around the world with Jesus

A few months ago, I got my own Haitian mudpie. It sits on my desk. This gift from our Haiti director, Kevin Rose, has reminded me to pray for the poorest people in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

On Tuesday, like every other “normal” day in Haiti, people in the poorest areas of the country were eating these for lunch. Some ate them for breakfast that morning and dinner the night before as well. They’re made of dried yellow dirt, vegetable oil and salt.

I’m going to type that again…they’re made of dried yellow dirt, vegetable oil and salt. They’re real mudpies. People eat them.

Then an earthquake hit.

I’m still processing things…but I for now, I wanted to mention the mudpies.

The effects of Haiti’s earthquake is beyond description. Convoy of Hope is responding. Please see the latest on the Convoy of Hope response, and consider making a donation. As a member of the Convoy of Hope team, I can assure you that funds are spent wisely and strategically. Members of our staff were on the ground when the earthquake occurred, and the response continues.

Thanks so much. Please visit www.convoyofhope.org for more information.

Matt

This Haiti situation reminds me of a challenging talk a team and I had with Pastor Paul. He’s a Liberian man who fled his country during Liberia’s civil war about a decade ago. He too knows the stench of death, hunger, sickness, losing his home and what it’s like to feel lost. We met at the Buduburam Refugee Camp near Accra, Ghana.

Desperation. At the time, 40,000 were struggling to get food, clean water, clothing, an education, and peace in their lives.

I asked Pastor Paul how I could pray for him. His response (as I recall):

“In this camp there is desperation. We’ve fled our homes and our people and come to this new place. Some people pray that we’ll be able to return to our homes and what is familiar. They pray for an abundance of clean water and jobs and money and cars and good food and freedom. I don’t pray for such things.”

His next words will stay with me forever…

“Here in this camp, there is revival. The people here know that the only way to have peace is to cling to the feet of Jesus. We are doing that and we are free and we are at peace. Don’t pray that we’ll have things and what is familiar, pray that when God answers those prayers of others and provides materially beyond what we have now, that we will still cling to his feet. Even when we have all of those things, we must never forget that the only way to have true peace is Jesus.” 

I pray that in the midst of Haiti’s desperation, hopelessness, fear, and terror, that people will cling to the feet of Jesus. I pray that He will make Himself known in ways that they’ve never experienced and that they’ll realize that there is hope in Him. I pray that in the midst of chaos and the storm, they’ll find peace in Him. I pray they’ll cling to His feet…and that we’ll all cling to His feet, because we need Him just as badly.

In the midst of Haiti’s despair, please consider a donation to Convoy of Hope. People from Convoy of Hope are on the ground and responding.

Tragedy. As you’ve heard, just over 24 hours ago, a massive earthquake shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I work with Convoy of Hope and wanted to share a bit about our response. It’s been a somber, yet focused day in the office.  We’ve been humbled by the response from caring people.

The impact:

Port-au-Prince is flat…flattened hospitals, schools, the UN Headquarters, and even a collapsed presidential palace. I read today where perhaps 30,000-100,000 people lost their lives. During Katrina, approximately 2,000 people died. Both tragic events, both too large to comprehend. Devastating.

Convoy of Hope is already in Haiti:

Our Haiti director is in the country and he is safe. I can’t imagine what he’s seen, heard and experienced. He said, “I heard screams for help from everywhere.  I’m seeing many dead and injured people. The need is beyond description.” I know God is walking with Him as he works to set up our command center, and begin the response. He’s working with other team members on the ground and at our headquarters to respond rapidly and intelligently. The response has begun.

Our Convoy of Hope warehouse in Haiti includes food and water: 

We feed 7,000 children like this little guy each day in Haiti. Our warehouse is full of food that can be part of

the solution. We’re checking on the schools and other distribution points, and will work to see this food distributed wisely. We are also sending containers with more food, water and supplies. 

The need for help will be ongoing for months and years to come.  Convoy of Hope has made a long term commitment to the country.

Our interns:

Our Convoy of Hope interns are scheduled to serve in Haiti this summer. As we plan the full Convoy of Hope response, I’ll be sure and let you know what our intern response will look like. 

What you can do:

Please consider a donation to Convoy of Hope . The people of this organization are wonderful stewards who see this not as a contribution to Convoy of Hope, but a contribution through Convoy of Hope. I can say with no reserve that the people here will work hard to see the money spent well.

Many have expressed interest in going. We’re waiting until we have a good idea of the security of the situation and the best strategy before we send teams, etc.

Please pray. I don’t think this is one of those events that we’ll easily forget. It’s too close to home. Let’s make sure we don’t forget it or the hurting people. Let’s pray for them.

As you read this, there are people crying out to God with voices that no one hears. I pray that He will make His presence known to them and show them life and truth and hope. I pray for those who today have held their dying children, wives or husbands. I pray for the survivors who will forever have memories of the death and decay they can see with their eyes right now as you read this. I pray that this country which knows violence and corruption will see peace and structure as this journey progresses. I pray for Christians who know truth, that they’ll be able to speak words of comfort in the midst of their grief. I pray for responding agencies that good stewardship of funds and resources will be the norm. I pray that evil intentions will cease and that help can get to those who need it most. I pray that people will find Jesus through this tragedy.

Thanks for caring for the people of Haiti.

I’ll note I got the photo from the flickr. Clicking on the photo will take you to the site.

The earliest known Hebrew writing deals with worship and helping the poor.

This year, I’m reading through the Bible chronologically. I’m almost finished with Job, one of the earliest known stories in the Scripture. Throughout the book, Job refers over and over and over again to the fact that he felt he was doing what God wanted Him to do, he was helping the poor, orphans, widows, etc.  He wondered why he was chosen to face such a difficult time.

That was the point, he was doing what God wanted him to do, and that’s why he  was chosen as one Satan wanted to tempt.  Job understood a big part of God’s heart.

Feeding the poor, helping the widows and orphans…all while worshipping God.

About 1 1/2 years ago, some ancient pottery shards were found near the Elah Valley in Israel. They’re the oldest known Hebrew texts and they date to the time of King David.  The largest shard was recently translated by an expert. Here’s the text, as quoted in this great story of the Jerusalem Post.

1 you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].

2 Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]

3 [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]

4 the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.

5 Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.

I don’t feel comfortable calling the above Scripture, but it’s a great reminder that helping others is one of the great ways to follow the plan God has for our lives. Worship often does equal helping those in the greatest need.  Now, the earliest known writings in a biblical language indicates this truth.

h/t Sojourners for making me aware of the inscription. 

PS: That’s an old Bible (Grandpa Ten Boom’s to be precise) not the ancient Hebrew manuscript. Just wanted you to know that…

Today is the National Day of Resolve Against Human Trafficking.  As I blogged earlier, this is also the Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Two former Convoy of Hope intern friends, Glori Ann and Krissi are working in various places around the world with those who’ve been affected by the tragedy. They inspire me…a bit of their stories:

Glori Ann loves kids and helping people. After earning her Master’s degree, she served in the summer and fall of 2008 in places like El Salvador, Moldova, Armenia and the Republic of Georgia. She’s heading to Southeast Asia to work alongside an organization that helps rescue women and their children from the sex industry. She’ll use skills in areas like play therapy to help these children heal and find hope.

She’s leaving comfort and what she knows, to head to a place of wonder and challenge.  She’s still raising funds to get there.

 Krissi is in California preparing to head to the other side of the world. She’ll work in a village with a tragically high rate of innocent children abused in ways that shock the conscience. She’ll help them and others who’ve been hurt.

She wrote a song about how those imprisoned by the tragedy can be free. Here’s Wings:

She hopes to head out in the next few months…after she gets her funds raised.

People like Glori Ann and Krissi are my heroes. Today, the Day of Resolve Against Human Trafficking, I wanted to let you know about them.

In Armenia just over a year ago, we worked with some wonderful people in the plateaus of the Caucasus Mountains. These Yezide Kurds are amongst the poorest people groups of the region. Those we met are hard working, wonderful people who earn very, very little money. We felt bad knowing they heat their homes and cook their food with bricks made of dried cow poop.  This photo shows a mound of hay which the animals can eat during the winter and mounds of cow poop to use in cooking/heating.

Their region provides very little wood for fires and they use the resources available to them.

A pastor with whom we worked said if he and the people of his church could help their neighbors utilize something besides the norm for their fuel it would make a huge difference.

Chad, one of Convoy of Hope’s former interns, is in Armenia right now. Among his various projects, he’s helping these Yezide Kurds use something much better than cow poop to use as fuel. Coffee.

Java Logs are bricks made of coffee ground.  They’re not a new thing, but they are in the plateaus of the Caucas Mountains. Chad’s using local resources, including coffee grounds from area hotels and restaurants to test java logs with these great people.

He’s still working on the best local resource for the wax that helps keep the java logs together, but from what I’ve heard from him, overall things are going well.  Pray for the right wax combination and source so the project can spread across the area…

I love innovation.

What are some innovative things you’ve seen to help people where you live or around the world?

I love being a part of the Convoy of Hope team. Today our social media guy loaded our first official YouTube video. It’s a thank you to anyone who’s prayed for, contributed to, volunteered with, or encouraged Convoy of Hope and what’s happening around the world.

Here’s the video:

More and more people are seeing the needs around the world and I love that many are responding through Convoy of Hope.  Hal and the rest of the leadership are wonderful people who are full of integrity. I love it here…

A few months ago, with our Convoy of Hope interns, I spent time in the home of a woman who sold her daughter to gypsies in order to pay for food for her younger children. The team and I were profoundly affected.

Human slavery.

Slumdog Millionaire helped bring the issue to the attention of millions of people.  The movie won the Oscar for Best Picture last year.  In the film, beautiful children were enslaved by evil men.  In portions of the movie, their enslavement meant they begged on the streets for money they couldn’t keep. At other times, it meant allowing others to gain pleasure at the expense of the innocent. 

Kids should be free and safe and nutured…they should fly kites and enjoy life. And of course, no adult should be subjected to slavery of any form.

But slavery exists today all over the world…sexual slavery, slave labor and more.  It exists in my country and on every continent.

Today, our President proclaimed January 2010 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Thank you Mr. President. Seriously. Great job on this proclamation.

I used to think that slavery and human trafficking were confined to the largest cities in lands far away. Unfortunately, it’s everywhere. A few months ago, I was in the midwest sharing about various things including human trafficking.  A woman spoke up about the trafficking she was beginning to witness in a town down the road from her…here in the United States. As she got to know the poverty stricken area better and better, she saw it more and more clearly.

I’m thankful for organizations like Project Rescue. Their Homes of Hope around the world provide a place of hope for women and their children who’ve been victims of sexual slavery.  They also have other places that reach out to those who’ve escaped slavery. 

I’m thankful for f.r.e.e. international where Michael and the gang are helping victims here in the USA. 

I’m thankful for Elizabeth.  Her compassionate heart, combined with various connections combined with a visit to Project Rescue as part of our Convoy of Hope Internship program.  She now helps with the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition. She’s passionate about the cause and has done a ton to raise awareness where she lives in Columbia, Mo.  I love that.

What a great awareness raising proclamation. May we realize a bit of what’s happening. May we do something about it!

My sister is doing something about it.  She wrote and produced a kid’s worship CD/DVD.  It’s called “One Life.”  The kids at her church, Hammond (IN) First Assembly sing with her.  What’s cool is that 25% of the proceeds will go to help Project Rescue.  She and these kids (and those who purchase the project) are a part of helping victims of human trafficking. I think that’s pretty cool.

May God help the victims of human trafficking and slavery tonight…

I came across this story today. Heartbreaking.  It’s about the people of Peru who raise alpacas high in the Andes Mountains. The weather is getting colder each winter and they’re having to make tough decisions about their animals, their farms and their families.

I’m skeptical about the reasons behind climate change (not sure man’s behind it) but I’m not skeptical that the climate does change and has for years. I also know it affects people.

People like those in these highlands are affected. The article refers to them as “people existing on the margins of survival”.

I was in the highlands a few years ago on a OneHope trip and met this little guy.  I won’t forget him.

I won’t forget his hands or his cheeks. We were about 10,000 feet elevation when I took this photo. His hands were very, very, very dry as were his cheeks. Everyone’s were.  It hurts them just like it would hurt us…affecting sleep, comfort level and more. More is at stake though as the elements take their tole on those exisiting on the margins of survival. A few miles from this photo we met people walking their alpacas.

The article linked above mentioned that people are now debating whether or not to use their meager resources to save their children or their animals! I cannot imagine.

I don’t know the solution.

“They should move!  Why would anyone live that high!!”  Except many generations have lived in the same area and it’s all they know…

“Why wouldn’t they save their kids…they’re humans!”  I AGREE…except they understand that with no animals there’s no food so there’s starvation for all.

What’s the solution? I don’t know. I like to use this site to raise awareness sometimes…and to help us remember to pray for those exisiting on the margins of survival. God is creative and He gives great ideas to those who listen. May these hurting people and those who influence them hear from Him.  May they find new life in Him!

Here’s a closer shot of his hands, with encouragement to pray for him and those affected, and with a challenge to be a part of the solution for those on the margins.