Continuing through Crises in Haiti

• A decade of turmoil in Haiti. –NY Times
• Haiti has declared a “state-of-siege.” –CNN
• Criminal violence escalated . . . including attacks on police and arson on civilian homes. –CNN
• Armed gangs control many streets and have taken to kidnapping even schoolchildren and church pastors in the middle of their services. –NY Times

By Kimberly Rae Thigpen

“Haiti has been a chaotic country for over a decade,” states Claudy Jean-Baptiste, SLM Regional Director in Haiti. “The country continues to descend into the unknown in disaster and despair, both on the economic and social points, but even more on the political and spiritual points. I have always lived in Haiti and have not seen or experienced the things that I am going through in my life. The country is unrecognizable.”

The year 2021 saw the assassination of Haiti’s president, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed over 2,000 people, and gang violence that reached international attention when a team of American and Canadian missionaries was kidnapped and, at this writing, most are still being held under threat of death for ransom. The kidnapping occurred in the same commune as Claudy’s SLM office.

Claudy says, “We are at odds and helpless in the face of the evils that surround us daily.” Schools are closed and whole neighborhoods are left to gangs. He declares his people are imprisoned within their own country.

Source of Light’s presence is spread across this turbulent island. Over twenty Associate Directors, who are Haitians, occupy Haiti’s major cities. Another thirty associates use SLM lessons in their groups of adults or children.

What happens to our people during times of crisis? One wonderful aspect of partnering with nationals in their own home countries is that they are not evacuated by embassy command during the time of their culture’s greatest need, as many foreign missionaries have been. Claudy and his team remain in country, faithful to God and His calling upon them to reach the people of Haiti.

“By the grace of God, I am doing well despite the situation,” Claudy says. He sought to get his family out of the country for their safety but was unable to. “The doors of the universities where I worked are closed because of the incessant crisis in the country. I am in great financial difficulty . . . . But we hold on. The family is doing very well. My children go to school when there is no tension in the streets. We can shout ‘God has helped us.’ We pray for better futures for my children. Their lives are threatened every day and I don’t know about their tomorrow. Everything is uncertain at the moment.”

And Claudy’s partners, our partners? “The Associate Directors of our schools in Haiti are going through the same situations as all of us. They suffer from the country’s crises, from unemployment. The earthquake completely destroyed Pastor Marc Henry’s church building in the South, and ultimately Pastor Anderson Verger lost his family home. Despite all these crises, they continue to minister in the midst of these excruciating difficulties.”

Our partners in Haiti, despite personal risk, continue to shine the Light of the World on a people stumbling in darkness and losing hope. “Despite the current crises, there are stories and testimonies that encourage us not to let go,” says Claudy. “Our graduation activities prove to us how God is still working in the hearts of our students, who have continued to do lessons and send them regularly for correction. For many, the lessons of SLM have led them to see the world differently and keep their distance from gangs and bad things in this dark world. God works even in the most total chaos.

“The sacrifice of our Associate Directors and missionaries in general is a great encouragement to show that we must not abandon our mission despite obstacles.”

The dangers require innovative thinking. Right now, gangs have taken control of much of the country’s fuel, kidnapping gasoline truck drivers or requiring large payments for permission to pass. “Our movements are extremely limited,” Claudy explains. “We are forced to develop other strategies to get the lessons to the associates. The dangers are the gangs on the roads who steal, rape, and kidnap passengers for ransom.”

By partnering with nationals, we are spared when crisis occurs—spared in proximity but not in command. God says when one of the members of the Body of Christ suffers, all the members suffer with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). We are to Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

We can serve and support God’s work in Haiti through giving. Claudy says, “The needs in Haiti are enormous and our expenses are difficult to provide on our own because we are unemployed in a dying country. All forms of solidarity will be well received and appreciated: food, money, health kits, etc.”

We can serve by praying. “I would like you to continue praying for Haiti,” Claudy requests, “for our Associate Directors, their families and especially for their projects, some of which have been approved by SLM Madison. Pray for peace in Haiti, for a stable and prosperous country. Pray our students may be transformed by the Word of God so that they may benefit their country as honest men and women. Pray for churches and schools in Haiti which are constantly persecuted by gangs.”

And one more thing, “Pray for more lessons to arrive in Haiti to reach more people. Currently in our office, our courses are sold out and we have already made requests for new stock.”

Jesus once told His followers that, if they had two coats, they should give one to a person who didn’t have one (Luke 3:11). The same with food. We who have closets filled with clothing and pantries filled with food, have much to share. We who can meet together without risking our lives, can pray for those who risk much to do the same. What a privilege, to be equipped to be God’s goodness and help to His own!