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Envision

Suppressive Fire

By Envision, Headfirst, Involve
24's Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer

Kiefer Sutherland as 24's Jack Bauer (courtesy of Kelsey McNeal/FOX)

Tracing back over several hundred years, the battlefield technique of suppressive fire was enhanced in World War II by the introduction of hand-held automatic weapons.  The thrust of the tactic is to respond to a threat with a barrage so powerful that the enemy is forced to temporarily stand down or withdraw from a battle, allowing safer maneuver of troops.  In modern media, a protagonist such as 24‘s Jack Bauer will request suppressive fire with a phrase as simple as “cover me.”

In Afghanistan, Master Gunnery Sergeant Peter Proietto of the U.S. Marine Corps was on a patrol ambushed by Taliban fighters.  His story and more

In the streets of Port-au-Prince

By Envision
Collapse of the Haitian Presidential Palace

Before and after the earthquake

The sun was still overhead, but the sensation of spiritual oppression was all around us.  We walked from the presidential palace, whole floors collapsed, past the piles of rubble which had been the Haitian treasury building.  A caravan of military vehicles made its way through the recently plowed streets. More than three weeks after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, very little had changed.  Broken cinder blocks and twisted rebar still covered city blocks, and a look upward revealed rooflines at every angle to the sky – but none of them as they should be.  These buildings, businesses and homes were now unintended mausoleums, housing the bodies of thousands of children and adults.  The living were still wandering in the streets, Read More

17 Minutes with Hugo

By Envision

He was wearing a black shirt with a drawing of a cross.  It said “Killed in the line of duty” and had a quote from Philippians.  Hugo had been wandering the streets of Port-au-Prince, but when he saw us he motioned for us to come to him.  My teammate Ted was taking video and stills in front of the collapsed Treasury and Hugo saw something he thought we’d want on film.  More than 3 weeks after the earthquake, a young man’s body lay covered with dust, trapped beneath shards of concrete.  I could see his face, his ear, his arm.  It was heart-piercing and unforgettable.

Hugo’s home was crushed and his family was dead.  He asked if we could pass word to his cousin in the U.S. that he was still alive.  He didn’t seem to know where he was going.  I asked him about his shirt – was he a Christian; did he have a church?  While we spoke, Haitians continued to wander up and down the streets.  A young woman balanced a hardshell suitcase on her head and just watched us from the corner.  Military convoys passed by, the Red Cross, the UN.  Two CAT earth movers were parked next to the twisted rebar, unmanned.  Ted spoke softly with Hugo as we tried to offer him compassion and aid.  Then we had to leave.

The media reports the numbers: how many dead, how many orphans, how many homeless.  There is tremendous darkness, tragedy and pain.

Only Christ can bring hope.  No amount of darkness can consume light.  For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness” made His light shine in our hearts…

We can build the Kingdom together.  Offer the Gospel to the lost.  Build new communities.  Bring healing and hope.  Get ready to join in – you can find your role as the Church comes together for Haiti.  More very soon…