Whats127

A Cord of Three for Haiti

A strategy has been compiled to coordinate the response of churches to the crisis in Haiti that will bring focus to what needs to be accomplished for the church and the orphan at the same time. The Haiti Orphan Relief Team is a multi-disciplined team that will begin to map out churches in Haiti that have the heart to rescue and care for orphans, and will include some members of our staff. We are all aware of the setting they will be going into and the need to have a prayer team backing them up every step of the way.

The decentralized World Orphans model does not afford the staff with the luxury of being in close proximity to one another, we can't all gather together in one place at one time. Yet, being spread across the country does afford us the luxury of being in several time zones, having influence in multiple regions and churches. We need to begin today to use the disbursement of our staff to the advantage it affords us, in corporate prayer, as preparations are being finalized and while the team is on the ground.

I do not mean to imply that you are not praying for the crisis in Haiti, I am saying that we need to ramp it up. I'm not saying that the needs of the team are over and above the needs of those already on the ground and in the midst of the suffering chaos, the need is different but the same in importance. I'm not saying this is more important than the upcoming teams going to Nicaragua and South Africa, the difference is that the HORT Team will not have the focus of a sending church to form the chorus of prayer that will be needed like the other trips will have. Our ministry, You and I will be the sending body that needs to be standing in the gap for those going and their families. You and I need to include this strategy in every aspect of our daily conversations with God. It needs to be on the minds in in the prayers of everyone you and I  have contact with.

The situation they are going into is tough. Yet, the bible reminds us about the need for a team. "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV) We need to build a strong team. Building off the theme of three, the Lord, the Team, and you and I, this team can stand tougher than the circumstances they will face.

Taking the theme  of three further, I am asking each of you to join me in adding an additional layer of prayer to what has already been discussed above. I am asking you to pray at :03 past the hour every waking hour during your day for this strategy and the team. You may need to set your watch, your phone or a clock as a reminder, but take a moment at :03 past the hour to pray. Praise the Lord for what He is doing, lift up the team at that moment, and pray for the rest of our ministry. Encourage others in your life to do the same.

This is not meant to be a ritual, but a reminder that "in all these things we are all more than conquerors [only] through Him who loved us."

If you want your church to get involved in caring for the hundreds of thousands of new orphans in Haiti go to the Haiti Orphan Relief Team page.

You can keep up to date with the teams progress by following them on Face Book and invite your friends to join the fan page as well.

The numbers from Haiti can be staggering

Some of the numbers of orphans in Haiti are beginning to be reported in articles like this one from the AP,
"Haiti's children on their own on shattered streets". This article estimates there are now 1 million orphans in Haiti; children that have either lost one or both of their parents.

I'm not going to get into the debate concerning single or double orphans. I think it is fair to say that the orphan population will have at least doubled, if not tripled since the quake.

The AP article points out how the response is falling short when it comes to the needs of children. UNICEF, the Red Cross and Save the Children are all doing the best they can under the circumstances. Save the Children has set up 13 "Child Spaces" zones in the settlements. These zones are not meant to provide the care needed by 600,000 new orphans. The Red Cross has begun to search for parents and next of kin for children, and the effort will go on for months if not years. The task is bigger than relief agencies alone can provide. A larger network is needed.

Using the numbers available from one of the networks, the Florida SBC, the estimate of the number of Protestant churches in Haiti could be extrapolated to be 1600. Is this network big enough to care for 600,000 new orphans? The answer is: with a strategy, Yes.

If each church cared for 20 to 40 children in family style homes on church property they could care for 32,000 to 64,000 children. Which leaves 536,000 children to care for.

So some of the 'experts' will use this staggering number as justification to set up large institutional orphanages. The rationale being that the warehouses are better than the streets. But there is a better strategy, the Continuum of Care. Residential care is one point on the continuum, but another point is community based foster care.

Churches will be able to facilitate and support the care of hundreds of children in foster homes in the surrounding community. If only the 1600 evangelical churches are involved, it would mean that each church would only need to facilitate the care to 335 children their surrounding community through foster and kinship based care.

Another sad fact is that the earth quake that produces orphans also produces widows. The widows are also in need of support and resources. Eighty-four (84) widows in a community surrounding a church could care for 335 children, with a ratio of 1 care-giver to 4 children.

So the numbers may be staggering, but this shows that a church based network response is feasible. Yes, many other factors come into play. Will the number of orphans needing care be 600,000? Probably not, it could more, it could be less. Will all 1600 churches get involved? Probably not, but other faith based organizations will most likely also respond. A big factor that I have not covered yet is that the scripture is clear that it is totally possible since it's what the Father wants, Eph. 3:10, James 1:27.  That trumps all the other strategies of the world.

Churches wanting to get involved in a strategy to partner with Haitian churches can contact World Orphans by emailing me, or info.worldorphans.org, or calling 720-386-4881. World Orphans is working with several network partners and agencies to formulate a strategy to tackle this issue. Contact us now to get on the distribution list for the strategy when it is completed. Churches that begin to participate now by giving to World Orphans Haiti Response Fund on our giving page will be the first to be partnered with churches, and the first to go on trips when the time is right.

Word on Jodi's friends in Haiti

Yesterday I wondered what the story of Jodi's friends would be like. She posted a news cast report on her friends that arrived in Haiti.

"got to work immediately . . . doing triage work, and have already delivered several babies."

God's goodness amongst the chaos of the world.

Jodi, thanks for sharing the update.

Words From Haiti.

'Disaster and chaos' in Haiti after major earthquake 1/12/2010

These are the words taken from an Associated Press headline after the earthquake struck Haiti. The article went on to quote people that were on the ground and their descriptions of the events there. Unless you have been away from the media over the past few days you have seen your share of the words in headlines, and are probably close to being overwhelmed by the news. Words like disaster and chaos are catchy, I’ve even used them here. Words like providence or provision don’t seem to go with disaster and chaos. Yet, they can be found in Haiti.

If there is one thing that I am learning in my new role at World Orphans, it is that there are no coincidences in God’s plan. In his blog, Paul Myhill gives an account of a group arriving in Haiti just moments before the earthquake with supplies and provisions to help a church-base home for orphans there. I’m limited to the information that Paul has given us, and I doubt that this story will ever end up in an article by the Associated Press. But I think it is a great example of God’s providence. A group of people made plans to go and help, well in advance of the earthquake. They gathered provisions and went. Then in God’s timing, they were on the ground just as this event was unfolding. That is more than just a matter of timing.

Still, some will say this is just a coincidence.  I am convinced it is more than that, it is the providence of God at work in the midst of what the world calls chaos. From this tidbit of a bigger story we can see how the church really is the best instrument for long term response and change. This church-based home is not a current World Orphans partner but it is at the center of this story. The help this group will be able to give the people of Haiti is in part possible because the church is there, and the church is responding to the community by caring for orphaned and abandoned children.

In the coming days I hope we get to hear more about the story of Jodi’s friends and the response they were able to help the church make in Haiti. I’m sure the story will be ripe with words that describe God’s grace and mercy, His providence and provision more than disaster and chaos.

Would you like to help the children of Haiti, by helping the churches that are already there to rescue them? You can contribute to the World Orphans relief efforts online at our giving page. Simply make a”miscellaneous” gift and type “Haiti” in the memo box. Or you can send a check to:
    World Orphans
    P.O. Box 1840
    Castle Rock, CO 80104

Thank you in advance for being part of what God is doing through the church and for the orphan.

Keith