{haiti}

my heart has gone out to haiti since day one.  the more i hear about the devastation of haiti, the more my heart groans for their people.  we have NO idea here in the U.S. what it's like to live in that kind of poverty.  in comparisson, my problems/issues seem rediculously petty. 

i've been absolutely blown away though by what i've seen social media, specifically the twitter community, accomplish by utilizing twitter in haiti.  it's mind boggling folks!  people are talking on twitter and the world is listening.  the world is acting.  one person i'm following in particular is Shaun King, a pastor out of Atlanta (click here for his blog), who is pressing through all the red tape and getting things done... THROUGH TWITTER!  he's challenging how this is all being handled, informing people that supplies that have been donated to Haiti are just SITTING in the airport... and i don't mean a few supplies... there were a few reports directly from Haiti that there were probably enough supplies to fill three Costco's.  THAT'S INSANE!  he's even battling the outlandish human trafficking that's happening right now in Haiti.  children are being targeted and sold/given away to be slaves.  this HAS to stop and Shaun is utilizing twitter to challenge the system, challenging the so-called "pros" and is challenging people to move... to do something.  he tweeted that the cops in Atlanta even showed up in his office because he has been accused of being a "fraud," but after showing the police his contact with CNN and so many others that are in Haiti about what's going on, they realized he's the real deal.  he means business... and his wife told him to keep pressing on just like Jesus!  oh, i LOVE it!

today for example, he is in the U.S. and through twitter has been able to reach the world to get a deathly ill boy to a hospital and cared for.  he organized all of it through twitter... i hate to sound like a broken record, but it's mind boggling!

sorry for the rant, but the things i'm reading have affected me in a way that i can't even begin to explain.  it's all so disheartening, but at the same time, it's so encourgaing to hear good things come out of Haiti.  to see that people long to see justice for haiti and it's people, to hear the amazing stories of all the rescues, orphans who've been adopted years ago and have finally been able to come home to their families, and even this morning a tweet from photographer Jeremy Cowart who said "I awoke at 5:45am here in Port-Au-Prince to the sound of a LOT of people singing and clapping."  HOPE can do amazing things!

so i'm asking if you're on twitter... or if you're not, join and follow the conversation and most importantly PRAY!  pray for protection for all those pushing for what is right in Haiti, prayer that God will open doors for them to do what needs to be done and for the courage to keep pushing forward.  secondly,  if you know anyone on the ground in Haiti or when they ask for help and you have contacts, let them know!  you've been given gifts, talents, a voice, a heart... how are you using them?