An Outpouring of Love
TBC is part of an international effort to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake.
In recent weeks, the already-bleak situation in Haiti has seemed to grow worse with each passing day. Amid the continued confusion and chaos that has gripped this nation since the earthquate in late January, officials have raised their estimate of the number of dead to well over 200,000 persons.
Relief efforts have been hampered by international disputes, lack of infrastructure, and difficult conditions for relief workers. However, international relief efforts have been able to provide basic living necessities such as food, water, and medical care, to thousands of Haitian citizens despite these difficulties.
Among the relief workers on the ground in Haiti are Steve and Nancy James, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) field personnel who specialize in medical care. Through the efforts of CBF churches such as Trinity, they have received much-needed medical supplies and have been able to treat hundreds of patients in their makeshift clinic.
The CBF and other international relief organizations continue to stress the importance of financial assistance. According to a flyer procuded by the CBF, “Financial contributions remain the most effective way to have the greatest impact.”
Trinity Baptist Church is working to provide many avenues for its members to be part of the ongoing relief efforts through their financial contributions. Among those most active in this work is the Student Ministry, led in its efforts by Interim Student Pastor Chris Tripputi. In recent weeks, they have been selling “Hearts for Haiti” t-shirts to help raise money for the relief offering. The shirts, which display a custom logo, are being sold for $20 each. To date, the students have raised about $1,200 by selling the shirts, and they have many more shirts to go.
Chris says that the response to the t-shirt sales has been remarkable. “Last week at Segue, we had one guy come up and buy one shirt, and give us $50,” Chris said. “That sort of thing keeps happening. We’ve even had folks who didn’t want to buy a shirt but wanted to give us a donation instead.”
The students have been selling the shirts at a table in the Fanning Foyer after morning worship, and Chris says that people have been very supportive. “We had several people come up to us and ask if we would be back again the next week because they didn’t have their checkbooks with them,” he said. (For the record, they will be.)
While the students will continue to sell t-shirts until they run out of them, they are also organizing a bake sale which will take place in the near future.
“I find that a lot of times, people are very passionate about something like this,” Chris said, “but after a few weeks, the passion starts to fade. But you look at what’s happening in Haiti, and your heart just breaks for these people. I want to help the students stay passionate about this so that we can help.”
As the tragedy in Haiti continues to unfold, personnel on the ground experience the emotional toll of the events on the Haitian people. The CBF is posting daily prayer updates on its website (www.thefellowship.info/pray), and one recent update helps give perspective to the effects of the earthquake.
“It is rare to find someone in Haiti today who has not lost someone in their family in the earthquake,” the update says. “Mme. Lucienne, a retired Haitiian nurse, worked faithfully, humbly and lovingly for almost 50 years at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Limbe. We used to lovingly call her our Mother Theresa as she cared for the very sick children in the Pediatric ward saving many lives from dehydration and infection. We heard she lost her daughter and three of her grand children in the earthquake. She is one of so many we hear about every day now in our life in Haiti.”
As we continue to partner with organizations around the world to bring help to Haiti, we must all continue to pray for the Haitian people and those who are there to assist them.