Claiming No Turf

“I will be so mad, so very mad, if you ever lose sight of this vision.”

A group of us were seated in a circle, debriefing after a long day at the “Haitian Queen.”* The man who shared these words was a pastor from the United States, currently in Haiti leading a short-term team of volunteers under the direction of EFCA TouchGlobal.

Four members visited an orphanage to assist an overworked (and understaffed) team of Haitians. Two others worked to erect shelters donated by Samaritan’s Purse, and six more helped build a septic system for the Haiti Health Clinic.

While that last team struggled on the clinic’s septic problem, friends from yet another orphanage loaned them a rented backhoe. And Ron himself taught a discipleship seminar for a group of local churches.

“I’ve been on a lot of teams to Haiti,” he continued, “but have never seen this degree of cooperation, unselfishness and networking in this country. It may exist, but not to my knowledge. Something very special is happening here, and that’s why I will be so mad, so very mad, if you ever lose sight of this vision.”

Multidimensional partnership

It can be difficult to explain and even more difficult to live out, but from those first chaotic days after the earthquake, what that pastor described has been the vision of TouchGlobal in Haiti. TouchGlobal doesn’t own an orphanage; it has no plans to run a medical clinic; but it is partnering with orphanages and clinics and schools and churches—intentionally living out its purpose of “mobilizing people, equipping churches, transforming communities.”

And while much of TouchGlobal’s efforts are currently being given over to Haiti’s significant physical needs, this same vision is being cast even more broadly, as TouchGlobal helps network Haitian church and ministry leaders (see “Dreaming Big”).

Truly, Haiti needs far more than any one relief group can hope to offer. But as more and more individuals and groups catch the vision to partner together, Haiti stands a mighty chance at becoming a greater country than ever before.

*The Haitian Queen is our affectionate euphemism for our TouchGlobal headquarters outside Port-au-Prince, which we established in March 2010. TouchGlobal team members have been serving in Haiti since the first week after the January 12, 2010, devastating earthquake. Since then, we have sent more than 200 people on 26 teams, and our long-term plan is to stay as long as needed. That’s based on our goal of assisting the Haitian church in reaching its people through the holistic presentation of the gospel, so that followers of Jesus become active in healthy, disciple-making, multiplying churches in Haiti and around the world.

To follow TouchGlobal’s efforts in Haiti please visit our blog or website.