Luke and Becca

“Pastor, I just heard a couple of shots down by the gate. I don’t know if anyone was hit, but if I open it to look, the whole campus will be exposed.”

The situation in Haiti has reached a new low. Last week, I received the above as a text from our guard at the church, who was wondering what to do.

I want to bring you up to speed so you can help us in prayer.

Frustration was fanned into flame two weeks ago after the Prime Minister decided to double the price of gas at the pump. This is in the midst of a gas crisis that has left almost no gas available for sale since mid-July.

Protesters responded by barricading streets everywhere. For two weeks, people have been hunkering down in their homes, waiting to see if things will blow over.

As this drags on, hospitals are beginning to scale back services and basic necessities like drinking water are getting scarce. 

I had hoped to write this newsletter from home in Haiti. The doctors here have released Becca for travel now, but in the current situation, there would be no safe way for us to get from the airport back to our house. Never mind that our family of six would be consuming needed resources.

So as we wait here in New Hampshire, my phone buzzes every few seconds with another security alert. We’re watching very closely, hoping for the momentum to shift and fuel to open up so things can get restocked and we can go back.

Serving from here…

Meanwhile, Becca is busy homeschooling the kids. I’m working with our people at a distance and creating a new digital version of my leadership course for the seminary.

We can certainly stay productive here, and there are plenty of ways to serve our people at a distance. The consistent electricity and fast internet are a blessing! But while our friends and colleagues suffer back home – in our hearts, we just want to be with them.

Thank you for your giving that enables us to remain present with them, even at a distance!

Would you pray with us for God to do a major intervention in Haiti?

Greetings from Belle Plaine, Kansas.

We had no intentions to write to you from here, but we’ve been broken down for the past two days, waiting for a new fuel pump to arrive so we can get back on the road. We’re hoping to be able to get to Oklahoma City tonight to speak at an event – we’d appreciate your prayers for a quick repair.

As I sit here with a tank full of gas, but no way to get it to the engine – it strikes me that this is where Haiti finds herself now, too.

Gangs have been controlling more and more of the country these days. Over this past month – they have managed to cut off the supply of gas to the entire country. This means the things that depend on fuel in Haiti (which is just about everything) have been brought to a halt. There is plenty of fuel in the port – but the gangs haven’t been allowing it to be distributed.

Hospitals are closing. Water is getting scarce. The situation is very bad.

Gangs are also fueling terror as they kidnap and attack average citizens. 

Last Saturday evening our seminary’s Dean of Students was attacked while returning home with his family. He and his two sons were shot, and his youngest son was killed. This tragedy has struck a blow to the STEP Seminary community, as you might imagine.

As Haiti is being shaken to its core, the disciple-makers we work with remain strong. But, they’re tired. The past few years have been exhausting as Haiti jumps from one crisis to the next. Would you pray with us that these people continue to shine bright during these dark days?

When will we return?

Our plan was to return to Haiti after Thanksgiving but in light of the current fuel crisis, it seems most wise to kick that out for a few more weeks until resources become more readily available. We’re watching the situation closely – and hope to be back sometime just before, or just after Christmas. Please pray for wisdom on this.

Current Plans

Our hope is to get back on the road this afternoon and head to Oklahoma to visit with folks there. Then, after Thanksgiving, we’ll head to Texas to connect with folks on our support team there.

Although she’s broken down right now, we continue to be grateful for the flexibility this RV has supplied as we’ve been moving around the country. So far we’ve traveled 4,500 miles, touching 18 states, as we share about what God is doing in Haiti. We’ve been busy meeting with people in their homes and preaching in supporting churches – and we’ve made some wonderful connections along the way. If we haven’t seen you yet, we hope to before we go back!

How should you pray?

We’ve put together a prayer guide that you can download and use as you pray for the situation in Haiti with us. Please feel free to pass this along to your churches and to your friends. You can find that here: Prayer Guide

Our Latest Videos

Here are our latest two videos, explaining what we’ve been up to – and providing further detail about the situation in Haiti.

Thank you so much for your partnership. Right now, your support is enabling us to shine bright during the darkest season Haiti has seen for the past 50 years.

Good morning from Haiti! We hope you’re enjoying your Saturday morning, and that you had a great week this week!

We’ve been joining the tropical disease club over the past couple of weeks as dengue fever has been making its way through the house. They call this the bone-breaking disease because the fever is accompanied by significant joint and muscle pain. No fun! Most of us are feeling much better now, but Becca came down with fever yesterday. We’re not sure if she has dengue yet, but she’s resting and has improved some today.

Speaking of illness reminds me of something a Haitian friend of mine prayed this past Tuesday as he was praying for the elections in the United States “Le Etazini gripe, se Ayiti ki touse” (When the United States has a cold, Haiti coughs). It was a great reminder of how interconnected we all are. Of course, we need no greater reminder than by looking at the pandemic this year. It still is incredible to think about how quickly and universally the world came to a halt.

Although seemingly everything stopped this year, we’ve been comforted by what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Our work at the seminary never stopped, and in fact, the pandemic is allowing us to move some things forward that we’ve struggled the move the needle on for years.

This past week, Wawa, Descollines, and I sat down and had a conversation talking about the current unrest in Haiti, and some of the exciting new things we’re working on for the seminary. I wanted to share this with you because this is a chance to hear directly from our closest colleagues here on the field.

We love and miss you all!

Luke (for Becca, Grace, Lydia, Josh and Alex)