For Their Rescue: Haiti

Hey All,

I am sending this out as a blog, but I will be emailing friends and family over the next week. I just figured this is the quickest way to let everyone know what is going on, and a good way for you to stay up to date!

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to go to Haiti.

The invitation was from a friend who has been working with http://www.mission-haiti.org/ for about 6 months or so. Mission-Haiti's primary focus is an orphanage. They have a great model set up, so as to create a homelike environment. I love this model!

My friend Cory Grimm is (amongst other things) working to set up a discipleship program. The idea is to give accessible education, in regards to the Christian faith, to people who would not otherwise receive it.

You see, even in Haiti, if you do not have enough money or have the right clothes... You are not granted the same opportunities to learn about your faith.

Cory has asked me to come to Haiti to consult with him on how to integrate a Social Justice component into the program.

He and I are firm believers that, "You Do What You Believe." So a Social Justice component is vital to any sort of theological training.

Haiti is a nation that has many challenges and struggles facing it. Among them, the nation has a strong past associated with slavery. It is estimated that there are 250,000 slaves in Haiti, today.

Cory and Misson Haiti feel that with my background and knowledge in Human Trafficking, I would be a great asset to their journey in mobilizing Haitians to serve each other and the world around them.

I will be in Haiti June 23rd-27th. Cory and I will be meeting with other organizations to learn about best practices in the area. The last thing we want to do is to implement an American theology or ideology of justice.

I have to take a moment and be honest with all of my readers... I really, really, love to travel! I love to see the world and it's people! I love helping others! I love to love others!

So, when I am presented with an opportunity for another adventure, my first inclination is always, Yes! I love to go! However, I am also aware that, most of the time, I am receiving funds from friends and family who love me and care about whatever particular humanitarian issue has come across my path. So, I really try to be cautious and make sure that, if I am going to go, I will actually be useful.. and that I am not just taking up space and wasting oxygen.

Honestly, I was having second thoughts about this particular adventure. I kept asking myself things like, "Are you just doing this because of the recent Haiti fad?", or "Are you just doing this because a friend wants you to go?" Then the other day, I met a man from Haiti at one of the car lots that I work at. I found myself watching, in fascination, as he was (in broken English) selling a car to a Chinese man, who spoke even less English. After the deal was finished, he and I started talking about cars and general shop talk. I then asked him where he was from.. When he told me I sort of unloaded on him about what I was thinking about doing in his homeland. I thought surely he would be excited, but he wasn't. He just looked at me and said, "That is a very noble thing you are doing."

It was at that moment that the light came on for me. Even a man from Haiti who now works in the US and probably makes more than I do, needs to be reminded, encouraged, invited into the fight for the human condition. There are so many around us in this ever shrinking globe who are marginalized, and who desperately need help. It is so easy to overlook those who need us. We all get involved in our day to day and our own fight to eek out an existence. Yet, it is when we start to serve others that we become alive.

So, you might have noticed the web address for this blog is, "Send Seth." I constantly encourage everyone to roll up their sleeves, find the cause of their choice and help those around them. But sometimes that is not possible. Not all of us can, "Go." Honestly, I cannot go, without your help.

I am asking you all... If you care about the marginalized of society, if you care about Haiti, about people in slavery, about people who want to learn to do right, but are not afforded the education... If you care about these things, and just don't have the time to carve out of your busy life to, "Go." Then "Send."

I need your help to make this trip happen. I need to raise $1200.00 by the end of May.

Will you please consider joining me with your hard earned finances!

I am not going as part of a church organization or as part of Transitions Global. I am going independently. So, unfortunately, I will not be able to give you a receipt for your taxes. And I will have to work extra hard this year to pay the taxes on the money that you, "gift" to me. These are all just logistics and I believe they can be overcome!

If you would like to join me in this, please email me at sethjohnson78@gmail.com I can give you information for sending your money!

Thank you all for considering being part of this journey with me!