Mark’s Haiti Report

Mark with some of the students at College de la Grace in Pignon.

One week ago today Mark and I returned from a trip to Pignon, Haiti. When Marlene couldn’t make the trip, Mark stepped in at the literal last second, taking the “red-eye” flight from San Francisco to Miami and then flying on to meet me in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. From there we traveled north to the little town of Pignon where we spent a week with Caleb and Debbie Lucien and with the congregation of Jerusalem Baptist Church and the students of College de la Grace.

Here is the report Mark sent to the KBM Board: 

1. In many ways, Haiti is much the same country it was I last visited there in 1999. Intermittent electricity (though growing more stable), some roads remain unpaved. It’s still dirty and burning garbage can be smelled everywhere.

2. In many ways Haiti is a much different country than it was in 1999. They have 4g wireless internet everywhere. They’re going to lay fiber-optic cable throughout the country soon. We had strong wifi most of all of the week.

Mark exhorting the students to run to Jesus, with Caleb translating.

3. Christianity is more established in Haiti than ever before. Voodooism is still a problem but Christianity isn’t going away.

4. Ray taught the book of James at the Jerusalem Baptist Church each night we were there. The crowds were in flux but their enthusiasm for good biblical teaching was always evident.

6. I taught 1,100 students on the topic “What does it mean to be a Christian?” Each time was fun and it looked like the kids enjoyed it as much as I did.

More of the beautiful children of Haiti.

7. The celebration of 20 years of the College de la Grace was a remarkably special occasion to be a part of. God has done what many thought would be impossible in Haiti. And that celebration showed of God’s glory to all that were there.

8. Caleb and Debbie Lucien are the type of people and servants that ministries like ours should do as much for as we can. If there were more Caleb’s and Debbie’s in Haiti, it would look different.

9. The trip was example after example of how God does the remarkable when we ask him for the impossible.

Those are the bullet points.

As Paul Harvey would say, “Now, the rest of the story.”

Mark

Haitians love soccer.

There are words that people use to describe a trip to Haiti. Dirty, poor, unsafe, spiritually lost, devastating, 3rd world, superstitious and corrupt. To be sure, Haiti is all of these things in varying degrees throughout the country. These words, however true, don’t really describe our trip to Haiti over the past week. The only word that aptly describes what we witnessed was the word remarkable.

Remarkable.

I actually said remarkable so many times last week that I began to reach for synonyms like amazing, wonderful, incredible and unbelievable.  To understand why I threw this word around so much, you’ve got to start 36 years ago.

Pastor Sidoine founded Jerusalem Baptist Church 36 years ago.

Pastor Sidoine (Caleb Lucien’s father) started the “Jerusalem Baptist Church” (JBC) in Pignon 36 years ago under poorly thatched roof with just a handful of people. He had a vision for his family and his hometown to be transformed spiritually and socially by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church was just a piece of the vision.

By the time he was married in his mid-20’s, he’d already taken in 6 orphans from the community. As the need grew, so did his family. His wife was only 16 years old when she became the matriarch of this family that God had brought together. Since then Pastor and his wife have been instrumental in taking in children who had lost their parents for one reason or another or who had been kicked out for their conversion to Christianity. There is now an established orphanage in Pignon that ministers to these children and their families as a result of their faithfulness.

With Pastor Sidoine who is still going strong at 82.

Pastor Sidoine is 82 years old, though you wouldn’t know it. He preaches with the fire and urgency of a younger man, pleading with his congregation to love well and live rightly. Over the years JBC has planted churches throughout Haiti. As of right now, they have planted and offer pastoral guidance and financial support to over 85 church plants throughout the countryside and into the cities.

Pastor Sidoine and his wife, their church and their orphanage are examples of the remarkable work God has done through his faithful servants for the people of Haiti.

The older students wait for the Anniversary Service to begin.

It is not, however, the total picture.

Caleb Lucien, a close friend of Ray and Marlene, attended DTS in the mid-80’s and attended the church Ray pastored. In 1986 he invited Ray to come to Haiti to preach at JBC and hold an evangelistic outreach in the town square. Caleb asked Ray back for similar trips in 1990, 1993 and 2003.

These guys rocked the house during an evening service.

In 1993 College de la Grace opened in Pignon. Fast forward and what was small has become a sprawling campus (certainly by Haitian standards) serving some 1,100 students from grades K-13. The school grounds are soon to expand to add another 3.5 acres of ball fields to provide the students with organized sports opportunities. It was the 20th anniversary of this school that brought us to Haiti this trip.

Ray taught the book of James each night we were there to crowds of varying size but consistently loud and boisterous enthusiasm. In particular, the last night on prayer was well received because the message of God’s control of the healing of the sick is in stark contrast to the various incantations, ointments and witch doctors prevalent within Haitian culture.

Caleb welcomes people to the 20th Anniversary of Camp de la Grace.

I taught twice to approximately 1,100 students on “Asking God for the Impossible” and “Obedience in the Family of God.” It’s always a challenge speaking to a group of students spanning from little children to high schoolers, but it was an enjoyable experience that the students seemed to enjoy.

I’ll close this long email with this thought. For a while it seemed like Christianity would always struggle to gain a foothold in Haiti but that time is over. God has taken that foothold and made it a broad foundation from which he will build his church for his glory in Haiti.

Those who build their house on the Rock will see the Rock do truly remarkable things.