Back from Haiti

Just got back from my first of many trips to Haiti. Earlier this year, Pastor Rob challenged Southbrook Church to IMPACT the world by going to Haiti. Pastor Rob traveled to Haiti to meet Pastor Rene, who is a true man of God, with an amazing ministry in Haiti.

Pastor Rene grew up in Haiti. As a young boy he was being groomed and trained to become a voodoo priest. When he was just a small child, a missionary gave him a piece of candy, and began sponsoring him at $15 a month. The sponsorship covered the cost of food, clothing, and school.

When Pastor Rene was a teenager, his mother became a believer. She led him to Christ, and stopped him from becoming a voodoo priest. Since the Pastor Rene has become a major player in growing God's Kingdom in Haiti.

After completing schooling in the US, he returned to Haiti with the goal of starting 100 new churches. Today, 24 years after returning to Haiti, he has helped start 34 churches.

God is moving in a mighty way. The government is asking for Pastor Rene's help in getting Bible studies started in government buildings every day of the week. An orphanage is being built that will house 100 Haitian children. It is slated to open later this year. A new community is being planned and developed that will house families, provide farmland, a church, a school for the children, along with a Bible school for training new leaders.

Our team focused on Delmas 31 Church. This was the first of the 34 churches. Pastor Rene calls this the "mother church," because it was the first, and many of the leaders have been and are being trained out of there. As I write this, our team is helping to demolish the old building, which they have outgrown. This week they will lay the foundation for a much bigger building, which will hold up to 2500 people at a time. Once the main building is completed, a school will be built. The new school building will have classes for children, technical classes for teaching trade, and Bible classes for training church leaders. The estimated cost for the entire project is around $300,000.

I am looking forward to returning to Haiti next month. I'll be taking a team of people to help with a medical clinic. I look forward to continuing to work with Pastor Rene to reach the people of Haiti, to leave the mark of Jesus Christ, as we IMPACT the world.