Haiti
In neighborhood plagued by violence, Haitians rededicate church
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — It was gangs, not the earthquake, that drove the Bolosse Church of Christ from its building.
Years before the 7.0-magnitude quake destroyed much of this Caribbean capital in 2010, violence plagued the streets of the Bolosse neighborhood, where church members had constructed a two-story meeting place, with assistance from U.S. congregations including the Beltline Church of Christ in Decatur, Ala.
The pristine facility — which once hosted church services, a ministry training program, medical missions and gospel meetings for more than 1,500 souls — was overrun by gangsters, said Joe Worndle, a missionary to Haiti.
“For quite some time, the gangsters were occupying the building while the church had to meet in many different locations around Bolosse,” Worndle said. “A remarkable thing happened. The church at Bolosse actually grew.”
In recent months Haitian church leaders, including Erique Bathard, negotiated with government officials and gang leaders to regain control of the facility. The West Broward Church of Christ in Plantation, Fla., shipped a container of chairs and tools to Haiti to help refurbish the facility.
On a Sunday afternoon, more than 500 church members and community leaders gathered in the repainted facility to praise God during a rededication service.
Minister Alexis Turgeau preached during the service. He thanked the community leaders and members of the Port-au-Prince congregation who cooperated to restore the facility.
“I (also) advised them to believe in the word of God,” Turgeau said. “Don’t do anything God doesn’t approve of (or) you will be in trouble.
“To God be the glory.”
Years before the 7.0-magnitude quake destroyed much of this Caribbean capital in 2010, violence plagued the streets of the Bolosse neighborhood, where church members had constructed a two-story meeting place, with assistance from U.S. congregations including the Beltline Church of Christ in Decatur, Ala.
The pristine facility — which once hosted church services, a ministry training program, medical missions and gospel meetings for more than 1,500 souls — was overrun by gangsters, said Joe Worndle, a missionary to Haiti.
“For quite some time, the gangsters were occupying the building while the church had to meet in many different locations around Bolosse,” Worndle said. “A remarkable thing happened. The church at Bolosse actually grew.”
In recent months Haitian church leaders, including Erique Bathard, negotiated with government officials and gang leaders to regain control of the facility. The West Broward Church of Christ in Plantation, Fla., shipped a container of chairs and tools to Haiti to help refurbish the facility.
On a Sunday afternoon, more than 500 church members and community leaders gathered in the repainted facility to praise God during a rededication service.
Minister Alexis Turgeau preached during the service. He thanked the community leaders and members of the Port-au-Prince congregation who cooperated to restore the facility.
“I (also) advised them to believe in the word of God,” Turgeau said. “Don’t do anything God doesn’t approve of (or) you will be in trouble.
“To God be the glory.”
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We give glory to God that you were able to regain your facility and to once again meet in there to pray, praise and worship God.
God bless you.
Uganda