I’m not sure if this has made the news back home, but Haiti is in the midst of the most significant political crisis in a generation.
We’ve been experiencing unrest on and off throughout the last year and a half, but severe unrest broke out in earnest at the beginning of September and it hasn’t let up yet.
People are frustrated with widespread corruption and angry over a lingering fuel crisis that has left gas stations closed and fuel unavailable. Protesters have been demanding the President’s resignation and setting up flaming barricades daily to block roads all over the country – often throwing rocks at vehicles that attempt to pass.
Most schools across the country have not been able to open. Public transportation has been shut down. Most private and public institutions have been closed. The term used to describe the crisis here is: “Peyi Lòk” or Country Locked.
As the crisis moved into its second month, some hotels and restaurants began to close their doors and businesses began laying off employees. Thousands of employees have already been affected, and while we’re not out of this crisis yet, there is a growing sense that there will be another crisis that follows as the detrimental effect on the economy becomes more apparent.
At STEP Seminary, we have not been able to hold classes for two months.
Two weeks ago we should have held mid-semester exams, but some classes haven’t been able to meet at all yet. Our professors have been working with students as much as possible via WhatsApp and over the phone, but with electricity scarce, that has been a challenge, too.
Wawa, Descollines, myself and a few other staffers have been able to get to the seminary many days, but travel across the city has been very complicated and often involves re-routing to avoid barricades.
Although this has been a discouraging couple of months, the effects of corruption we have seen on full display have shown us again just how critical our mission is at the seminary. Haiti needs maturing leaders that make disciples of Christ to transform their communities to the glory of God – perhaps now more than ever.
The Gospel Continues to Advance
Although we haven’t been able to hold classes, our ministry in the community around the campus has continued to bear fruit. Several times throughout this crisis, our staffer leading this ministry has come back with a report of someone new coming to Christ through the ministry of the small group Bible studies. Just over a week ago, he reported an eight-year-old girl who had been attending the study for over a year, decided to invite Christ into her life. Praise God!
Good News for Quisqueya Chapel!
After four years of searching, the Lord has provided a new Senior Pastor for Quisqueya Chapel! In mid-September, our new Pastor arrived and began his ministry at the Chapel. He’s been off to a wonderful start! His arrival brings much-needed relief to myself and the other Elders as we’ve been carrying the leadership load at the church for four years. Although I will continue in my role as Chairman of the Board, I’m glad to have some time freed up for other projects I’ve had waiting at the Seminary.
How Are We Doing?
As we’ve been posting updates to our facebook group, several have asked how we’re doing personally. The truth is, it’s been tough. With the volatile state of the country, it’s been nearly impossible to plan anything with any confidence. Each day we wake up not knowing if we’ll be able to go out on the streets or not. For the better part of 8 weeks, the kids have been cooped up at home – and as you can imagine, that gets old after awhile.
But we have remained safe. There has been almost no risk to our home and we have continued to be able to get provisions of food, water and fuel as needed. We praise God for that!
How you can pray
- Pray for us to know how to best be an encouragement to our Haitian team.
- Pray for us to have the wisdom to know when to reopen the seminary, and how to arrange schedules and courses in order to recover the time lost.
- Pray for peace and justice to reign in Haiti – and for a swift end to this crisis.
