As in most third world countries, children are the most innocent victims of poverty and unrest. Orphans were already numerous in Haiti, and Tuesday’s earthquake has increased their numbers.

As we finish collecting our 2009 Christmas Miracle Offering to support our ongoing commitment to our sisters and brothers in Darfur, Sudan, a new and terrible crisis strikes. At roughly 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the worst earthquake Haiti has experienced in the past 200 years struck, crumbling buildings, destroying thousands of lives, orphaning children, and wreaking incredible devastation in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere—a country that struggles even on its best day to feed its people. The average income for the employed in Haiti, I’ve heard, is between $400 and $1400 annually. In our comfortable existence in Tipp City, Ohio, even in these days of lost jobs and economic crisis, we can’t even begin to imagine that level of poverty. Preliminary estimates are the quake may have killed more than 100,000 people. Confirmed dead in addition to the thousands of Haitians include the Catholic Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, the U.N. Haitian Mission Chief and 15 U.N. peacekeepers. More than 100 U.N. mission personnel remain among the thousands unaccounted for.

So, what do we do? Redirect our funds from the people of Darfur, a more “slow motion” crisis that has been 5 years in the making? Absolutely not. Our responsibility in Darfur is significant and not to be denied. Tens of thousands depend on us for food, clean water and their children’s very future. Then, do we ignore the urgent cries of our suffering Haitian sisters and brothers? Absolutely not. We must answer the call, dig deeper into our pockets, deeper into our own wealth, and serve the least, lost and dying--both in our own hemisphere and from the other side of the world.

This weekend, we will collect a “second mile” offering, an above-and-beyond sacrifice, to support emergency and ongoing relief in Haiti. This will be at the close of worship. Always remember that your regular tithes and offerings are still urgently needed to provide for the real and critical needs in our own Dayton and Fort McKinley backyards and to fuel our local mission. This “second mile” offering, however, will go to our strategic partner, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), who is already serving the people of Haiti. In fact, Rev. Sam Dixon himself, the head of UMCOR who has been a guest on our campus, was in Haiti as the earthquake struck. At the time I am writing this, UMCOR has not been able to reach Sam or members of his team. We do not know if they are safe. Please pray for Sam and all of the immediate responders who are working urgently to save lives. (1/16/10 BLOG UPDATE - The reports that Sam was extracted alive from the rubble of Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince late on Thursday night were sadly inaccurate. Sam had passed away before being removed from the rubble. Please join me in praying for Sam's family and the UMCOR team.) Also be praying as to how God is calling you to serve God’s children in Haiti as we prepare to make our gifts this weekend, in Jesus’ name, to those whose lives depend upon us.

For those of you who are not part of the Ginghamsburg Church family, you may contribute to UMCOR’s work in Haiti online. For the latest news regarding United Methodist response in Haiti, visit www.UMC.org.

God bless…