Haiti is Awash in Christian Aid, Evangelism

I cannot imagine the sheer horror and strife of living in Haiti after the earthquake. (This is a link to the MSNBC story by Kari Haus ) 

An old friend, Brenda Gillfin works for a missionary organization called Youth With A Mission. Gilly lived in Haiti for over a year in the 1990’s before moving to the shanties in Brazil to work with the poor and minister. She told me of the time she spent living in Haiti and described the deplorable conditions within within the country during that era. Now with so much of the infrastructure gone, it has to be beyond the pale.


An estimated 1700 Christian missionaries were living in Haiti at the time of the earthquake.

The controversial arrest of 10 missionaries from an Idaho church has taken the emphasis off earthquake news and placed these unfortunate and naïve folks as the center of attention.


I realize my opinion of the situation isn’t worth a tinker’s dam, however I am of the opinion the government of Haiti is corrupt and a few greased palms would be all it would take to put this story behind us. I also believe these missionaries acted with good intentions, but unfortunately did subvert the law. As my wife is fond of saying, “No good deed will go unpunished.”

Aside from that story...
MSNBC’s headline that ran on Monday, 02/08 and Tuesday 02/09 screamed;

“Haiti Is Awash in Christian Aid, Evangelism." 



The news article bemoans the fact that Haiti is plagued with heaping great multitudes of Christians of all denominations running amuck, attempting to feed and clothe the poor and minister to their needs. After all Jesus said we gotta’ do that.

Some of these groups have been involved with missionary support for years and years.




The article disparages the Catholic Church for sending support and aid, since Haiti threw off the chains of Catholicism in 1804 when they showed the French the exit door.


This news article implies that Haitians are all anti-Catholic. What do I know? They may all be anti-Catholic, however if I was in a similar situation I would be glad for any assistance.

MSNBC's reporter also addresses Voodoo and Christian effort to win converts from this superstitious and preposterous practice. It seems that attempting to disuade Haitians from that practice is politically incorrect as this would be eliminating an indigenous culture and tradition that has been handed down and adapted from their ancestors.

In the early days of the United States, medical doctors commonly used leeches and blood letting as a course of treatment to eliminate the bad humors that caused disease for our ancestors.

I for one am delighted that my doctor has never advised me, "Marc, I think if we have three courses of leeches and one course of blood letting, this would cure all your ailments." 

Thank God, this is one indigenous practice that has been eliminated.  It's just my opinion, but I think Haiti would be just fine without the voodoo that they do.

The article mentions UNICEF and aid from U.N. workers, which are two non-Christian groups that do good work. But the piece also gets its digs in regarding two missionaries from a Colorado church that were implicated in child molestation as a point that some missionaries are bad

But you know what, two bad apples don’t spoil the whole bunch, especially when the article states there were approximately 1700 permanent missionaries there when the earthquake hit.


The article laments the fact that different church groups plant different churches according to the dogma of each church.

In all fairness the article implies that the better mission groups express their faith through deeds such as digging wells, medical and dental programs and teaching soil conservation techniques to farmers.


They point out one church that send people to install water filtration systems and build cafeterias for school children, create playgrounds and clinics.

It also acknowledges that 15% of children in Haiti are orphaned or abandoned. Some of these children are susceptible to abuse, slavery and the sex trade. Many of these become restaveks, a Haitian word that means slaves of the lowest order. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the 10 missionaries attempted to get thirty-three children out of Haiti and move them to an orphanage in Santo Domingo.  Heck, the Haitian government has allowed this form of child slavery to go on for years and years.

The article mentions the Peace Corp, but fails to mention the Red Cross. Neither does it mention the Mormons. Although I do not agree with Mormon belief, I acknowledge they are always at the forefront of any disaster to provide aid.




I might have overlooked it, but to my knowledge it has not been reported by any news agency that disaster assistance coming from any Middle Eastern charities or providers. I also have failed to hear any information about Atheist organizations banding together to send food, shelter and  relief. Neither do I find any news about Wicca or any occult groups lending their support.

So why must you folks at MSNBC knock the Christians??!!