-ravaged Port-Au-Prince.

Volunteers

Let me echo James’ statement: We hear you! We have ALL of your requests on file. Thank you for your willingness to serve and your patience with us. We’ve identified the key needs at this moment and have contacted those best suited to help. As soon as more needs or possibly even trip opportunities surface, we will contact you.

Thank you for your partnership!

For a new Haiti,
Tom
Acts 20:24