What happens in a nation when eighty five percent of the people practice voodoo for their religion, where greed has imploded hardship and heartache for years, where the earth shook and left people helplessly wandering like lost sheep with nowhere to go and little hope in sight? We must be careful of our judgment and advice of what is right and good for the people and the place at this point in time. The questions that stir in our minds may never be answered until we meet our Master.Yet, we must not be guilty of turning away from people in need, of turning our heads and leaving it up to someone else to get their hands dirty, of burying our talent from God, of being apathetic even though we are in prayer. The people of Haiti are God’s children too. It is pleasing to our Father when we lend a helping hand and share what He has blessed us with so abundantly. I pray this story stirs your heart and helps you see how we can come together as community of believers and ‘be ye doers of the Word’!
Whatever we can do to help will give us peace and those pitiful people promise. But what if we join together in our efforts and actually witness what God can do when we take leaps of faith. Have you ever heard of Global Medical Outreach? I had, but didn’t really understand the efforts and effects of this dynamic Christian ministry. Dr. Watts at Clinton Medical Clinic and Dr. Dunning at the Clinton P.H. Church coordinate mission trips to help God’s children in lands where ‘ living with little’ is the way of life. After the earthquake in Haiti, wheels started spinning and a medical mission trip was in the works. Many miracles have already happened and the trip is three weeks away. Many people have joined the team effort to make this life-saving trip happen. The space isn’t sufficient to tell the stories of sacrifice, devotion, and determination of the people involved. Such selfless acts of love and leadership from so many people merit Nobel Prizes of honor. Dr. Watts’ prefers calling people who team up to help ME’s, medical evangelists! How amazing that our community is sending a team of eighteen medical missionaries who will personify the Good Samaritan spirit to this crippled country without a Christian foundation. They donate their time and talents as courageous followers of Christ who give all the glory to our loving Father. A doctor from Dunn, who has served the Lord and brought medical relief to thousands in disasters such as this, shared the special label he feels is most fitting for those who take the risk and reach out to a hurting world…SE’s, servant evangelists. I was reminded of words from the book of Matthew. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We are told to tend to the needs of others as if we are doing it for Christ. “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” We are reminded to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves in the second chapter of Philemon.
While our hearts and prayers will be with our ambassadors of Christ in Haiti, what can we do here to help? Our first and greatest gift is prayer. Prayer for our team … for safety in and out of Haiti, for good conditions in the compound and church where they will perform medical procedures and minister to the sick and wounded, for the protection God will provide, for food and filtered water to keep them nourished, for guidance as they operate, medicate, educate and console, for angels to surround them with protection from the enemy and blessings from the Lord, for this Global Medical Outreach Mission Trip to help Haitians and to glorify God. If you feel led to help, there are many opportunities open.
Others avenues of helping make the Global Medical Outreach include: attending the fireman’s sing this Saturday night at Clinton Family Worship Center. Several members of the team and support team will be there to take donations and sell tickets to a special fund raising to purchase medical supplies. This event will be a glorious gospel sing and delicious steak dinner at the Sampson County Agri Exposition Center in Clinton, Clinton Pentecostal Holiness Church
The church will hold a program entitled Heaven’s Gates/Hell’s Flames on Sunday, Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m. at on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 8-9 at 7 p.m. Free admission. The church will also hold a steak dinner fundraising for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti on Feb. 19, 6 p.m. There is a cost Several groups will perform. FMI, call 592-3624.
on Feb.19 at 6 p.m. The sing will feature The View Masters, The Marksmen, The Dixie Travelers, and more. All proceeds going to the Community Medical Missions Project for Haiti Disaster Relief. Leslie Hobbs has graciously donated warehouse space for people to drop off items that will be taken to Haiti. You may collect items in your church, at work, at school, or community centers and transport them to Hobbs Warehouse, located off 701 near Roses. Volunteers will be working at the warehouse this Saturday and next Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and on both Sundays from 2 until 4 p.m. Please bring donations you believe can be helpful such as shoes, clothing fit for the hot climate of Haiti, and other appropriate items. We look forward to seeing you at this drop off site with a smile and sacks filled with blessings for the desperate people.
Since the first e-mail sharing news of this mission trip popped up on my computer screen, I felt such a desire to go, to hear the words, ‘head ‘em up and move ‘em out’, I remember from a favorite childhood western. For two weeks I have fasted and prayed, sought advice from faith filled friends, made preparations, and waited for God to give me the green light. I was stuck on caution for days, for nights, for a long, grueling time on my knees. People prayed and offered their take on heading to Haiti, but the decision rested on my shoulders. My heart ached to go, but confusion clouded the peace I knew must come before I could give a definite ‘yes’! The harder I prayed, the more the enemy toyed with my mind. I headed to the Wellness Center to work out and wonder what I was supposed to do. Amidst the solitude and sweat, the sweet spirit of the Lord spoke softly to my heart. Donna Reedy’s face became clear as a bell in my mind. The chain of events that followed was the work of the Lord. Donna, being a nurse, will be valuable to this medical team. She will go; I will stay home. We were thrilled as we talked and prayed together, watched donations come pouring in to help pay her way, and witnessed miracles happen before our eyes even before the trip begins. I am committed to being a CE, community evangelist, who will give my best in helping here to get our people and goods there. And the greatest blessing of all is the peace I have in my heart. There is always peace when what we do is of God, from God, for God. When God says, ‘wait’ we should obey. There will be other opportunities for us to be MEs and SEs in foreign countries. But for those who feel led to stay home, there’s plenty of people in need right under our noses; we should never stop being Good Samaritans right here at home. Won’t you join me and become a CE, community evangelist? Pray about what God would have you do. Share your time, talents, and some of your old treasures that will bring help and hope to Haiti. Amen.
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