On January 31, ten missionaries from Central Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho and the Baptist Church in East Side in Twin Falls, Idaho, were arrested in the Haitian-Dominican Republic in order to try to remove 33 Haitian children from the country. Both churches are members of the Southern Baptist Convention, which implements aid programs throughout the world and is America’s largest Protestant denomination.
A missionary spokeswoman said they "are just trying to do the right thing."
Some say that their actions can be understood in the light of the tragic situation in Haiti. Even before the earthquake, about 15 percent of children were orated or abandoned, many of them lived in institutions or on the streets. It was a country whose poverty shocked most Americans. The earthquake, which some people call the most cataclysmic event in generations, has further worsened the situation. More Haitians than ever live in misery and more children than ever, orphaned or homeless. It is hard to imagine how a child can grow up in more gloomy circumstances, with a darker future.
Reasonable tact and sensitivity to racial, linguistic, religious and cultural distinction between foreign missionaries and Haitians is required. Idaho missionaries failed.
Unfortunately, this incident sheds a cloud on other Christian missionaries in Haiti. There are many Christian groups with long work records along with the Haitian people. Let's take a quick look at five of them.
Haitian Christian outreach
Haitian Christian Outreach (HCO) from Mahomet, Illinois, has raised the spiritual life of Haitians since 1989. His first and foremost task was to create a number of churches of Immanuel. But he also gives priority to health care, creating medical clinics that wave the country to provide free medical and dental care to Haitians who cannot afford to see a doctor or a dentist. It also has inpatient medical and dental clinics.
The HCO Children's Ministry with Haitian Christians is spreading the gospel. HCO employees work with Emanuel’s Christian school to provide quality K-9 education, biblical training and physical nutrition. The Haitian Christian Advocacy Charitable Foundation provides nutrition, education, uniforms, and medical care to more than 1,200 students in three schools.
The HCO is at the forefront of helping the Haitian people recover from the January 12th mammoth earthquake. He responded to the fear that people slept inside buildings - due to the ongoing aftershocks - by providing awnings, tents, and mosquito nets to make sleep more pleasant.
He provided food to more than 500 families, distributed drinking water and brought in sea containers and pre-packaged meals.
Northwest Christian Mission Haiti
Haiti’s Northwest Christian Mission (NWHCM) from Versailles, Kentucky, has served the Haitian people for 30 years. He focuses his efforts on northwest Haiti, where poverty is at its worst in a poor country. The record of the NWHCM service for Northwest Haitians is long. He worked with the indigenous Haitian Christian churches to raise people from spiritual, physical and social poverty.
The NWHCM helps thousands of people “regardless of age, gender, religion” through various programs: elementary schools, food projects, orphanages, medical clinics, church planting, Bible college, and agricultural development. It is the largest employer in northwestern Haiti and among the largest ministries in the country.
In the first days after the earthquake, she provided medical assistance to the rovitsa. Since then, he began working with the government of St. Louis du Nord to provide nutrition, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and orthopedic surgery, including manual surgery for many in need.
Haitian Christian Mission
The Haitian Christian Mission (HCM) from Indianapolis, Indiana, has been working in Haiti for 34 years. He exists "for the salvation of souls for the kingdom of Christ." His educational, medical and nutritional centers promote their mission and give children a future.
HCM has established schools for teaching reading, writing, arithmetic and basic French. His goal is to build a school to go with all its churches.
Haiti is a health-governed country with only one doctor for every 4,000 people. In an effort to reverse, HCM recently began working with Project Haiti Heart to create an OB-GYN next to two hospitals in Fonds Parisiens, giving 80,000 people access to quality health care.
HCM Nutrition Centers serve approximately 7,480 meals for children daily, focusing on those who suffer from second and third degree malnutrition.
HCM also has a sponsorship program in which people and groups in the United States donate $ 30 a month to provide food and education to needy Haitian children.
After the earthquake, the ministry brought a volunteer medical brigade. The team and hospital staff of Fonds Parisiens addressed hundreds of victims - people with broken arms and legs, back and head injuries ...
Missions of love
The Love Missions (MOL), based in Hartford, Kentucky, began as a medical mission almost 30 years ago in Zholivert. Innovation was one of its features. One example is its Mamba blend (made from powdered milk, sugar, butter, and vitamins mixed with peanut butter). Mamba treats moderately and severely malnourished children aged one to five years.
Over the years, MOL has been involved in many other programs, some of which have collaborated with other organizations. The Adult Literacy program helps adult Haitians learn to read and write. The Ear and Eye Clinic offers inexpensive or free eye exams and glasses for women in Haiti. The clinic also diagnoses and treats ear diseases.
MOL works with the non-profit organization Feed My Chain Children to provide food and nutrition for children in need. And he works with the Ohio family to provide medical supplies, including dressings, syringes, rubber gloves, and surgical instruments to clinics and hospitals.
MOL out-patient clinics allow children in remote villages and mountainous areas to receive treatment ... children who otherwise would have left without critical service.
The organization “Planting New Churches” daily nourishes the nutrients with nutrients for children. His Safe Drinking Water program reduces typhoid, dysentery and parasitism.
The MOL microfinance program helps women in Haiti repay loans and expand their businesses.
The Tents-4-Haiti program was especially helpful after the earthquake. This allowed a population without shelter or attributed to sleeping with a roof over their heads (due to the constant threat of aftershocks) to sleep peacefully outside. MOL provided another earthquake, including medical teams, food and water treatment.
Christian mission haiti
The Christian mission to Haiti from Waco, Kentucky provides student learning and opportunities for economic and educational opportunities for the Galette community and surrounding areas.
The mission began in 1983 to support Ed & Pam Hardy from Irvine, Kentucky, who for two years helped build a church and other buildings for the Christian Cyprus Mission in Haiti. In 1984, they began to support Chowber Remi in providing education and returning to Haiti in the Christian ministry. HCM missionaries provide food, clothing, dentistry and medical care.
Russell’s Christian School was the main contribution of HCM to Haitian society. Cowbert and his wife, Bernadette, founded the school in 1995. During this time, it grew from 30 K-6 students to 250. These students would have passed without education if it were not for the school. They learn basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and science, in addition to studying Christian principles and the gospel.
HCM has played an important role in disaster relief since the earthquake, providing food, water, and medical supplies to Galette and surrounding communities.
These five Christian missions have served Haiti for decades. They are staffed mainly by indigenous Haitians, and the Americans who are in the service have spent time and attention on studying the culture and ethnic nuances of the people. These missions do not deserve attention with the Idaho missionaries. These missions deserve your prayers and support so that they can continue the good work they do.
