Twelve days after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti I listened to Haitian Ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph deliver a somber but passionate message in words and music to a jam-packed congregation at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

He spoke as only a Haitian citizen could about the suffering, death of more than 150,000 fellow-citizens, a million-plus homeless people, the unimaginable and indescribable devastation of Haiti and what these things portend in the short term and the long term for the Haitian people. He praised Americans for their generous support even while making a plea for additional support and noted that other nations are also providing aid for the Haitian people. On behalf of the Haitian people he expressed heartfelt gratitude.

Using for a text and theme a statement found in Esther 4:14 of the Bible "...For such a time as this," the Ambasssdor made each congregant believe and feel that he/she had been appropriately placed "for such a time as this" - at a time and in a place to make a redemptive difference. This time and place demand an awareness of Haiti-United States relations past and present, to effectively aid in the future relationship of the two nations. This includes an awareness of the role Haiti had in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the same year when the slave revolt ended in the French colony of Saint-Domingue with the elimination of slavery and in the establishment of Haiti in 1804, the first republic in the Western Hemisphere ruled by people of African ancestry. The 12-year Haitian Revolution had made it too costly in lives and wealth for France to  maintain her exploits and land, thus forcing the sale of Lousiana to the United States for $15 million. The 828-800-square mile Louisiana Purchase comprises 14 U. S. states.

At the beginning and ending of his presentation the Ambassador played the harmonica and as he played the congregation sang "It is Well with My Soul" and "How Great Thou Art." These songs are testimonies of the blessed attitude of the Haitain people despite the tragic earthquake and their faith in the Great God who remains faithful.

The words and music resounded from America to Haiti and beyond, not as an echo but a voice without a language or distance barrier that communicated the spirit of hope, good deeds and unity.

Indeed, Raymond Alcide Joseph is the Haitian goodwill Ambassador to the United States "for such a time as this."

From Americans: Thank you Ambassador.