Frankly Speaking is the online home for the thoughts of Pastor Frank Weller
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Breaking 5,000
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Hey Frank,
Just saw Schneider's article. He got the name of the church wrong,(South Lansing Community Church) so you're probably going to hear about it from people here at SLCC and I would certainly understand. So I thought I'd offer this thought, that even though Schneider got the name incorrect, it may be to the Lord's benefit. Here's why: People like the word "Community" so hopefully, when they stop by, they'll see that Christians truly are a community, close knit by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, but we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I believe if any of us are called to explain the incorrect name, the explanation will glorify God. Nothing wrong with that! Just a heads up to the One who uses even wrong names to His glory, Rod
I found a brief news article regarding the "peanut butter" drive for Haiti. I'm assuming that this is what you're refer to here.
While I admire the spirit of what you're trying to do, you are actually undercutting the Haitian people. Let me explain: You've got 8000 lbs, of peanut butter, 4 tons to ship to Haiti. It won't be inexpensive to ship it, let alone get it out of customs. Once you have it in Haiti, how do you distribute it? When you do, I assume that you'll be giving it away. Did you know that there is a peanut butter manufacturer in Haiti? They make it from Haitian grown peanuts. When you give it away, you take away the market, and the jobs that go along with making it; farmers, transportation, labor, etc.
The US charities have a long history of destroying Haitian markets by giving away food. The most known example is with rice. Now Haitian farmers can't make a living growing and selling rice. I can show you the pictures to prove it. I'm not suggesting actually that you are going to ruin the peanut butter market, but you need to know that this kind of charity is more damaging in the long run. Haiti needs successful long run strategies to improve.
I suggest that you sell the peanut butter locally to people who know what it is (Haitians have never heard of Jiffy), take the money to Haiti, buy some local peanut butter and then sell it or give it away. Better yet, just have people donate money. It's actually the best kind of charity as there are so many varying needs in Haiti, that a truck full of peanut butter will be useless when a person comes to you and needs treatment for malaria, AIDS, or simply clean drinking water.
I'm posting as anonymous as I'm speaking very frankly to make a point. If you would like to discuss this with me, repost a comment and I'll call you.
Please do contact me. That is the point of the link on my blog that provides my personal email address. Our church is interested in making a difference in Haiti and, if we can do so more effectively, we are absolutely open to hearing how that can happen.
3 comments:
Hey Frank,
Just saw Schneider's article. He got the name of the church wrong,(South Lansing Community Church) so you're probably going to hear about it from people here at SLCC and I would certainly understand. So I thought I'd offer this thought, that even though Schneider got the name incorrect, it may be to the Lord's benefit. Here's why:
People like the word "Community" so hopefully, when they stop by, they'll see that Christians truly are a community, close knit by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, but we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I believe if any of us are called to explain the incorrect name, the explanation will glorify God.
Nothing wrong with that!
Just a heads up to the One who uses even wrong names to His glory,
Rod
I found a brief news article regarding the "peanut butter" drive for Haiti. I'm assuming that this is what you're refer to here.
While I admire the spirit of what you're trying to do, you are actually undercutting the Haitian people. Let me explain: You've got 8000 lbs, of peanut butter, 4 tons to ship to Haiti. It won't be inexpensive to ship it, let alone get it out of customs. Once you have it in Haiti, how do you distribute it? When you do, I assume that you'll be giving it away. Did you know that there is a peanut butter manufacturer in Haiti? They make it from Haitian grown peanuts. When you give it away, you take away the market, and the jobs that go along with making it; farmers, transportation, labor, etc.
The US charities have a long history of destroying Haitian markets by giving away food. The most known example is with rice. Now Haitian farmers can't make a living growing and selling rice. I can show you the pictures to prove it. I'm not suggesting actually that you are going to ruin the peanut butter market, but you need to know that this kind of charity is more damaging in the long run. Haiti needs successful long run strategies to improve.
I suggest that you sell the peanut butter locally to people who know what it is (Haitians have never heard of Jiffy), take the money to Haiti, buy some local peanut butter and then sell it or give it away. Better yet, just have people donate money. It's actually the best kind of charity as there are so many varying needs in Haiti, that a truck full of peanut butter will be useless when a person comes to you and needs treatment for malaria, AIDS, or simply clean drinking water.
I'm posting as anonymous as I'm speaking very frankly to make a point. If you would like to discuss this with me, repost a comment and I'll call you.
Please do contact me. That is the point of the link on my blog that provides my personal email address. Our church is interested in making a difference in Haiti and, if we can do so more effectively, we are absolutely open to hearing how that can happen.
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