Laowai Quake Relief Part V: Emergency Evangelism

This is really eye-opening. It’s unfortunate that the group decided to push for “conversions” instead of providing aid. But with this many groups out there I guess we have to expect some people to abuse the openness the Chinese government is providing for their own agendas. It’s a shame as it will only hurt foreign groups from getting in next time a disaster occurs.

Thanks for the post, I’ve enjoyed the entire series.

J.

@John: Agreed, if Christian organizations use tragedies in any way to further their religious agendas, not only is it deplorable and unethical, it’s cruel as the time would, obviously, be better spent actually helping save people, not souls.

@Tim: I read Gary’s post, and don’t necessarily disagree with his hypothesis – that the conflicts in the Middle East are about power and a clash of cultures more than about religious differences. However, its message lost my interest when it started to preach the way of the Lord.

Evangelists/missionaries, whatever you want to call them, this is one point on which I agree wholeheartedly with the PRC government – kick the lot out.

@Sir Stingley
“they want to offer something in addition to physical help to the people who are affected” – what exactly is this extra you hope they will receive. I would have thought First Aid, on-going medical treatment for the injured, food, shelter were the priorities, but I’m not an expert – correct me if I’m wrong.
“this is something that is of course not going to be understood by someone who isn’t a Christian.” – so unless we are Christian in the first place we cannot understand, which is why we all have to be converted to Chritians in the first place so we can understand. Oh, now I’m beginning to see your logic!
Brilliant.

@ Timothy
I was also recommending this to anyone and everyone as a safe alternative before I went there and got in the mix. When I arrived they had been working together a little over a week and still didn’t seem to be very organized.
I met one doctor in the group, although he had only been to the mountains one day out of nine. The rest of the group were volunteers from underground churches throughout China.
Like I said, I am not 100% against the idea of church groups doing aid work, but they must present themselves as a volunteer church group as opposed to a well oiled machine of an NGO.
The vehicles were all donated by different people in the group, many of which lived in different provinces throughout China and filled their car with volunteers. Again, not a bad thing, but when they all want to go to the mountains in place of supplies it is.
As to where they went, my friend Shannon went with them and hopefully he can comment on here to give more information.
It is really hard to say if the money is being missappropriated, they are getting a lot of donated goods and it seems like all of them are getting to the mountains just not in a timely manner. As for the donated money, I’m not sure where that is going. Again, hopefully Shannon has more insight.

I’m back. I love turner’s picture of the overcrowded little car (cue Benny hill or circus music). At the start of the operations H to H was letting any idiot out in the field, some where just earthquake tourists (if your one of those you should reexamine why you are on this planet).
I want to tell you first, that I was in on many of Turners early observations and the three of us (turner, Jake, myself) spoke about it together.

A lot of bitching about disorganization and under qualified people AND who are all these god folk??
(Please read the whole entry)

Well regarding the first two points.
From running political campaigns, I can see the growing pains of creating a volunteer staff with no experience but huge hearts. You simply can’t handle everything from the start. On top of that everyone has to be nice to each other! That slows management down as everyone is sensitive to group decision making, etc.
Also At the start, they were hampered by a poorly defined leadership hierarchy, overwhelming demands and little experience. This is a normal phase.
What they had (and still do) is patience, dedication and good people willing to stick it out and solve problems.
They are finding there way and I think turner and Jake would agree if they saw it today.
H to H has been working with a professional in the field of Major disaster relief and they are setting up a very professional command center. The leadership is getting stronger and only qualified vehicles and teams are going out. Before there were no systems. Hell, turner called to check if I was alright, they told him “Shannon who?”
Thankfully no ones been hurt so far. The system improvements should keep it that way (though there is no system for the Chinese driver- “me first!”)

The leadership now consists of doctors who have worked in disaster zones in Africa and Asia.
The planning for trips and location selection is getting very professional. The community and its needs are identified before a team heads out.

No more Benny Hill cars going into the mountains!

The god thing, hmm. Well I like Christian do gooders, or Muslim do gooders or any do gooder. It makes feel better about people. I’m often not a do gooder so when I am, I feel better about myself, frankly. So I was happy not to take a lot of pictures because people where in deep shock and misery. People now ask me if I was on TV. I could give a shit. I almost ran over a pretty little Chinese reporter wearing an army shirt (in the camera frame), skirt and heels. I wrecked her interview anyway, that made me feel good. Am I still a do gooder?
Too many people taking pictures not enough people supporting from the gut. That’s not heart to Heart. They are giving and doing everything they can.
Do some volunteers speak of evangelism as there primary goal? Yes, but they are volunteers, the organization is not pushing that. H to H is relief oriented.
I met some great people there. A lot of volunteers with different reasons for being there. I was never held back even though I was not “In the club”.
Also if you don’t feel god’s presence in this time of need and through this kind of work I don’t know where you would. Not to be too corny but I know I did. I saw mountains that killed villages; I met families that held hope against all odds. I saw people come together to help strangers and risk their lives to do it. Without cash reward or TV time.

Your money will deliver cooking oil, tents, tarps and anti- biotic’s, and maybe a prayer or two. A few volunteers may scheme to come back and preach. Still, better then hearing some village party leaders say, “The government will take care of our spiritual needs.”
sl

Thanks Turner and Shannon for your replies. It is good to know that the vehicles were supplied from funds other than those donated. Also I never had any doubt that donated materials were reaching those in need. My real concerns are over the decision-making processes of those managing the operation and those volunteers dispatched to the affected areas. From the reports on this blog series it would appear that most of the “club” have other considerations in addition to disaster relief. I wouldn’t want to deny anyone the right to offer pastoral care as well as material aid but am not convinced that the two can be efficiently combined in one operation. Relief aid should be distributed in accordance to need; not to any other factor. The problem is that Heart to Heart have received donations from donors who were likely unaware of their competencies and characteristics. If they are not distributing aid strictly in accordance to need then they should not describe themselves as a humanitarian organisation. Humanitarianism is to serve the needs of humanity without discrimination, religious or otherwise. I have no evidence but simply can’t believe that the religious convictions of many of those involved has not been to the detriment of this and future relief operations in China. But now I am slipping from objective to subjective criticism that maybe influenced my self-deluding pagan aspirations! Therefore I shall simply forward my concerns to Heart to Heart and urge anyone with similar concerns to contact them in order to exert collective pressure. A number of my students have lost their homes in the earthquake and I am sure that they will be adequately comforted by the amazingly caring response from the Chinese populous. They have little need for new gods but do need material and monetary donations. I shall now recommend local Red Cross organisations in preference.

@flotsam

Without wanting to start some kind of religious debate that will probably get on everyones nerves(as us Christians have a tendency of doing). I just feel that I need to clarify my previous comment.

The fundamental belief of Christianity is that we have been given a gift that is greater than life itself. Furthermore we want to share that gift with other people. This is why I can understand the thinking of the people going up to share their faith with others who have had a horrible ordeal. People who are not Christians will not understand this way of thinking, as they don’t believe that this gift even exists. I certainly wasn’t suggesting that you convert to Christianity so that you can understand why these people wanted to go into the mountains and share.

At the same time I stand by my comment that I believe it would be of greater benifit to take up supplies to the people in need as a priority and show Jesus’ love in a practical way.

@flotsam

This is precisely why I said people who are not Christians will not understand why they wanted to go and share.

The Bible says that Christians are to go out into the world and tell other people. Not to wait for them to turn up at the church. This doesn’t fit in with the modern western mindset, but is still a basic part of Christianity.

I can’t speak for all of the Christians on the planet, but I try never to make anybody feel uncomfortable when sharing my faith. I certainly don’t try to coerce/persuade them to believe what I believe. If they don’t want to accept what I hear, then that is their choice.

I agree with you that if you are going to do volunteer work, it is essential that it is done with the utmost integrity.

For anyone that wants information on how to donate to Sichuan Quake Relief, check out the Lost Laowai Quake Relief “How You Can Help” guide – information about the organization as well as several other links to more sources are there.

Let’s assume that religious people can be as decent or undecent as atheists. I believe it’s really as simple as that.

@justrecently: I don’t think we’re talking about “religious people”, as that’s a pretty broad cross-section of society. I think what we’re talking about here is an evangelical Christian group and what they consider “decent” and “undecent [sic]”.

Saving a lost and misguided heathen’s soul might be a decent thing to do by the Christian point of view. But from my point of view it’s narrow-minded, ignorant and self-fish – or not decent.

It’s a matter of perspectives.

@Timothy Adam Chuter: So do gays, and I think in both cases it relates to surrounding yourself with people who aren’t critical of your beliefs, which I can understand – as much as I wish it didn’t have to be that way.

Ryan – I agree. Homosexuals may prefer the company of other homosexuals for positive or negative reasons. The positive being accepting companionship; the negative being fear of persecution. But why do the evangelicals we are discussing here appear to seek the company of other evangelicals to the exclusion of others?

They love their god and they would like others to feel the same. I see nothing wrong in that and I believe most people would be equally accepting if also unconvinced. However it would appear that they choose to use their often sizable wealth to preach in far-flung corners of the earth in what I can only describe as a cost-benefit calculation. They are surrounding themselves with those most likely to be convinced. Most likely, not because of a lack of critical thinking but because they are so grateful for the material aid they receive at the same time.

justrecently – point taken. I was lazy in my description of evangelists. I am sorry. What worries me is the “unfriendliness” that you describe. If evangelists’ only desire is to spread the word and love of their god then why limit their efforts to the earthquake victims and other similarly venerable people? Why do they describe themselves so loosely on their website? Why did they keep secrets from Turner? Why are they so desperate to reach those worst-hit? Why do they need to help those people to find their god right now?

I can only surmise that the difference they see between these victims and everyone else is their desperation for help in whatever form it takes. If I were their god I would hope that they would spread my love to those who would truly embrace it because it suits their existing nature. Surely the belief in a god is not something to be traded for and surely the appeal of their god should be equally convincing to all of us. If Turner wanted to help and they wanted to help then what is it that stops them working together. I conclude that they work alone in order to ensure that their sales-pitch is not diluted by the presence of others bearing gifts.

@ justrecently
I think your judgment is quite true. I am sure we can all fear persecution is certain situations. But with Turner’s description of the unwillingness of some volunteers to answer standard questions and Shannon’s description of the excluding “club” mentality I can’t help but feel little sympathy for any fears they may have. This is especially true when, as Shannon tells us, some volunteers admit that their primary objective is evangelism. Why should any potential donor trust an organisation with such a potential weakness in its humanitarian decision-making? It is true that they are volunteering their time as any other may do but I wonder how they are truly connected with the organisation. Is Heart to Heart really open to all and do they recruit with only the interests of disaster victims in mind? Are these realities then reflected on their website, which has surely been the channel for many donations since the earthquake and Heart to Heart’s increased media profile. How many volunteers (who just happen to also be Evangelists) can you have before you are, by default, an Evangelist organisation. If everything were transparent then I would gladly shut up! But then again I am British and we do love to moan! As the only authorised foreign NGO in the area (is this still true?), Heart to Heart have a responsibility to the international community from whom they are receiving funds. The first step is to truly know who they are.

I hope this thread has helped but even if it hasn’t it has been good to talk. I think my concerns have been in some way fuelled by my frustrations. Frustrations caused by an inability to do something hands-on to help despite only being just down the road. After the earthquake I soon realised that I was of little use to the relief operation so have limited myself to donating money and materials to the fund-raising efforts of my students. I think China can deal with this operation more than adequately but I do feel it is important for the international community and those foreigners living in China to be part of it in order to represent our concern. I guess the Chinese government has similar ideas by continuing to allow Heart to Heart and others to operate. It would be a shame if such a sentiment were in any way abused by those with the chance to make good use of it. I firmly believe that only those with the capabilities to help more than they hinder should get hands-on. Anyone else, to borrow another’s phrase, is likely to be an “earthquake tourist” or one with questionable agendas.