Help the Mountain Faith Mission of Haiti

Author: DavidJones  //  Category: Ethics, Food, Missions, Serving

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!

Run 4 Haiti

Author: DavidJones  //  Category: Ethics, Serving, Social Injustice

One of my good friends, Ryan Akers (FWBBC and Truth & Peace Alumni), went on a trip to Haiti some time back and was very moved and heartbroken by what he saw. Because of this, he decided to take action. As an avid runner, Ryan created his own group called “Run 4 Haiti” in attempts to raise money. Here is an excerpt from Ryan, from the Mountain Faith Mission web site:

 

I love running. It’s been a passion of mine for a few years now. I’m quite the running geek, too, as I enjoy reading magazines and books about the sport. As I’ve read, I’ve seen numerous stories of people who have raised money for some charitable cause. Thus, we find Run 4 Haiti.

Presently, I am training for the 2009 Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee. On April 25, 2009, I’ll toe the line with some 30,000 people to participate in the race. On that day, my goal is to have support flowing in from all over the nation for Mountain Faith Mission of Haiti. So here’s the deal…

I am asking for any individuals, churches, youth groups…anyone who wants to get involved to join the team by supporting Run 4 Haiti. Every single penny that is donated goes straight to Mountain Faith Mission. This money will help improve the lives of thousands of people on the central plateau of Haiti. My goal is to get donations of $1 a mile for a total of $26. In a country where we have so much, this donation would nearly be a month’s wage for many in Haiti.

I know many people will look at this and say, “Oh, that’s nice, but I’m too strapped for money right now.” Or maybe, “That’s cool…but I tithe…so I’m taken care of.”

I’m asking you to think a little deeper about this issue. Yes, the economy is bad right. Yes, money is tight. But even in these times, do our economic hardships even compare with the people in Haiti? Not a chance. 

Our economic problems revolve around cutting back in Christmas gifts and eating out. It may even involve losing a job. However, their economic problems revolve around survival–getting enough food to eat, getting medical help, etc.

To everyone who reads this, I encourage you to take some action, especially this holiday season. Maybe you’ll choose to support Haiti through Ryan. Maybe you’ll choose to get involved with Mocha Club, something I’ve been privileged to get involved with. Maybe you’ll choose to be a part of Malaria No More, which I wrote about in a previous post. Maybe it’s donating to Toys for Tots.

More than anything, help someone who is less fortunate. That $7/month or one time gift of $26 really isn’t going to hurt you that much.

Show the love of Christ. Give!

For more information, check out these sites:

Mountain Faith Mission- Run 4 Haiti 

Run 4 Haiti Blog

Mocha Club

Malaria No More