Occasional Letter #3
The following letter was mailed to our family and friends in December. Since then we have received a considerable amount of positive feedback and felt it appropriate to post online.
December 4th, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
There’s a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain. Both of them prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one trusted God to send the rain? God will send the rain when he’s ready. We must prepare our fields to receive it.
If you saw the movie, Facing the Giants, you may remember this story. As we have lived in Haiti for ten months now, we feel like the farmer praying for rain as he prepares his fields. For us, preparing our fields has meant spending our time listening, observing and learning. We have also become familiar with other philosophies of addressing the needs of the poor by examining them firsthand.
Without going into great detail, there is a simple dichotomy that divides ministry philosophies among the poor: There are ministries, projects and charities that provide goods and services that inadvertently encourage families to become dependent upon them. And there are others that equip families to provide for themselves and live independently. Many organizations say they do the latter, when in actuality, they do the former.
According to Robert Lupton in his book, Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life, “Ancient Hebrew wisdom describes four levels of charity. The highest level is to provide a job for one in need without his knowledge that you provided it. The next, lower level is to provide work that the needy one knows you provided. The third level is to give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need. The lowest level of charity, to be avoided if at all possible, is to give a poor person a gift with his full knowledge that you are the donor.”
Unfortunately, Haiti is flooded with the lowest level of charity. It is much easier to import and dispense foreign aid, rather than commit to lifelong discipleship, teaching people to live in conformity to Christ—leading them from destruction to salvation and transformation in our lifetime.
Still, scores of mission teams rush into Haitian communities. It is difficult for residents to compete with free outside help. Foreign aid creates an unfair marketplace where local entrepreneurs are not able to compete with everything given away for free—ironically much of this is done under the guise of Christianity. Subsequently, businesses are driven down by non-profit organizations and initiatives that monopolize power and control resources. Furthermore, since government corruption is fueled by international aid, there is nothing regulating or enforcing the massive imbalance of aid versus trade. Could this mean well-intended Christians and humanitarians are contributing to the depth of poverty and tearing into the fabric of Haitian communities? Since the question seems almost unthinkable to ask, few ever ask it.
For generations, people living in Haiti have suffered greatly. There is no doubt something needs to be done about the despair we see around us everyday. German social economist Max Weber theorized, “Ideas have consequences.” In other words, the values and worldview of a culture determine its development. Weber observed that throughout history, nations shaped by Judaic and Protestant worldviews developed quite differently than those shaped by secular, animist and Eastern worldviews. Poverty and prosperity, therefore, are directly related to worldview. Haitian culture, rooted in voodoo ideologies, has been afflicted by its own ideas, values and worldview.
Based on what we described, foreign aid and development work, no matter how great they may be, will never be enough to transform the hearts and minds of the people on this island. This is where holistic discipleship becomes critical. We desire to model and teach how the word of God reaches into all areas of life and is a timeless guide, always proving true. We want to work with people who have teachable spirits—where the cement is still wet—so that a biblical and Christ-centered worldview may bring about transformation in the community. We believe that in Haiti, sustainable development for the individual as well as the community only becomes possible through discipleship. We are committed to the liberating brand of foreign involvement and investment that, when applied correctly, helps the community provide for its own needs, solve its own problems, sustain its own efforts, and restore dignity where dignity has been lost.
We cannot thank you enough for your encouragement, prayers and support that have moved our family into this new season of life and ministry in Haiti. We hope we have articulated our thoughts clearly so you can briefly enter into our world and be better informed about current issues in missions. Let us also encourage you to check out The Highway to Haiti online edition. By visiting www.highwaytohaiti.com you can find regular updates, along with dozens of resources we have personally tested that you might find useful.
Lastly, we ask you to pray. Pray for the health and development of our unborn child, and the healthcare decisions we need to make. Pray for healthy relationships; it is surprisingly difficult to make friends in a place where people only stop by when they need money. Pray for our ministry plans as our thoughts continue to be refined. And pray that additional ministry partners would join us in Haiti in the coming years.
Although it’s currently 85º and sunny—and Christmas seems like a far away reality—we hope your Christmas celebration is filled with joy, peace and rest that only Jesus, our Messiah, can bring.
Merry Christmas!
Matt, Pam & Silas