My most recent trip to Haiti is serving to further sharpen my emerging thoughts on the issues of poverty and how to effectively help anyone ensnared in it.  With our a wealth and knowledge (and by “our” I mean the US but it applies to all developed countries) how do we avoid creating dependency and instead empower a developing people?  How do we retain the dignity of the individual and not run roughshod over their culture?

Haiti has had a problem even before the earthquake.  In fact, this problem is common throughout the developing world because I have seen it in my trips to Africa as well.  The problem seems to be us – the ones, like me, who like quick fixes, and easy answers.  After the earthquake Haiti clearly needed short term help.  But what about now?  Our “help” needs to be much less about giving things to those who are poor and much more about empowering them.  All we do is create a dependency when we do for Haitians what they should be empowered to do for themselves.  We can become the problem – and there are those who say we have!

As Americans we like to DO things.  We like to fix problems.  Haiti has a problem and we want to fix it, but in the process of fixing it are we doing the Haitian people any favors?  I guess the answer to that question depends on how we define “fix.”  Haitians are poor, and they are hungry and we don’t like to see that type of poverty flash across our TV screen or computer monitor, but, I am starting to conclude that our short term “fix it” mentality will never solve the underlying problem.

Here’s an example: While attending a Haitian church service this past Sunday a visiting pastor from “the west” stood before the congregation and said “We have come because we are called to help you. We will be coming back every month for the next 6 months and every time we come we will be running a program for you to help you recover from the earthquake.  We love you!”  Yes, he said “for you” not “with you.”  Did anyone ask the Haitians about this program?  Is it necessary?  Does it give them ownership?  And then, much to my shock, this visiting pastor proceeded to gift the senior pastor and his wife with T-Shirts touting the name of their program and then posed in front of the whole congregation for a photo op and said “With the gift of these T-Shirts we transfer the anointing of this project to you.”  What?!  Are you as irritated reading this as I was hearing it?  I’m sorry, a T-shirt doesn’t “transfer the anointing” like some trinket we hawk in the market.  It seemed so arrogant.  Matthew 25 interpreted correctly means we don’t bring Jesus with us when we enter into someone else’s misery and brokenness, Jesus is already there.  We come to meet Jesus when we enter into poverty because he lives among the broken and hurting. After all, He lived (and lives) among us…right?

We mean well, I know we do, but what are we doing?!  The only way ANY country can rise out of poverty is if/when the people of that country take ownership of their country and are given less short term charity (except in emergency situations like natural disasters) and more long term empowerment.  As I think this all through I keep coming back to a phrase I heard 15 years ago in Senegal from a man who worked in development and understood this concept.  When I asked him about how we can really help he said the attitude going in is critical to the long term success of any development project.  It begins with the very first encounter.  His approach with those living in poverty was to say to them right up front, “We are not here to run in front of you and pull you out of poverty.  We are not here to come up from behind and push you out of poverty.  We are here to walk beside you – at your pace – and tackle the issues you face together.  We will learn from each other.  If you run, we’ll run.  If you walk, we’ll walk.  If you sit down, we will sit down. If you stop, we will stop.”

What I like about this approach is that it doesn’t let either side off the hook!  It’s saying we’re not going to do things for you, but with you.  In “the West” we don’t like that because it might take time and it involves investing ourselves in the process, not just investing our money.

“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man a fish and he eats for a lifetime,” is a cliché and you might be tempted to think that’s going to be my trite conclusion after my trip, but let’s not make it that simple.  In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says “Seek first the Kingdom and all these things will be added to you as well” but have you really thought about the implications of that?!  If you are a Believer in Jesus then that is what you are called to do, and if that is what we are called to do then “seeking first the Kingdom” impacts everything we do…every business decision, every disagreement with my wife, my checkbook, the way I parent, the way I interact with the cashier at the grocery store, and what I do when no one else is watching.  If we don’t live out that scripture and all its implications than it simply becomes a cliché because actually putting “Seek first the Kingdom” into action is hard, and gutsy, and requires tough decisions.  Likewise, the same is true if we quickly and easily say “Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime” but we don’t go any further with what that implies.  Teaching someone isn’t easy when everything inside me says “if they would only do it this way (i.e. my way) that would fix the problem.”  Teaching is intentional, it allows for failure (even if the stakes are high) and it requires patience…that’s why it’s tough to do for people like me.

It’s time for me to stop giving a man a fish because it makes me feel better.  It’s time we stop trying to do something for those in poverty but actually working alongside them in their struggle to escape poverty.  I know it’s hard to do because we lose control of the outcome!  And to that I say “Yes, and amen!”

David

On our way home we spent a couple of hours in the Mexico City International Airport. In the middle of one of the largest cities in the world, filled with both poverty and wealth, sits one of the busiest airports on Earth.

To my surprise, in of one of the biggest and most impoverished cities in the world I discovered beautiful architecture in the ceiling of an airport. I was impressed by the design and imagination that was used in the creation of what in most buildings is a boring necessity of infrastructure. With 238 days a year of clear skys the Mexico City International Airport is filled with light by the 1000’s of skylights that hang above the heads of weary passengers headed to their temporary or permanent destinations. We find beauty where we least expect it and are often inspired by things that have no connection to our passions or work.

Are you looking for inspiration in the every day? Are you allowing God to show you his magnificence in the inanimate?

Jordan Chesbrough – Creative Director | Web & Design

Grace Village, Haiti

Yesterday, my last full day in Haiti, I experienced something I never want to experience again.  News reports predicted it.  I knew that it was just a matter of time.  Still, I was unprepared for the intensity of what I experienced and felt.  It rained.

On this recent trip to Haiti I spent my time in Grace Village, the 2^nd largest refugee camp in Haiti after the earthquake.  As the rain began Sunday evening about 20,000 displaced Haitians ran to take cover under tarps, in tents, and even under a scraggly tree in the middle of the compound.  The light rain intensified into a storm, then a downpour, then into what I can only describe as an onslaught of rain, wind, thunder and lightning.  The makeshift roads and pathways in this seven month old community soon became a decent size current of rain and mud sweeping through and between the thousands of tarps and tents.  I was in one of those tents.  I heard the rain slam against the roof and like thousands of others in that storm, I prayed that the tarp would hold.

This rainstorm wasn’t part of a hurricane.  From first drop to the end of the storm was maybe 30 minutes.  The damage it caused was, technically, minimal compared to the earthquake itself or other, longer, more intense storms that have happened in Haiti since January 12^th.  But I couldn’t help but wonder about the damage storm after storm can have on the psyche and attitude of people who faced the hardship of extreme poverty even before the earthquake.

Inside that tent, with rain pelting the roof, I interviewed a proud Haitian man named Filma.  In addition to his home, Filma lost two of his four children in the earthquake.  He, his wife, and two remaining children lost their home and now were settled into the refugee camp.  All Filma wanted was a job…and a chance to re-build his life.  I have no idea if that opportunity will ever come.

Like the rain and erosion that, over time, gave us the Grand Canyon, I could feel each drop of rain relentlessly breaking my heart and trampling my spirit.  If I lived in this camp, with no end to the misery in sight, I don’t think I could survive much longer than a week or two before I’d get mad, and bitter, and angry, and frustrated, and…give up.  And I began to pray, “God, how can you allow this to happen?  These are people created in your image and they’re barely going to survive – they may not even survive –“… and then a single word refocused my attention.  The next word in my prayer was going to be “unless”…as in “Unless something or someone intervenes.”

But what does intervening really look like?  Does it mean more short term mission teams going to Haiti to bring food?  Does it mean building homes for the refugees?  Does it mean giving more money?  I think the answer is both “yes” and “no”.  I’m still thinking it all through…but the more I learn about poverty (and the more I have these kinds of experiences) the more I’m coming to the realization that many times what I have considered to be “good things” in helping someone rise out of poverty might be having the exact opposite result of my intentions.

More to come…

David

This time I’m coming down to Haiti to capture stories for Forward Edge International, a ministry based in Vancouver, Washington.  It’s a quick trip – just three days – but already I can feel myself being anxious.  I’m not anxious about staying in a tarp city or about the inevitable lack of sleep I’ll get by living next to so many people with nothing but a tarp between us.  I’m getting a sense of anxiety because I know that on Monday I’ll be getting on a plane and flying back home to my comfortable life in Wilsonville, Oregon.  How will I feel about that?   And I have other questions: What will I say to the Haitian people I interview when I leave them, knowing that they’ll still be living in a tent, still struggling to survive, still battling the rains and the poverty that is Haiti, and I’ll be safe and secure back in my world?  How will I be different from this trip?  Will my empathy and passion increase, or will I see the conditions and justify it away in my mind?  Those are the types of questions that raise my anxiety level.

I want to come away from this trip with more than gratitude for my life and the comparative wealth I have.  More gratitude can easily lead me down the path of spiritual laziness, thinking more gratitude is all that’s required of me.  In truth, God remains the God who invests in His people and with that investment there is an expectation on a return.  Gratitude is certainly part of that expected return, but I think God wants more from me.  How much more can I give him?

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to get just a small sense of what it’s like to live like a vast majority of the world who surive on less than $2 a day.  May this experience deepen my convictions and motivate me to action.

David

In some cases an organization plain and simple just has a bad logo and it needs to be redone. Most of the time however, a logo just needs a simple update that shows the ministry is relevant but does not compromise the familiarity of your brand. Different design techniques are popular in different decades and unless you have a timeless logo it might show its age.

We had the privileged of updating the Phoenix Rescue Mission’s logo recently. The update was as simple as a font change a little bit of rearranging. This new logo is current and fresh but can still be used along side the old logo and act as a transition as they update signs, business cards and other promotional material.

Recently Google quietly updated the logo on their homepage. If you weren’t paying attention you might not have noticed it but it is a perfect example of what we are talking about. You would think with a large business like Google who’s logo defines their brand wouldn’t want to touch their design. But Google’s billions doesn’t hold them back from doing what is right for their organization. This year Google made some subtle changes to their logo to keep it up to date but managed not to compromise their brand integrity. No one probably even noticed this but subconsciously Google managed to stay relevant in the eyes of their users. Take a look below and see if you can tell the difference?

Now think about the fact that Google probably had to pay significant amount of money to make this change.

Is it worth it for your organization?

We’re back from Chicago! It was a pleasure seeing so many of you at the AGRM Conference!

One of the joys of this year’s conference for us was the ability to capture and share the video stories of how God has overwhelmed so many Missions with His provision.  These videos were shared during each General Session and if you want to see them again, or if you weren’t able to make it to Chicago, (or if you just want to be encouraged) you can watch them below!

Another highlight was Jordan Chesbrough, our Creative Director for Web & Design, presenting a session called  “Websites Made Simple.”  You can connect to his PowerPoint slides by clicking on the link.

Overall, I think our entire team came away with a renewed admiration for the work (and people) of Rescue Ministries across the United States.  It is an honor to co-labor with so many!

David

Those who work with hard core addictions were singing ”How Great is Our God” followed by “Breathe” and it’s chorus which says “I’m lost without You. I’m desperate for You.”  I’ve sung both of these songs countless numbers of times, but in that context the lyrics just jumped out as so amazingly relevant for the work of rescue missions.

Over the last 14 years I’ve probably interviewed a thousand homeless men, women and children. Without fail, those who end up homeless realize they are desperate and lost, and in the midst of that desperation they find themselves seeking refuge and hope at a place where the Gospel is lived out every day – a rescue mission.  Within the walls of the rescue mission they can find so much more than a meal and a bed.  Many join recovery programs and learn about overcoming their addictions by focusing on Christ.  And, they find human connection through a Christian community. That human connection is so vital because most of those who end up homeless find themselves isolated, rejected, and alone.  Within the context of a caring Christian community, however, they learn how to process life, and addiction, and pain, and abandonment and hurt.   The context is significantly different. God breaks through. Their lives are changed from the inside out.

It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as a drug addict who turns their life over the Lord and gets clean – not even close – but today I changed a little.  I sang very familiar songs, but the context was different. I sang those songs amid a Christian community who knows the necessity of crying out “I’m desperate for You.”   They are a great example to me of honoring God with a broken spirit.

“Sing with me…How Great is Our God!”

David Harms

Questions your web viewers are asking when they go to your website are:

* Do you have things for me to explore?
* What can I learn or better understand?
* What can I do in response?
* What do you have for me to view that I can’t watch anywhere else?
* Can I read something here that is not available anywhere else?
* Is it going to be enjoyable?
* Is it worth my time?

Websites are for people who want to learn or do something. They want to engage in your ministry, find something exclusive or become more informed. What they don’t want to do is be bored by what you want them to know vs what interests them. At the end of the day the user experience that your website offers is what will bring them back again.

Start asking some of the questions above about your own website and start thinking about what you can do to create a better experience for your visitors.