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This post is a plea. Maybe by now you’re sick of hearing coverage about Haiti. Maybe you’re tired of seeing all of the Facebook statuses, tweets, CNN headlines, commercials asking you to text to donate $10 to the Red Cross. But the truth is, this is still a major problem. The earthquake in Haiti was only the beginning of the problems.

The people that survived the quake are now facing starvation because there is no food. Gas prices are now around $14/gallon. Think about that for a minute…the people in Haiti survive on less than $2 per day and now gas prices are $14/gallon.

In addition, people are hurt and there are not enough doctors or medical supplies to meet these needs. This is a serious serious issue.

My friend Ryan Akers has close connections with Mountain Faith Mission in Haiti. Both him and his father have been over to the country and interacted, worshiped, and fellowshipped with the people. These same people, including children at an orphanage, are now facing possible death if they do not get the supplies they need.

Here’s what Ryan wrote recently on his blog: http://run4haiti.wordpress.com/

This past week has been a big distraction for me, simply because I work with a mission that’s involved in Haiti. I can only imagine, and definitely pray for those, who are living in the midst of this nightmare.

I am truly heart-broken. My mind stays so distracted by Haiti that I feel useless in other areas. Presently, there’s about 4-5 Americans with MFM who are emailing and strategizing the best way to be very effective on the central plateau. The earthquake has happened, damaged buildings horribly, and killed numerous people. That seems bad enough, but now, as the email from yesterday proclaimed, the food supplies are being slowly shut up. There is simply not enough coming in, and what is, seems to be staying in Port-au-Prince.

That’s simply put. Here’s my way of telling you what I’m trying to say. If you are a Christian, and you have not given to this effort, then you need to. I don’t care if it’s thru MFM or some other organization, but you should be giving. It’s Biblical to give. It’s Christ-like to give.

We’re assessing how the best way to go about getting things to the people is. Honestly, there’s no simple way to do it. Roads are blocked. Air is blocked. Ports are shut down. We’re working hard to contact, make connections, and trying to get stuff down to our people. Some thoughts are to fly in to an airport in the north if at all possible. Other thoughts are to find somewhere above the compound on the mountain to have a brave soul land a plane with supplies. Other thoughts are to mobilize a truck to head to the Dominican to buy food. In truth, all of these are super difficult. Fuel is scarce. Food is scarce.

Please donate. And please pray. Pray for open doors.

Here’s what is happening. People are dying. People are dying from injuries. People are dying from hunger. People are dying from basic things that you can easily access as you read this. Think this is a guilt trip? Maybe it is. But the point is…you should be involved. I don’t care if you mail a check, donate on PayPal, or work with a local group to organize a fundraiser to give. Just do something. Move, work. In the name of Christ, look at the faces of the children in our mission. Do it for them. Feed them. Be moved by these scenes. Don’t be disconnected. Team with MFM and let’s further the kingdom.

Please do what you can to help the Mountain Faith Mission of Haiti or some other organization in Haiti. These men and women and children need your help. Even just $5 can go a long way. Put yourself in their scenario. Imagine you were not hurt by the earthquake but everything you had was destroyed. While things might initially seem okay, imagine if you had no food and there was no promise of food on its way. Now add to that injuries, disease, the death of loved ones, etc and that’s a fraction of what the people in Haiti are dealing with.

If you can give anything at all, here is the website for  Mountain Faith Mission: http://www.mountainfaithmission.com/

Ryan has set the site up to accept PayPal donations. You can also send a check. PayPal has verified the site as a non-profit organization so your donation is secure. Simply click on the “Donate” tab on the web site.

Please help!

With the devastating earthquake that took place yesterday in Haiti, something desperately needs to be done. For those of us who can’t go, we can give and we can pray.

USAToday.com has a site you can visit that lists the different organizations that are collecting money for relief efforts. This money goes toward food, water, shelter, temporary housing, medicine, etc. You can visit that site by clicking here.

Do something about this problem. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the least developed countries in the world. Even at their best, they have nothing compared to those of us in the United States. Now they’re really facing disaster. If you can give a gift of $5, $10, $15 or more, please do. And no matter what, please pray for this issue.

As my friend Ryan Akers mentioned earlier today, it’s really sad that it takes something this catastrophic to get people to take action, but maybe this will cause people to take action.

If you’re looking to pray specifically, pray for the Mountain Faith Mission and orphanage. Since communication lines have been shut down, there has been no word from them since the earthquake.

One year ago I came across an organization that is doing great things around the world. Mocha Club exists to fund relief and development projects in Africa. They work in five main project areas: Clean Water, Education, Child Mothers + Women At Risk, Orphan Care + Vulnerable Children, and HIV/AIDS + Healthcare.

As great as Mocha Club is, it’s very simple to get involved. All it takes is $7 a month (aka the price of 2 mochas, thus the name).

The team I’m on (Katie Peterson, Hannah Postlewaite, Allen Pointer, Aaron Abbott, Jessica Klug, David Gibson, and Jessica Folsom) have taken part in this for a year now and have been supporting the building of wells in Sudan to provide clean drinking water to the people. This water is saving their lives. Again, it’s only taken each of us $7 a month. The mone withdrawn monthly from my bank account, and honestly, I can say I’ve never missed it.

This is a call for more people to get involved and join our team. By following the link below or clicking on the banner at the top of this page, you can take part in saving lives in Africa for simply $7  a month–a very small sacrifice.

When you sign up, you’ll also receive a free Mocha Club t-shirt.

If you’re interested in signing up or learning more, click on the following link and help change lives in Africa:

CLICK HERE to join Mocha Club and begin saving lives in Africa

For the next few days, I have the opportunity and privilege to be part of something that is literally not of this world. The band I play in (I guess we’re a band), Surprised By Joy, gets to lead worship for E-TEAM. If you’re not familiar with E-TEAM, here’s a description from FWBGO.com:

E-TEAM is a life-changing, short-term summer missions experience for students who have just completed grades 10, 11, or 12. The program provides a week of intensive training and two weeks of hands-on cross-cultural experience where students learn from and serve with Free Will Baptist missionaries. The experience wraps up with a time of debriefing and closing ceremonies.

Groups consist of seven to nine students led by an adult couple. Destinations have included Japan, France, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Chicago, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, Panama, Brazil, and Cuba.

We were blessed with the opportunity to help lead worship last year and were humbled and honored when we were asked again this year. 

When I said it is not of this world, I meant it. These are high school students who have paid or raised thousands of dollars to come and go through training so they can serve others in the name of Christ. Their trip is no vacation. They are paying to be servants.

It is simply amazing to worship with these teenagers. They have no reservations, no egos, and have given up so much to be there. 

We’ve jokingly said that our only complaint (tongue in cheek) is that sometimes they sing so loud we can’t hear our own instruments. I’ll definitely take that any day!

If you think of it, pray for these incredible teens and their devoted leaders. They are about to embark on an incredible journey that will make a difference across the globe.