Spending time with Haitian church leaders and working with our Haitian ministry team is more fun than a person should be allowed to have! But I thought you also might enjoy some fast facts, smells, sights and sounds from this trip to Haiti.

Fast Facts About This Trip

• Dates – Feb 20-March 4, 2022
• # cities – 2
• # pastors trained – 223
• # hours of instruction – 36 (18 hours per course)
• # Thompson Bibles awarded – 223
• # Creole Bibles given – 500
• # God-Pleasing Worship books given – 230
• # evangelistic tracts given – 1000s!
• # lbs Ken lost – about 10 🙂

Grits – Haitian Style

I grew up with grits, you know, the white hominy breakfast food. Called mayi (“corn”) in Creole, these grits were made over a charcoal fire, seasoned with Haitian spices with bits of shrimp thrown in for good measure. Your mama never made grits like this – and they are tasty! Other breakfast foods are spaghetti without sauce but spiced well, ze (eggs) served with lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions and green peppers. This latter was my go-to to keep my stomach in order. I’ve learned to eat light when I go to Haiti – a little breakfast with coffee and a small lunch of chicken and rice. That keeps me healthy and happy through the days of training!

Coastal – and Vulnerable – City

Gonaives lies on the northwest coast of Haiti about 100 miles from Cuba and is the capital of the Artibonite Department. This city of 300,000 people sits on flat land at sea level, making it vulnerable to hurricanes and their resulting tidal waves. In 2004, Tropical Storm Jean sent a storm surge 10 miles inland that flooded the entire city and killed 3000 people. Church leaders still talk about it. Gonaives also is known as the birthplace of Haitian independence because Haitian slave leader, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, read Haiti’s declaration of independence from France on January 1, 1804. Haitians celebrate their independence day by eating simple, tasty soup called joumou that commemorates their humble beginnings as a nation.

A Haitian Fable

I’ve heard this Haitian tale more than once and heard it again this week. It makes a point worth pondering.

An old man was traveling with his two children and his donkey. He decided at first to put his children on the donkey since they were young. But people in the first town said, “That’s not smart. Why let your children ride while you walk? They’re young and strong, and you’re old.” So the old man continued his journey to the next village, this time riding the donkey himself and letting his children walk. But people in the next village said, “That’s not smart. Why are your children walking? They’re young and fragile.” So the man seated the children on the donkey with him and continued his travels. When he arrived in the next village, people said, “Ah, the poor donkey. This animal can’t carry all three of you so far.” So the man and his children got off the donkey and they walked on, leading the donkey as they went. But people in the next village criticized him, too. “That’s not smart! Why have a donkey if you can’t ride it?”

Moral: Whatever you do, someone will disagree so just do what is best and ignore the  criticism.

Hazards of Longer Church Services

Haitian church services typically run two hours or more, with a 30-minute sermon coming at the end. As we hung out last night sharing “pastor stories,” Ulrick made us all laugh. He told us that a guest pastor came to his church one time, and as the singing went on, the pastor fell asleep. When the time came for him to preach, Ulrick woke him up. The sleepy sermonizer stepped to the pulpit, prayed briefly and told the congregation, “You’re dismissed!”

My First Stop in the USA

I landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida a couple hours ago. While I love so much about Haiti, especially time with church leaders, I still appreciate the “perks” of living in the USA. 🙂

We finished training 115 pastors in Gonaives a few hours ago. We are weary but still excited about the great fruit for Christ here. As in Cap Haitien, church leaders were especially attentive and hard-working. Again and again, they thanked us for coming to Gonaives to train them and asked us to return to train them more. We were touched and humbled when the leaders of the pastors association encircled our team and prayed for us. We look forward to returning to Gonaives. The Lord clearly has opened the door for PPI training here!

Pastors who came to this training from other cities pleaded with us to bring PPI training to their cities. We asked them to pray for us and told them that our team will meet tomorrow morning to pray and talk about our next cities. Will you pray for our team as we meet to talk about our next steps of training? We are asking the Lord for a clear invitation from a pastor or, better, pastors association with a good reputation. We need a good host church – quiet and large enough to host our training. And, depending on the area, a good airstrip!

I’ll also talk more with our team tomorrow about their part in leading training sessions and, soon enough, entires days of the training. Hebert led a review on day one, and Esau led all of Session 7. Both did well. Esau taught especially well. Pastors respect him, and he interacted with them so well today, encouraging their responses and reinforcing their learning. Mentoring and coaching pastors to lead PPI training, especially Course 1, remains high on my and our Board’s priority list. We made good progress toward that goal on this trip!

When I return to Michigan, I’ll unpack and organize, take a few days off, then begin ordering Creole Bibles, Thompson Bibles, and other materials for our next training conferences. Until then, I’m enjoying time with brothers in Christ and turning my thoughts to heading home. Blessings to you all in Christ. Thank you for your prayers, encouraging notes, and faithful support. You are a big part of this mission team, too!

One joy in training pastors in Haiti is spending time with our Haitian ministry team. Over our years of praying and serving together, we have built friendship and partnership in Christ, and these bonds have grown even stronger on this trip. I am serving with five Haitian friends that I have known for many years – Pastors Esau, Jasmin, Ulrick, Michel and Hebert. We are working hard to welcome and train church leaders. Each day we set up, welcome pastors and train, then tear down, store materials and prepare for the next day. And we eat, pray and talk together. This is our pattern, and we have enjoyed it. The Lord has given us health, strength and good fellowship. Added bonus: Being the only American on this trip has been great for my language learning!

We’ve also enjoyed “down time” together filled with teasing and laughter (Haitians love to laugh!), animated discussions about the Bible and church life, serious conversations and prayer. I am always sharpened and challenged in my walk with Christ as I spend time with these Christian brothers. I have learned so much from them about waiting on the Lord, being devoted to prayer and committed to church life. In light of that, I thought you would like to hear some faith stories of Haitian believers. Here’s the first.

How Michel Met Jesus

Two nights ago Pastor Michel (sitting just behind me in the plane to Gonaives) told us how the Lord saved him. Like many Haitians, he began life in the Catholic Church. He excelled at his catechism and service in the church, and in his early twenties, even filled in for the priest in giving the message. Michel had a born-again friend that he argued with about Christianity, but the Holy Spirit began to stir his heart. He decided one day to visit his friend’s church for one service. He sat in the back row.

As Michel listened to the singing and preaching, a terrific spiritual battle raged in his mind. A spirit of darkness shouted, “Get out of here!” and the Holy Spirit said, “No! Stay!” The battle for his heart continued throughout the service. At the end of the service, Michel went to the front of the church where believers met him. They asked him if he wanted to pray. At that moment, he could hardly speak but squeaked out, “Please pray for me.” So believers gathered around him and prayed for his salvation in Jesus’ name. At that moment the Lord delivered Michel from the power of darkness and made him a new creation in Christ.

Michel began to read the Bible and meet with his friend and other evangelical believers, but he also continued serving in the Catholic church. As he taught catechism classes and preached when the priest was away, his messages changed. He questioned praying to saints. He spoke against having statues (idols) in the church that people relied on for God’s favor. When the priest returned, he confronted Michel about this change in teaching. Michel left the Catholic church for good shortly after that and hasn’t looked back. He has pastored faithfully in Ouanaminthe for many years, and though our team teases him about it, he doesn’t plan to retire any time soon.

Some pics of our first training conference below. We begin training pastors in Gonaives tomorrow (Monday) morning. Thanks for your prayers, friends. Have a good week following Jesus in your mission field!