Work-for-Wages Brings Purpose to a Local Gang

The natural disasters and chronic poverty that have crippled Haiti for decades have caused this little island nation to be considered one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The hardships have been worsened in recent years by devastating drought and serious political unrest. Inflation, closing of businesses, and soaring food prices leave many Haitians struggling to do more than merely survive.   One way CAM is bringing hope to some of these struggling people is by organizing Work-for-Wages projects, helping to meet their needs without creating dependency. Some of these projects are fixing roads, clearing canals, or digging water lines. Haitians become enabled to feed their families while also benefiting the community.

We have national employees who are out researching these projects, but sometimes Barry needs to go along to analyze prospective larger projects. One of these trips included a boat trip to the island of La Gonaive, where he hadn’t been for quite sometime.  Barry, Frantz (our prior translator who is now on the CAM team), and Makendy,  headed out before the sun was up to meet a small private boat and driver to take them to the island. It was a typical scorching hot, sunny day, magnified by the reflection off the water. The boat was merely a small fiberglass fishing boat, equipped with only a motor to move it across the water. There was nothing to sit on except the bottom of the boat as it bounced and bumped over the ocean waves. When too much water came in the boat, the other option was the narrow rim that wasn’t nearly big enough to actually sit on.  It was relieving to finally reach the island, where the next phase of the journey was a motorcycle ride over the nearly non-existent roads around the island. The project here will be to put latrines and hand-dug wells in several locations. When the motorcycle tour ended back at the shore, they bumped and bounced back to the main island. The ride had been so rough that Barry was terribly sore, bruised, and burnt bright red when he made it back to the base that evening. 

With all the political uncertainty in Haiti, gangs have taken over. Gangs fighting each other breaks the calm nights with rapid gun fire. The CAM base in Titanyan, Haiti has been targeted by the local gang. Demanding money and food they vandalize CAM vehicles and threaten with severity. After seeking God in the matter, Barry began working with the gang trying to resolve the ugly situation. After much dialogue, they agreed to lay down their gang mentality and try to find a way to help out the community, instead of terrorizing it. Soon they agreed to work on rebuilding a road that goes through town. The dirt road is a muddy river every time it rains, and continues to wash out. After working together, they came up with a plan. With our oversight, the gang began working, and with great vigor! They finished the first 20 meters In two days, 

surprising everyone! The men frequently stop in to check on the work and talk to the laborers, and their attitude has changed 180 degrees. They often ask questions about God, and say they would like Barry to hold a seminar for them to teach them about God. Phil asked them if they knew how to get to heaven.  A simple “no,” was their reply, but you could have heard a pin drop as they waited for the answer. The work for wages program has given these gang members something productive to do; something to live for.  The door has been opened!

Your continual prayers are certainly appreciated as we try to balance the many tasks to be done, including monitoring and making progress at SHM in Arcahaie. Barry is also teaching a few classes during the pastor training seminar, or BDC, which began this week.  Thanks for checking in! 

Back to Haiti!

So much has transpired since our last update, its hard to even know where to begin with this long-overdue post. For anyone who may be unaware of what happened after we finally managed to land in the US last September, perhaps a brief summary of the past year is fitting. 

The initial plan in flying home was to stay for a month-long furlough, but with the disastrous situation in Haiti, our toddler’s terrible health, and a high risk pregnancy, the mission board concurred that it would be in our best interest to remain in the US for an extended time, probably until the baby was born.  

During this extended home-time, the opportunity arose to help with another mission that was in need of a new director.  After much prayer and the board’s approval, it was decided that we would return to Haiti to live at this other mission compound, while still wrapping up some things at Shepherd Heart Ministries.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Those months flew by as little Andrew started putting on weight, learned to crawl, then walk, and our healthy baby girl arrived without issue.  Little Elizabeth did, however, arrive during the beginning weeks of the global pandemic; the worldwide shutdown caused by the infamous coronavirus. Under normal circumstances, her passport would have been completed and shipped within six weeks or less, so we had penciled in plans to leave in early May. Since everything was shut down, including the passport offices, her passport didn’t come until late July.  In early August, we finally set foot on a plane, wearing our mandatory face coverings.  It was relieving to finally land in Haiti and get to work learning the ropes of our new jobs. 

We only had about a week of overlap with the prior director, so he had to learn quickly, but for the past several weeks Barry has been doing the best he can in trying to straighten things out after a long absence of administration (The last director was home in the states the whole time we were, due to the unrest).   Sadly, things have been veering a bit off course for a long time, and the correction hasn’t been without some squealing tires.  There are Haitian employees who have been here a long time, some upwards of 30 years, so reminding them to do things as simple as clocking in and out have been just one of the many little things being corrected that have slipped through the cracks over the years.   Pray that he can continue bringing things back to original policy without stirring too much backlash from the employees. 

There are many, many, needs in this country, as we already knew, but sitting behind the desk for a large organization causes one to come face to face with dozens of them every day.   Discernment is needed in every situation, as they often seem so similar, nearly everyone having almost the same story. Many have legitimate needs, while others see a potential opportunity for personal gain.    

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Meanwhile, work has resumed on the orphanage in Arcahaie.  The walls are being plastered upstairs, both inside and outside, and most of the electrical work is done.  It’s exciting to see it nearing completion after sitting so long with no progress!  The church building that sits in front of the orphanage is still a frequent meeting place for the little group of believers, and even was through the pandemic that kept many church doors locked tight.  After being gone for so many months, walking back through the big metal doors for a Sunday morning service was as though we were never gone at all. They all seemed encouraged, stable, and even sat mostly in the same seats they did a year ago. There were some missing though, since Fre Toujou has become too frail in his old age to make it to church very often, and his wife Jezila passed away during the time we were gone.   Over the course of the year, there were also a few people that were baptized, so the membership has grown.  Pastor Bazalet has been a good leader.  What a blessing to see them do so well! 

The children’s home at Shepherd Heart Ministries is getting closer to completion. 

Sunday morning we left early for the church service in Arcahaie. We enjoyed the time of singing from our Haitian song books, then Millard Yoder shared an opening message. Millard and his family, as well as the other two brothers from CAM, all came along for church. After Millard’s opening, Barry then had the main message relaying the severity of sin. 

When the service was over and we were done chatting the with the church folks, we stopped at a little roadside restaurant for some authentic Haitian corn meal and chicken.  Then it was time to set out for the next phase of the day’s adventure.  With the group condensed into two vehicles, we bounced and jumbled up the mountain roads for two hours before reaching our destination. It was an old fort, standing for centuries yet slowly showing signs of returning to the ground from whence it was erected. After a bit of exploring the damp old jail cell, the secret passage, and various other nooks and crannies, we found a shady spot, selected a few rocks for chairs, and had our evening Bible study inside the walls of the fort. By the time we were finished, we found ourselves inside a cloud that felt like a cool, pleasant fog that shaded out the intense sun.  A kind mountain man who had done his best to show us around the “big house” was happy to partake in the little snack we had brought along. Just as we were leaving, a tall white man, who by every appearance except his skin tone could have passed for a Haitian mountain man, stepped out from the wild shrubbery to say hello. He and his family have been in Haiti for over 20 years, with the last three being right there on that mountain. I was amazed and intrigued by their pioneer spirit to live in such an inaccessible place. 

Thanks for checking up on us! We are blessed by the prayers and encouragement that leave us feeling as though we’re not forgotten.