Four years ago, I went to Tegucigalpa, Honduras on my first (and so far only) missions trip. Our team went to put on a day camp for kids at eight locations over five days. Most of these were Compassion partner churches.
A few months before I left, I’d started sponsoring a young boy named Jocsan (pronounced “Hock-san”). He was six, going on seven, at the time.
During that trip I got to meet him.
One month following the 7.1 earthquake that struck Haiti, an all-star cast of musicians is gathering for Help Haiti Live, a two-city ticketed concert event taking place on February 27th, 2010 to benefit Compassion International ’s Haiti disaster relief fund. The concerts are sponsored by Gaylord Entertainment Company, They will be ticketed and also streamed live at HelpHaitiLive.com.
With extraordinary need still existing in the devastated country, Alison Krauss & Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas), Amy Grant, Big Kenny, Mat Kearney, Jars of Clay, Rebecca St. James, NEEDTOBREATHE, Brandon Heath, and a to-be-announced special headliner will participate in two concert events, live from Los Angeles at the historic Wiltern Theater and at Nashville’s famed and Gaylord-owned Ryman Auditorium. Produced to inspire live concert and on-line audiences to financially support the relief work of Compassion International in Haiti, all talent and production fees have been donated, along with streaming services (Livestream.com), allowing proceeds to go toward Compassion’s disaster relief fund.
“This cause has been something our employees have taken very close to heart in recent weeks, and they’re thrilled for Gaylord to be involved in such an inspiring event. We’re also proud to support the generous efforts of all the artists who are donating their time and talent to make this concert a success,” said Colin Reed, Chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment Company.
Tickets for each event will range in price from $25-75 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations beginning Monday, February 15th, as well as through The Ryman box office: 800-745-3000 or ryman.com, and through Live Nation for The Wiltern at http://www.livenation.com/venue/the-wiltern-tickets
Nashville/Ryman Auditorium, 7:30pm cst:
Hosted by Big Kenny. Performances by Alison Krauss & Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas), Jars of Clay, Mat Kearney, Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz, Brandon Heath.
Los Angeles/Wiltern Theater, 7:30pm pst:
Message from pastor Francis Chan. Performances by Special Guest headliner, Amy Grant, Leann Rimes, Rebecca St. James, NEEDTOBREATHE
All money raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to re-equip Compassion’s local support structure and to provide for the immediate needs of Compassion-assisted children and families. Compassion has been meeting the physical and spiritual needs of Haitians for more than forty years and will continue to serve them in this time of extreme need. Already Compassion International has supplied more than 15,000 families with clean water, food, blankets, temporary shelter, medical supplies and counseling. Donations will lay bricks, feed, educate, clothe, heal and rebuild Haiti for many months to come in Jesus’ name.
An Important update from Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International:
Relief and recovery efforts are underway in Haiti, and long after many organizations are gone, Compassion will remain, as Wess said. Compassion has been serving the people of Haiti since 1968 and 65,000 children are being sponsored in 230 church projects, where they get opportunities for learning, regular health checkups, dental care, and take advantage of a host of other programs based on the needs of their communities. Most importantly, every child gets the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, to grow in faith as they are mentored by volunteers from their own communities and gain the skills they need to bring an eternal solution to poverty. Please give to help with Compassion’s recovery efforts in Haiti.
To gain some additional perspective on this tragedy, please watch the CBC’s interview with Barry Slauenwhite, President of Compassion Canada, who was caught in Tuesday’s earthquake.
HT: Compassion Blog
Update: A video from CNN – “The earth actually split:”
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.4454392&w=425&h=350&fv=]
more about “CNN“, posted with vodpod
Also, my co-worker offers some thoughts on the Compassion Advocates blog.
The few things we can confirm – yes the four story Caribbean Market building is completely demolished. Yes it was open. Yes the National Palace collapsed. Yes Gov’t buildings nearby the Palace collapsed. Yes St Josephs Boys home is completely collapsed. Yes countless countless – countless other houses, churches, hospitals, schools, and businesses have collapsed. There are buildings that suffered almost no damage. Right next door will be a pile of rubble.
Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people.
I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them. For us.
A pastors’ tour from Compassion Canada arrived in the country about an hour before the earthquake hit.
I was supposed to be on that trip.
Not sure how to feel about that right now.
Compassion and other organizations are already assessing the damage and taking part in relief and recovery efforts. Please give to help with these efforts.
But just as importantly, please pray for the people of Haiti. I can only echo Troy and Tara’s comments, which I’ve reprinted here:
The horror has only just begun and I beg you to get on your knees – I truly mean ON YOUR KNEES and pray for the people of this country. The news might forget in a few days – but people will still be trapped alive and suffering. Pray. Pray. Pray. After that – PLEASE PRAY.
Update:
Only $4830 to go!
Please donate and help give 2000 street kids a Christmas they’ll never forget!
If you haven’t been following the latest Compassion Bloggers tour, you really should. Molly Piper, Heather Whitaker and Kelly Stamps are sharing their first-hand experiences visiting with Compassion-assisted families and it’s alternately heartbreaking and awe-inspiring.
Molly shares the story of Maricella:
Maricella. Mother of Blanca (picture #1). This is her in her home. She welcomed us there, even though she was nervous. Jesus came and met us there, though. She told us of her history of gang membership and the tattoo on her forehead because of it. And she now can’t find work because she won’t be trusted. Even though in Christ, she is a new creation…. My heart broke for her.
My first day of interacting with people on the receiving end of Compassion has been nothing short of amazing—their stories, their homes, their openness to our presence, their excitement for Compassion and the effects it’s had on their families. My heart is somehow broken and full at the same time. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Continue Reading…
On Monday night, Russell Moore posted the following on Twitter:
It’s a provocative challenge, isn’t it? 147 million children without a mom and dad.
I think about my two year old girl sleeping in the other room, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like for her to not have her parents, and it breaks my heart to even try.
Something Emily and I decided to do a few years ago was adopt; after we saw how the foster system affected our extended family, we knew it was something we wanted to do. And after we became Christians, that desire as we read and began to understand passages like James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” For us, it was really encouraging to see throughout Scripture how God shows how much He cares for those who desperately need it. And so we want to do the same.
Now, here’s what I’m not doing: I’m not pointing my finger at anyone and saying “You’re not doing enough!”
I’m also not saying that everyone who is a Christian should adopt. But, maybe some of us should.
Maybe we need to open our homes to children living in the foster system and be a family—even for a few weeks—to a boy or girl who needs one.
Maybe we need to sponsor a child with Compassion, and provide an opportunity to have his or her life transformed by the gospel, as the church proclaims it in word and deed.
Maybe we need to volunteer with an after-school program in our community and be a positive voice in a child’s life.
There are so many things we can do. And there are a lot of who are doing these things, to the glory of God. In an act of obedience, an act of worship, they’re reaching out to care for those who are in need. Regardless of our feelings on social justice, it is a fruit of the gospel. It is a part of living out our faith. A part we’d all be wise not to ignore.
“[B]e doers of the word, and not hearers only,” James tells us.
How will we respond today?
For those who may not know, I sponsor two children through and work for Compassion International. Compassion connects you and your church to the church in the developing world to bring the eternal solution to poverty to children, families and communities: The gospel of Jesus Christ.
And I am exceedingly pleased to announce the launch of The Difference is Jesus.com.
There are many organizations that do a wonderful job serving as Christ’s hands and feet around the world, doing what they can to make a difference in the lives of children. Education, water projects, mosquito nets, AIDS intervention, food… I praise God for all the organizations that are caring for the poor. And as a sponsor with Compassion, I know that these initiatives are incredibly valuable (because we do them, too).
But our passion goes beyond these.
As important as these things are, I don’t sponsor with Compassion because I’m passionate about water. I don’t work there because I’m passionate about food distribution.
I’m passionate about the gospel.
And that’s what Compassion is passionate about, too.
Children and parents hear the gospel from volunteers from their own communities—their own neighbors. The gospel is proclaimed in word, and it is lived out in deed, as the church ministers to its community. Thousands of children who are served by the Compassion’s church partners find hope for a better future every day. One with opportunities instead of despair. And every year, thousands of children find hope in the salvation offered only in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Because the reality is that poverty won’t end because of education or food distribution. It takes more than any human effort can to forever end poverty.
Jesus is the one who will bring an end to poverty.
We created The Difference is Jesus.com because we want you to know about our passion—and, honestly, it’s one I hope you share.
Wess Stafford is the president of Compassion International. For those who don’t know, Compassion works through the local church in developing countries to share the gospel while providing for the needs of children living in poverty. It’s also an organization I’m privileged to work for (out of the Canadian office). For literally the entire time I’ve been at Compassion, I’ve always heard people tell me how much I need to hear Wess speak, and how I really need to read his book. So for me, it was very interesting to see Wess speak at Willow Creek during his session, Leveraging Your Past.
In this session, Wess addressed the question of how do we leverage the pain and hurt in our lives for the ministry?
If anyone’s not heard his story before, it’s heartbreaking. The son of missionaries serving in Africa, Stafford, along with the children of several other missionaries serving on the continent, suffered horrific physical, mental, and spiritual abuse. As he put it, “We were little sinners in the hands of an angry god.” Continue Reading…
Last October, I had the privilege of travelling to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to meet AJ Thomas, the pastor of Deep Water Church. AJ is a really great guy who loves Jesus and his city, and I was excited to share his church’s story with Compassion’s sponsors in the January issue of Compassion Today. Today, I also get to share it with you. I hope you are blessed as you read it.
This was not the greeting I expected when I first met AJ Thomas, the 30-year-old pastor of Deep Water Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As we drive from neighbouring Dartmouth toward downtown Halifax, where Deep Water meets every Sunday morning, he paints a picture of the city he finds himself in. Continue Reading…
