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History of Religion in Haiti

Most Haitians are Roman Catholic, while a growing number claim to be Protestant (estimates range from 20 to 30 percent). But surveys have found the vast majority of Haitians – regardless of religious affiliation – hold at least some Voodoo beliefs.

Voodoo (also Voudou) can be loosely defined as a patchwork of spiritual beliefs, practices and superstitions imported by African slaves more than two centuries ago and melded with parts of Catholicism. Compared to most major world religions, it is loosely structured and often improvised by its practitioners. It is also not well understood.

Voodoo most often takes the form of animism (the belief that everything in nature has souls or spirits) and syncretism (a blending of animism with other religious faiths such as Christianity). Voodoo is practiced in varying degrees. Some Haitians are thoroughly secular. Others only nominally believe in superstitions and “wives’ tales” with Voodoo roots. And still others practice it zealously – particularly Voodoo priests, priestesses, and witch doctors.

As with any religion, Voodoo is also subject to manipulation by its leaders, who sometimes use it to gain power, abuse others, and fatten their wallets.

We believe that any religion that does not acknowledge Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world ultimately leads us astray. As such, Voodoo spiritual beliefs are a real and powerful obstacle to a close relationship with God. We also believe that Christ has overcome the world – including Voodoo – and that He invites everyone to believe in Him.

Voodoo and Haitian History

As the story goes, the Haitian revolution kicked off on a night in 1791 at a place called Bois Caiman. A group of slaves, led by a Voodoo priest named Boukman, met together and vowed to overthrow their white oppressors. According to accounts, someone sacrificed a pig and the assembled group drank the pig’s blood. Eight days later, the uprising began.

It is often said that during this ceremony, Haiti’s soon-to-be leaders made a pact with Satan, dedicating the land to him for 200 years in exchange for victory.

This story is taken as fact by many Christians, both Haitian and non-Haitian, and is often given in response to the question, “Why is Haiti so poor?” The details of the Bois Caiman meeting are, in fact, challenging to either prove or disprove, because very little historical account exists surrounding the gathering. Historians and scholars have not found any written record of a satanic pact being made, but many today continue to hold these beliefs

The French were defeated after more than a decade of struggle. When Haiti’s founding fathers drafted various versions of the nation’s constitution, it included no language about Satan or even Voodoo. The Constitution of 1807 established religious freedom but made Roman Catholicism Haiti’s official religion – stating that no other religion (including Voodoo) could be practiced in public. Many scholars believe, however, that the declaration of Catholicism as the official religion was largely a political move by then President Toussaint L’Ouverture to appease various European powers.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, many Protestant missionaries came to the country.

In a controversial move in 2003, Haiti’s Catholic president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, made Voodoo an official religion in the country, giving certain Voodoo ceremonies such as marriage equal standing with Christian ones. Many historians believe that Aristide’s decision, like L’Ouverture’s before him, was also largely to curry political favor.

Proponents of the Bois Caiman devil-pact theory say Haiti has lost God’s blessing, as evidenced by Haiti’s status as the Western Hemisphere’s most-destitute and least-stable country. Critics of the theory say it ignores historical factors of Haiti’s poverty, such as discriminatory foreign policies, unfair trade practices, and a tradition of corrupt and oppressive rulers. Whatever the true case may be, the truth is that the God who created the universe offers hope and redemption that no other religion can, through his Son Jesus Christ.

Another Word on Camilson

My dear nurse friends in Haiti saw Camilson the other day. They knew I would like to see how he is doing, so they took a picture for me. Thanks girls!

He is 14 months old now, and is starting to eat some regular food. He is so chubby; it makes me happy to see him looking so healthy! Here is a picture of his feet now, and to compare, one of them when he first came in. Thank you, Lord, for healing him and helping him grow!

Machines for Haiti

About two weeks ago in Haiti, someone borrowed my brother Michael’s 4-wheeler and… well let’s just say it ended up at the bottom of a very steep mountain side when the road was still at the top of the mountain. Thank God no one was killed! But that was the end of that 4-wheeler, except for a few engine parts that can be reused. My dad found another 4-wheeler same make and just a little newer, and God graciously had it listed at a reasonable price to buy and ship down. It is really expensive to ship things like that down if they are new; I think that the customs fee is about half the price you paid for the machine.

So, Daddy called the shipping company and there is a ship going out this week to get to Haiti next week. That put us in fast forward to get everything ready. You see, a couple months ago, AFH bought a Bobcat to send down, and Michael has been waiting to have his 4-Runner shipped down. Papa and my sisters have been working on getting the Bobcat ready to send, spending many Saturdays reinforcing weak points, building tool boxes, adding a horn, lights, hand bars, windshield, etc. It was a lot of work but now the machine should last a lot longer. Also, we had to fill the 4-Runner, no sense in sending down an empty vehicle. There are many things that Michael needs now that he is building, and most of them are super expensive or very poor quality in Haiti. We take our opportunities to send what we can!

We loaded on the back of the Bobcat a small 4-wheeler we have had for a long time. It is going to be mine to use when I go back. I won’t take it out of the mountains I don’t think; it isn’t very trip worthy. But it will be nice for getting around in the several communities in the area, where I hope to teach health classes. This is Micheal’s 4-wheeler and the Bobcat with mine on it.

These all have to be taken to Florida to be shipped, so Daddy and my brother Timothy loaded them up. Here is a picture of the load.

They left yesterday and were dropped off today. I heard that travel went well, PTL! Now we need to pray that it all gets through customs well, and that nothing disappears out of the 4-Runner. Thank you for praying for us and our work in Haiti, it means more than you know!

New Photo Galleries

Please take a look at our new photo galleries. They have been updated and much has been added. Please take a few minutes to look through: [button url=”http://www.aidforhaiti.org/Whatwedo/photo-galleries”]Photo Galleries[/button]

Pastor Training in Jean Rebel

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful week of training for pastors, elders, and evangelical teachers. We were invited about a year ago to conduct a week of Bible study in this area by a brother from Minnesota who had family living in this region. AFH made two investigative trips there last fall and this spring to pray and discern if it was God’s will that we go. Over 200 men showed a strong interest and a place was found to hold the week long Bible Seminar. Because the place was small and primitive, I asked the local leaders to choose only select men from their churches to come and to keep the number to about 75.

We gathered together tents, tarps, rice, beans, plates, cups, kettles, cooks, solar powered PA and projector, emergency medical kits, water filter equipment, and all the other provisions for 8 days in the remote mountain valley. We travelled 4 ½ hours northwest of Gonaives by Land Cruiser on Saturday in torrential rains. Sunday after morning worship and preaching we began with registration and orientation. About 85 men were in attendance each day from 8:00 to 4:30.

Each day we had four 1½ hour long sessions. The first class was on “How to Study the Bible Accurately and Effectively”. The focus was study without any study aids; using only prayer, the help of the Holy Spirit, the Bible, note paper and pen, and an eager mind. We taught them to ask good questions, how to use the immediate and larger context of Scripture in understanding any text and how to find and follow the major themes of the Bible. As we introduced each study method, we would take a passage and learn by doing. God seemed to really bless this class. As the men would come to understand each lesson, they would occasionally erupt with joy and shouting at the discovery they just made. Hopefully they will never forget the treasures that can be uncovered in God’s Word with a clean heart within, the Holy Spirit upon them, the Bible open before them and pen and paper in their hand.

The second class was on “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” This class focused on the great themes of salvation as introduced through Old Testament types. The men were thrilled to have the Old Testament to come alive. Many Haitian believers are not clear at all on what the Bible teaches concerning salvation by faith in Christ alone.

In the afternoon, we taught on “Particular Needs in the Haitian Church.” We tried to very clearly speak to the men about their life testimony and purity in the church. They have a huge problem of mixing Christianity and voodoo. Many, many times we find this true and yet not a great concern to them. The pastors thought that these teachings were ‘STRONG MEDICINE.’ The final class of the day was the “questions and answers” period followed with small group prayer times. Each evening there were public evangelistic meetings. We had good attendance and attention each evening.

Please continue to pray that God would bless the Word that was preached and that the men would take seriously their responsibility to preach and live the Word before their people. We have another Pastor/Teacher Seminar scheduled for next month for about 90 men in Fond Doux in southern Haiti. We also are planning a Pastor/Teacher Seminar sometime in October or November in Potino. This area is not accessible by truck. We have helped provide medical care in this area for years and are excited about Bible training here as well.

The Hurricane on Mt Patmos

On the 22nd of October, Michael and I flew into Haiti and headed directly into the mountains after picking up the bags we left here. We drove for 5-6 hours till we came to the end of the vehicle road way up in the mountains behind Port Au Prince. We had traversed a paved road with 200+ curves, a riverbed that took around 4 hours and 20+ river crossings, and a dirt road along the mountain side so steep at places you wonder how you can drive on it. At the end of the road we unloaded the 36 buckets that contain our clinic, the luggage the team needed for staying in the mountains for 5 days, and all the food we would eat during that time. Yes, it was quite a load, and sometimes I get embarrassed at how much stuff we can come up with. But we don’t want to be a burden to the community, so we take our sleeping mats and all the food we need. Anyway, the Haitian’s from the mountain we were going to, all chose what they could carry and headed off. By the time the time the trucks were empty, it was 5. The last group of us started off on the 2-3 hour hike with three rivers to cross and hour of daylight. We ended up hiking in the dark, the last half of the way, which I don’t really mind. Everything went well, we all arrived safely, had some supper and went to bed. Tuesday I set up the pharmacy while the sheets were being hung to form consultation rooms. We had 4 consultation rooms, and soon got rolling. There was the normal aches and pains, gas and acid, and quite a few clogged ears. I had some good help in the pharmacy and we had fun giving out packages with hygiene items and a dress to all the girls under the age 14. CAM had quite a few donated, and it was so special to see a little girls eyes light up when she realized that this “kado” was for her! Wednesday we had around 120 people and the wind was blowing pretty hard by the evening. We knew there was a tropical storm coming, but what could we do about it? Wednesday was my birthday, what an odd place and time to turn 25 – on top of a mountain in a brewing hurricane! I thought it was fine, I love the work here and the people of Haiti. By Thursday it was raining and blowing, and not many people came. Friday was a full-blown hurricane and every one stayed inside. It was an adventure to go to the outhouse, the wind would rip the door out of your hands. The wind eventually did rip off the doors, oh well, it is all in a mountain trip. We got cabin bound and passed the time singing and playing games of Dictionary and Pictionary and Confusion. We made that church on the mountain ring with song after song, most from memory. I was so glad that the team consisted of people who love to sing. We had no electric, and no lamps or candles; when darkness fell, we had only our flashlights. One evening we played with hand shadows, and the doctor was really good with making his shadow talk! We always went to bed early, what else is there to do? The next morning we woke up to RAIN and WIND again. At various times and places you could find someone (a lot of the time it was me) staring out into the storm. I was SO grateful we were on top of the mountain top instead of in the valley. If I have visual elbow room, I don’t mind not being able to go somewhere nearly as much. Saturday was the day the team was to have flown out, but we weren’t going anywhere. The hurricane had lingered over our particular spot in Haiti as if wanting to wash us into the ocean. Finally the thing moved on, but to our dismay and blank amazement, part of it broke off the main storm and sat directly above us, dumping the rain! Now you have to realize that we couldn’t just leave when the rain stopped. We were trapped by the rivers, one on each side of the mountain, roaring and foaming so loud you could hear it at the top. Saturday the rain basically stopped and were we ever GLAD to see the sun. We started trying to find a way out as it would be days before the river went down enough to get to the trucks, to say nothing of the big river going down enough to drive out through. We actually called the UN and other various organizations to see if we could get a helicopter to come get the team out, but we finally were told that there were only two helicopters in Haiti. They were both occupied doing rescue operations in life threatening situations, and our situation wasn’t life threatening. There were some of our team who HAD to get home, even if they had to walk out. So early Sunday morning one of our Haitian translators set out to a mountain top that was six miles away, as the crow flies. That mountain top was accessible by vehicles. He finally got to his destination around four in the afternoon, and by that time most of the team decided they wanted to hike out. Michael volunteered to go as escort, and with a few Haitians for guides and three mules, they set out. They left around 2 in the afternoon, and hiked till 10:30 pm. They stayed in the house of the mayor for that region, and finished the hike the next morning in 45 min. A man from CAM picked up the team, and Michael hiked all the way back to Patmos. He was so tired and footsore when he got back. We did clinic a few more days, and five days after we were supposed to have left, we finally packed up to head out. Horror of horrors, it started clouding up and thundering the afternoon before we were to leave. We couldn’t just head out, we needed people to carry out the stuff, and they wouldn’t come before morning. Thank God, He made the clouds dissipate, and there wasn’t a drop of rain! At 4:30 the next morning, the Pastor with us started hollering on the microphone he had brought along, calling the people of the mountains to come and help us get out. They showed up one at a time till we left around 7 am.

We hiked out Wednesday morning, the 31st, and it was such a beautiful day! After 30+ inches of rain, all the dust and loose dirt was washed away, leaving all the colors bright and clean. Of course the trees and plants were wind battered, but the air and earth were so clean and bright. I saw colors in the rocks that I never thought existed there, great streaks of red rock that were normally covered in dusty dirty brown. I fancied that those big red streaks were where a dinosaur was squashed in the flood and fossilized! Not really, but it was something to laugh about! We loaded up the trucks and headed out, Jeriah and Michael driving. They have both driven over everything that is passable with a vehicle (and some that weren’t), so I wasn’t nervous about the trip out. A couple of the others were nervous- to a degree! We had had men fix the two washed out places in the road to the riverbed, and the one place was so steep that I could not see the hood of the truck (I was standing in the bed, right behind the cab). It was interesting to say the least. We arrived at the river, and there it was roaring away through a long S shape, fairly deep, and very bouldery. I know that is not a word, but “rocky” doesn’t describe it. We had hired 6 men to come with us and walk ahead of the trucks, clearing boulders away and making a place to drive. We had to cross the S part four times in two or three hundred yards, and each crossing was difficult. The first one, just needed rocks moved. The second was deeper, and had even bigger rocks. I’m really surprised that the men were able to keep their feet while rolling rocks away! The first truck roared through the water, but the second got hung very firmly on a rock. There was no going anywhere. The water was up to the bottom of the doors, so you can imagine how it was with a whole bunch of men trying to push the truck off the rock. It didn’t work. We finally backed up the other truck and try to pull it off. No go. So we backed up farther, and pushed it bumper to bumper, yay! This time it worked! But oh no! now the first truck spun out, it’s wheels just sinking into the loose gravel of the river bottom. All the men got behind and pushed, and out it went, towing along the second truck too. That was only the second crossing. The third wasn’t so bad, but the second truck again spun out in a gravel bed and had to be pulled out. All this time, we had been crossing the river pretty much straight across, but the fourth time was a DEEP narrower spot. No driving straight across this one! Before each of these crossings, the men all stood at the edge surveying the area and talking over the best place to try. They finally decided to drive with the flow for a short way, and gunning the engines both trucks pulled safely out the other side. The rest of the way, was talked over, cleared, crossed, and repeated more times than I remember. The water kept getting deeper little by little, till we were hearing reports of it being muddy and deeper and uncross-able close to Jacmel. We reached the road Michael hiked up over the mountain, and decided to try getting out that way and not risk being stopped by the river father down. The road was steep, and it had a few places to fix before we could proceed, but we finally made it to the top. It was SO wonderful to finally be on the top of another mountain looking back over the swollen river. The rest of the trip was uneventful as far as Haiti traveling goes.

And that dear friends, concludes my tale. Here are some pictures that hopefully are like the proverbial “thousand words”!

Exam rooms right, pharmacy left, sleeping rooms up front

See the donkey’s tail, the trees and the tarp? That takes some wind!

Kind of dreary…

Beautiful sunshine!

Full moon behind the highest mountain in Haiti.

The sunsets were gorgeous!

This is where I couldn’t see the hood of the truck.

Clearing away the boulders

Stuck on a rock

This place was deep and swift

The water was getting deeper

Looking back to where we came from!

Pastor/Teacher Training – June

“They returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the hearts of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by teaching “it is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God”

-Acts 14:21-22

Many of the men who have the responsibility of preaching and teaching in the local churches possess fervor for the Lord, but they do not have biblical resources or training opportunities. As a result, they are sometimes ill-equipped to serve the needs of the Body. To this end, we provide week long training sessions to these pastors. These training sessions are provided at no cost to our Haitian brothers (other than their own travel and time). If you have an interest in helping make these events possible, consider the following: For $15, you can pay for a Haitian pastor to be further trained in God’s word for one day, including two of his meals and creole printed study guides and bibles as well. Would you join us in helping educate and equip some of the pastors and elders of Haitian churches? Please pray about how God could use you to help affect believers throughout Haiti. Please contact us if you or your church is interested in helping train these pastors in Haiti.

[button url=”https://www.aidforhaiti.org/donate-to-pastor-training”]Donate[/button] or [button url=”http://www.aidforhaiti.org/contact-us”]Join Us[/button]

The Heart of Aid for Haiti

Many times we can feel overwhelmed with all the needs we see around us in the world. We look down at our meager resources and feel like such an inadequate gesture could not be of any significant value. There is too much to do, too much ignorance, too much poverty, too much suffering. However, the truth is that our efforts, no matter how seemingly small, do make a difference.

In the slums and streets of Haiti, thousands of homeless children make up a labor force of orphans referred to by the rest of the community as “enfants sans revs”. In Creole, this means literally “children without dreams” and these truly are children without dreams and without a future. The reasons why these children have found themselves in this situation are endless, but they all share a common destiny, hopelessness. Many work as child slaves to pay for the one meal a day that will keep them alive and face innumerable perils and hardships. Very few are able to attend school and many die alone after months of near starvation and unattended illness. There is now an estimated 300,000 of these children living in Haiti today, and three fourths of this number are believed to be girls. These children are living proof that slavery is not just a thing of the past, but is instead the stark, nightmarish reality of their everyday lives.

Meet Shadrack. Shadrack is a boy of about thirteen years old, even though his exact age cannot be determined. A few years ago, his parents, which were storekeepers in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince, were killed in a botched robbery. Young Shadrack was turned out onto the street by the landlord of his parent’s house, and thus his struggle for survival began. He managed for a time in the huge crime-ridden metropolis until he met a young man from a rural village, looking to find someone to help on his parents farm while he traveled to the Dominican Republic. Shadrack agreed to come and work. For the next two years, Shadrack worked hard and received little in return besides a place to sleep, scanty meals, and regular tongue lashings.

Shadrack was living in this rural area of Patmos when our AFH team met him. He cheerfully hiked along beside the team as they brought out supplies for the clinic they were planning to have there. Those on the team were struck by his shockingly thin frame and a face that bore the absence of childhood, a face that seemed to have lived far beyond his years. After he shared his story, some of the team members began to discuss among themselves the possibility of bringing Shadrack back to Port-au-Prince. Guyteau, a young Haitian man acting as a translator, shared how he once had been a boy on the streets of Port, but had been rescued and given a second chance at life thanks to a missionary and his family who took a dedicated interest in his life. He now has a good job, plans to marry soon, and has a bright future. Shadrack’s plight touched his heart because it was one that he could relate to so well. If possible, he wanted to give Shadrack the same opportunities that he had been given.

After discussing it among themselves, the team made arrangements with the older couple that he worked for to release him. After only a few days with a group of people that showed him genuine love and concern, the transformation was amazing. Virginia Rudolph recalls that “The little guy was dumbstruck at the change of circumstances… and it was so neat to see him open up after being so shy and reserved”. Shadrack is now living with a team member in Port-Au-Prince and plans to attend school.

Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 24 that if you show mercy to any child, you have showed it to Him. While the task of bringing hope to the millions of children like Shadrack seems daunting, we cannot cease to make the changes that we can just because finishing the task seems impossible. We will never finish if we do not start. The vision of AFH is to touch lives like Shadrack’s with medical care and also with the gospel. Shadrack is just one life touched, and it’s true that there are uncountable others to reach, but these kind of differences are the kind that are made bit by bit, and child by child. Just as in the story of the loaves and fishes, gifts offered with a sincere heart can be multiplied beyond our wildest dreams if we place them in the supernatural hands of the Savior.

Remote Medical Team

Travel with us into the mountains of HaitiAid for Haiti Remote medical ministry exists to reach out into the most untouched and needy areas in Haiti. We strive to bring high quality medical care into areas most other organizations refuse to go in an effort to share the name of Christ with those who would otherwise never see care in their lifetime. Would you, your group or church like to help us? Click Here to find out more information

Visiting and CHE

You all may be wondering where I’ve been for the past month. I’ve been visiting my best friend in Iowa. Breanna was working with me in Haiti for the past year and she came home shortly after I did. Her mother is a midwife, so I went up to learn some things about midwifery and to visit Breanna. I had a wonderful time learning to know her family, and the biggest thing I learned about midwifery is that I don’t know much. It’s funny, the longer I live, the less I know. I didn’t have enough time to learn everything that Sherri could have taught me. On the 5th, Breanna and I drove here to TN for a few days with my family before we went to North Carolina for a course on Community Health Evangelism.

While I was still in Haiti, God opened my eyes to the enormous need for teaching the basics of health to the Haitian people. It began as a simple thought to teach a few of the girls that I know, and now has grown far beyond my wildest imaginations into an idea to start a community health program. Me and my capabilities were left in the dust long ago, and now I am being swept along in a current of God’s making. I am overwhelmed by the huge need, but even more so by the huge tools that God is putting into my hands. I’ve always been scared of running power tools; big machine operating was never an option. But it seems as if God is putting me into a big machine and telling me He wants me to be at least a part of its operation. I heard about the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) course at Equip International in NC, and God opened the way for Breanna and I to go there along with my dad. The program they teach there is really good, it is exciting to think of all that you can do through CHE. It is also a huge job. I don’t know when we will be able to implement the things they taught us in NC, but I do know that I am not capable of doing it myself. I need the grace and power of God to even go about learning what I need to know before going back to Haiti this fall. Please pray for me, that God would continue to guide me, and that He would provide all my needs, spiritual, physical, and financial. Thank you for taking an interest in my life, the prayers and support from you all is a huge blessing.