The truck was packed…Our projector, generator, and sound system were loaded ready to show the film…And the eight of us finally left the house at 7:00am Tuesday morning, May 25th ready for a journey to reach out and share the Gospel! Along with Mike and myself, we had Ashley, an intern staying with us, Michele, another missionary, Pastors Jacques and Roman, and our new friend Louis from the village we were headed to called Bellefort. Louis had came to our house a few times telling us of a place here in southeast Haiti who desperately needed to hear the Gospel. On four different occasions, Louis had walked 15 hours across the mountains to reach our home to tell us about his village. No missionaries had ever been there before!

After four hours in the car driving over the most beautiful mountainous landscape imaginable, we arrived in Jacqmel. Jacqmel is a beautiful city located on the southeast coast at the base of the mountains we were about to cross. After the scenic drive through Jacqmel, we crossed a large river and started up the rocky road up the mountain.

After 5 long hours of traveling the dirt and rock roads up and through the mountains, we came to a stop in a small village. Being up in the clouds, the rains had started, and we were forced to stop due to the road conditions. We found a small church in the village and met with the pastor. It would also be dark soon so we needed to find a place to sleep. Although we were still an hour from our original destination, the Lord wanted us to stop here. The temperature had dropped dramatically since we left home and was probably in the low 60′s now. We settled into the church to get out of the rains and the cold. The pastor was so excited to have us as his guests and announced to the village that we would have a service in an hour. We set up our equipment to show the Jesus Film, and the people came quickly. When it was dark, we started the film and had around 100 people come into the church to watch it. After the film was over, we had a few people receive salvation. Mike began to preach and people ran to the alters for prayer. Most of the people knew Jesus but were hungry for his presence and power! We prayed over them all for healing, deliverance, and salvation. It was an amazing night!

Once the service was over, we were all exhausted and ready for bed. Being so cold, we all bundled in all the clothes we had brought leaving our fashion looking a little funny. As we began making our beds from the mats and blankets the pastor brought us, we noticed something funny…Most of the church were also making up beds in the church with us! We asked the pastor what was going on and he said they all wanted to keep us company for the night. So, we went to bed with at least 50 other people in the church! We all got a good laugh out of it.

The rains had set in leaving us no choice but to leave the next morning and head back home. We are making plans to return soon and make it to our original destination but will probably make another stop at the church on the mountain. The people are beautiful and kind. They were so happy that we would make the long journey just to see them. They prepared some wonderful food for us as well and did everything they could to make sure we were comfortable there. It was an honor to be with them, and we are looking forward to our next journey back!

Although the 9 hour ride wasn’t ideal, the Lord has called us to go and share the Gospel! It’s our passion to reach those who haven’t heard before. We praise the Lord for a safe trip and for our new truck which has made these journeys possible! A special thanks to Middlesettlements United Methodist Church for holding a fundraiser which helped us purchase and receive this truck and our other supporters. Without it, crossing this island wouldn’t be possible!