Dear Rosalind ____,

Thank you for your contacting Touch Heaven Ministries.

YOU WROTE:

I am disgusted and sickened by the Christian organizations in Haiti that withhold food and aid from Haitians if they practice Vodou, and organize raids throwing rocks at participants in Vodou ceremonies. These atrocities are extremely vicious, hypocritical and unChristian, and I won’t be surprised if Jesus Christ Himself throws the corrupt Christian perpetrators straight into hell. It would be too good for them.

Dear Rosalind :

We received your email and I am responding as I try to do for every email or prayer request that we receive. First, I ask that you take a few minutes and read my RESPONSE TO THE REPORTERS ARTICLE  on the Haiti mission website.  Please click onto www.touchhaitinow.org.  I trust that you will see that this reporter took my words out of context, obviously for the purpose of “coloring” her story. You will also see very shortly on this web site, pictures that are less than 96 hours old of our team feeding, providing medical care, hugging, ministering to, and loving orphans, adults, and families in Carrefour and Merage ( ground zero area of the earthquake). The mountain we worked to get to Merage sits on top of one of the largest voodoo centers in that region. In fact, the Pastor (Mike) that asked us to come there, is the son of  voodoo priests. Do you really think that we would ask him not to feed his family or his neighbors ? We trucked in 10 tons of food and water on Monday and our coordinator who stayed in Haiti is working to get another truck load of supplies to them today or tomorrow. Our clinic which we opened in Carrefour last week, is attending to hundred of patients daily from all around the community – not one is asked what their faith is.

I am confused by your statement that…”Christian organizations in Haiti .. withhold food and aid from Haitians if they practice Voodoo, and organize raids throwing rocks at participants in Vodou ceremonies.” Not even this article says that. We were not in attendance at this confrontation that the article describes. In fact, if you read it again, it reports that the incident reported in this AP article was instigated when voodooists interrupted a resident Haitian Christian prayer meeting. It was not a Voodoo ceremony that was raided as you say, but to the contrary, this article reports that the voodooists were the peace breakers. I have not heard of a single instance of any Christian missionary organizations refusing food to voodooists. Are you confusing us with someone else or something else you read about someone else ? Be certain, your assumptions are not correct.

ur record speaks for itself and is tangible evidence that we are not judging anyone in Haiti. We are feeding, providing medical care, and preaching the gospel. We have been blessed to heal many also with prayer in the name of Jesus. I am sure you support Haitians being healed, no matter their faith, in the name of Jesus ? We know that we are commissioned as the light of Christ in a dark region of the world. In less than 2 weeks our ministry is back in Samburu Kenya, where we have been ministering for years, again bringing the gospel and help into the dark part of Africa. If you are indeed a follower of Jesus Christ, as you have invoked his name in your email, then you should be encouraging us and supporting us, not condemning us. Voodoo is evil, birthed in the spirit of the anti-christ, which is opposed to Christ. And the fruit of evil, is destruction. Surely you know this is the Word of God. We cannot and will not support voodoo, but we have, do, and shall help the needy regardless of their faith, always being ambassadors for Christ and caring about their eternal souls.

Plan and simple: we did not hold food back from Voodoists, and we did not organize rock throwing at voodooists. Your perception is simply wrong.

With all due respect, if you are obedient to the love of Christ and the Word of His Gospel, then you need to be aware that you have offended our ministry without cause. I am available to speak with you. I called the number you gave and left you a message. I am sure after you speak with me, your heart will be different and we can reconcile. Remember the Lord’s Prayer:  for your prayers to be heard, you must repent of any offenses to anyone else that you know that you have caused. Your judgment is not true and is based on false information. Unless repented of, you are vulnerable to the judgment of your own words of condemnation.

My office number is 786.363.4107.

His prisoner and your brother in Christ,

Pastor Frank Amedia.

P.S. I am also praying for the skin ailment that is dear to your heart also.

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Response From Rosalind:

Dear Pastor Frank Amedia:
 
Thank you for leaving a message on my answering machine.
 
I was not talking about your organization in my comment. I am fully aware that not all Christian organizations in Haiti withhold food from those who choose not to convert to a Christian religion, nor throw stones or rocks at people participating in Vodou ceremonies. If I sounded otherwise, I did not intend it. I just heard that some such organizations have resorted to such tactics, and it bothered me. I don’t think physically assaulting someone just because you don’t agree with his or her religion is a civilized thing to do. I will admit I sounded harsh in my message, but I just found it really disturbing. However, I have never been to Haiti, so I don’t know what really goes on there. If what I heard really is exaggerated hype, I am willing to be proven it, and retract my vehemence.
 
Hoping you had a great weekend, and God bless you too.
 
Sincerely,
 
Rosalind _____

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Pastor Frank’s Follow-up:

Rosalind, thank you so much for writing back to me. It means a lot. What I am seeing my sister is that the Voodoo priests are condemning the giving of the Christians and using a ploy that has been used throughout the centuries; that is claiming that the giving comes with a requirement to convert. That is just the spirit of witchcraft sowing deceit and manipulating the news media and politicians. I see many missionaries and some relief organizations providing food and ministering to the people; but I have not seen any voodooist organizations out there doing the same.
 
It is a fine balance, as ministers of the Gospel and servants of Jesus Christ, to how long we can supply basic needs to any force which opposes the Gospel of Christ, and more so, to heretics that claim they know God and Jesus, but which use dark powers to lead people astray. We pray daily for His guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit to discern His perfect will in each instance. Just this morning, during devotions, the Lord led me to Titus 3:10: “A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject”.  Translated simply, this means: Have nothing to do with people who continue to teach false doctrine after you have warned them once or twice.
 
Voodooists acknowledge that there is a God, but that He is not reachable, and that there are thousands of smaller spirits that can be reached and served. Most often Jesus is nothing more than another spirit.  This cult does not distinguish between calling upon spirits of darkness or spirit of light – whatever the need is, the voodooist promotes worship and sacrifice to that spirit. It relies upon the power of the blood sacrifice of animals (and even has a rite that drinks blood), and conjures up charms, curses, and enchantments. Furthermore, Voodooists call upon these spirits to manipulate and affect the lives of others for their own purposes. All of this is satanic and an abomination to God, is satanic, and must be wholeheartedly rejected. God’s people in Haiti, and also in places in Africa and anywhere else voodoo is practiced (including N. Orleans)  need to be delivered of this bondage and set free in the liberty of Christ to have a personal relationship with the living God.
 
So, as I responded to the reporter, we feed them, have fed them, and will likely feed them again. We are not hesitant to share the Gospel and we boldly proclaim Christ, with signs and wonders and founded in His mercy, grace, and love. But I am not sure we can commit to continue to supply voodoo practitioners who are heretics of the faith, lest we affirm their heretical rebellion against the Gospel of Christ. We rely upon the Holy Spirit to lead us, case by case, and instance by instance. He knows all !! 
 
If I am certain to protect your email address, is it Ok for me to post this exchange between us on the touch Haiti now blog ? It will benefit many who might not quite understands the role of a Christian missionary in a dark land.
 
I am here to serve you and pray for your blessings !!
 
His prisoner,
 
Pastor Frank
 
P.S. What about the skin lesion / rash ?