The Heart of Haiti

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the souls of its people” -Mahatma Gandhi

Philipson Georges lives in Kona at the YWAM ships base with his wife Kelsea, but he dreams of his home, Haiti. He dreams of the city of Port au Prince becoming the beacon of hope for the nation that it was always meant to be. For now he bides his time and shares his vision with anyone who will listen.

How do you help a people who live in poverty but also live in utter spiritual darkness? How do you lift a nation out of disastrous poverty when its people are in bondage?

Port au Prince is the heart of the nation of Haiti. It is also the voodoo capital of the world. This dark art is not just a religion, it permeates the culture of Haiti in ways that are hard for westerners like you and me to fathom.

Even before it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010, the capital city of Haiti had its share of problems. Crime, political turmoil, and abject poverty were the harsh realities that became all the more prevalent when the disaster struck.

Now we have a situation where billions of dollars have either gone in or have been pledged to rebuild Haiti but the results are underwhelming. What is going on?

Missionary pioneer Jim Yost spoke recently here in campus about the failures he experienced and the lessons learned in the response he helped lead in the aftermath of the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami that wiped out a quarter of a million people in an instant. He said the problem was they didn’t get the locals involved in their own recovery. They offered a hand-out rather than a hand-up.

While much of the work that is being done is by local hands, one has to wonder what is being done for their hearts? How can we expect humanitarian organizations founded by humanist institutions to provide care for the hearts and the souls of the people? How can a culture climb out of the darkness when their city is in ruins?

In Haiti many people who accept Christ on the one hand go on practicing voodoo on the other. This handicaps them and robs them of so much that life in the Spirit has to offer. It will take Haitians helping Haitians to sort out what is harmless culture and what is giving footholds to the enemy of their souls.

Philipson has a vision and a plan to establish a YWAM base in Port au Prince. He sees the need to connect with and equip the local church with aid and sound teaching and support. He dreams of one day raising up missionaries from Haiti to go to the nations and be a blessing to them in the cause for Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Can you imagine a world where a vibrant Haitian church is sending out missionaries, even to the first-world nations? Philipson can.

Follow him here.