Please Take My Baby, Please Take My Baby!

Earlier in the day Jon Jones and I were talking about not seeing a visible presence of aid groups in Port au Prince, and I mention having seen these large water bladders with pure water for neighborhoods. Many of them from UNICEF. Later that day Jon and I decided to check out the neighborhood around the house Mission Discovery is renting for future teams.

Walking out the back yard of the house to the

street, Jon spotted one of those water stations that had just been installed and out of curiosity we walked to it to find a church worshiping in the lot beside it. This was Saturday, so seeing a church worshiping to

gether caught our

attention. The rest of our team found us along with Pastor Exante, who translated the churches story for us. They had lost their building and two members were killed in the earthquake when their homes fell. They had prayed that the "relief community" would come to their aid and UNICEF then delivered the water bladder. Today they were prayin

g for food, and so we delivered 150 pounds of rice and cooking oil to the group of 20

later in the day.

While we were with the church, listening to their stories, and praying a man to Jon to take his baby girl. I mean not "take" just for a minute, but permanently! She was a bright eyed baby. (Pictured with Jon) Jon said to the man, "I can't do that sir." With the baby in Jon's a

rms, the man ran away. Tony told a riveting story of a trip to Haiti over 30 years ago where a woman ran toward his small plane on a dirt strip shouting, "Please take my baby, mister please take my baby!" The fear of many parents in Haiti is that their children will die in their care from malnutrition. I'm sure for this man it was that thinking that led him to this place.

A lady from the church knew the man and the baby and we were able to get the child back to the arms care. I prayed that the little girl would never know that her father deposited her in the arms of a stranger, and run.

I was chatting with Tim Pagnett, a writer for Time Magazine as were were departing Haiti last week. We were talking about the 10 Baptist "missionaries" jailed there in Port au Prince. He said a fellow writer had posted an article about the group titled, "Compassion Done Poorly." Those are three striking words. I don't doubt that the leadership of those 10 individuals had good intentions, but did it badly and resembled traffickers vs a well organized effor

t to meet real and felt needs.

How do we help a man who can't afford his baby girl? How do we make a real impact in Haiti? How do you help a baby who's been abandoned by her father? How does the church in the U.S. and abroad effectively make a difference. Here is something the media is not printing: The church in Haiti is well organized. Their communication networks are crossing denominational lines to meet needs. Haitian churches are raising money inside Haiti among members to help families in needs. Haitian churches are gathering daily under trees, tarps, tents and walking the streets in large groups singing songs of praise to God. Haitian churches are organizing medical outreaches.

If you as an idividual go out to almost any major aid group website you'll find it very difficult for you to find a personal way for you to get involved in Haiti-except by you donating.

I'm offering this question. What is God doing in Haiti and how can you join Him?

A man named Dean on Twitter sent a message to the Mission Discovery Twitter site. "Just what we need, a group of tourist eating food that could go to children." His point received, Haiti does not need a tourist now, but real workers who bring food, hope and caring to a nation 1.5 hours from the shores of the U.S.

Really the man with the baby girl asked a hard question, "Will you take my burden?' There are ways for us to respond, to take burdens. I'm happy to day that Mission Discovery's, HOLD the Children Haiti has been responding responsibly in Haiti for 10 years. That's not long, but in our 10 years there we have been able to make sure that 350 children receiving an education and a hot meal each day. HOLD the Children's orphanage is now receiving children who lost all family members in the earthquake in a way that agrees with Haitian law. So you won't see me on CNN from behind bars.

I hope to stand under a tent at the departure lounge of Port au Prince Airport some day, look at you and say, "Compassion Done Well, " then shake your hand and say, "When will you return?"