Her name is Madruska. Even though she is a Haitian, she was given a Russian name at birth. Her names means, “little or small.” It really describes the way she felt about her life when we met her last month in Port Au Prince, Haiti. She felt that her life had little, if any, significance at all.
When we first met Madruska, she seemed sad and hopeless. As we began to share the Gospel with her, she would not even look up at us. She simply stared at the ground. We assured her of God’s love for her and we noticed that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. Then she told us her story.
Madruska had moved to New York City as a little girl, attended school and spoke flawless English. She even spoke with a Brooklyn accent! As a young lady she started selling drugs on the street until she was finally arrested. She spent the next eight years of her life in a prison in the USA. When she was released, she was immediately deported back to Haiti without friends or family. Now she spends her days roaming the neighborhood in search of work.
It was our privilege to point her to Jesus Christ and put her in touch with a new church we had just started in her neighborhood. Our prayer and desire is that she will grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus. Her name may mean small, but she has a big God who loves her and has a big plan for her life.
Thank you for helping us reach precious souls like Madruska with the message of God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Your support helps us to help her and many others like her.
Continue to pray for our team of local indigenous leaders in Haiti who are serving the church planting movement spreading across Haiti.
– Rick
A Word from Pastor Kenny:
I recently took a team of seven to Haiti with World Reach Partnerships. This was one of the best experiences of my life for several reasons.
First, working with World Reach was extremely pleasant and easy. They communicated with us promptly and clearly from our first inquiry. Jared gave us a clear overview of the mission objective and a practical description of our responsibilities. They made all travel arrangements for us. All we had to do was show up. Though there had been some political disruptions in the weeks before our trip, we never felt threatened in any way.
Another reason this was such a great experience was the preparation. Rick and Jared traveled many hours to our church to conduct a training for our team. In addition to the orientation and practical training, we received a manual that covered all the essential elements of our trip. Our team felt confident when we left on mission. Once on the ground, they were prepared for us there as well. Teams of two were paired with a translator and his disciple and we went door to door through the villages sharing the gospel using Three Circles. Our translators were capable and inspiring, and our teams built strong bonds with these godly young men.
However, the greatest reason our trip was such a great experience is because of what God is doing in Haiti through His church. He is saving souls and starting new churches. And we had the privilege of being a part of that through World Reach. God has especially been blessing the work there though the leadership of Jacob Via. He has implemented a truly biblical model of evangelism and disciple making. This is the most effective functioning of the biblical model that I have personally witnessed.
Finally, we were privileged to share the gospel with over five hundred people and saw about 40 professions of faith and a baptism. We have been rejoicing and telling stories of encounters since we returned. I pray God would give many of you the opportunity to experience His grace. I highly recommended going on mission with World Reach.
Pastor Kenny Stidham,
Good Shepherd Baptist Church
Scott Depot, WV
