After the earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, a mass exodus fled the city for safety. Many ended up in places like Canaan (pictured above), a suburb of Port-Au-Prince where nearly thirty thousand Haitians have built shantytowns they now call home. The government of Haiti refuses to recognize settlements like Canaan as permanent settlements and bans the construction of any permanent structures or the implementation of any infrastructure projects in the area. The people there lack running water, sanitation services and electricity. Life is difficult in Canaan. But even more problematic, they lack the body of Christ. There is little to no evangelical presence there.
Last year, our partner in Haiti, Pastor Leny Funtecha, saw the great need in Canaan. He sent a zealous young man named August, fresh out of Leny’s Bible School, to plant a church and begin reaching this community. Jerusalem Baptist Church was born. This past summer we had the opportunity to take two of our teams to Canaan and do ministry alongside Jerusalem Baptist and Pastor August. We saw several saved and a young church encouraged.
There is a great work to be done there. New believers are starving for discipleship. Thousands in the community have yet to receive Jesus. People are hurting. There is a heavy burden on this new pastor. It’s because of people like Pastor August, that my family and I are moving to Haiti. We want to get down in the trenches with men like him and help in any way we can. Pray for us as we continue to raise our support and prepare to move in April. Check out our progress here.
– Jacob
