In a dimly lit church building on a mountainside in rural Haiti, Pastor Samuel bows his head and prays. He prays for the mother whose child is sick again, for the father who cannot provide his family with enough food to eat, for the grandmother whose sickness is only getting worse and for the fate of his wavering community.
With cracked and calloused hands resting heavy on his knees, Pastor Samuel whispers an amen and lifts his head again. As if he weren’t busy enough preparing for sermons, counseling villagers and praying earnestly on behalf of the sick and the needy in his village, sixty-something-year-old Pastor Samuel has just returned from his daily 6-mile round-trip trek back up the mountain from the local market.
For more than 30 years, Pastor Samuel has lived and been a pastor in Lestage village. “We have monthly prayer services to meet the needs of the community,” Pastor Samuel explains. “We pray for healings and even go door-to-door to pray for people.” While more than 350 people manage to fit inside of this small church building on a weekly basis to worship and listen to Pastor Samuel, many residents of Lestage village have lost their faith.
As one natural disaster after another has beat down on this small mountain community over the years, the people here have begun to lose hope.
“After each disaster you end up losing everything you were expecting to grow. Suddenly a hurricane happens and you end up losing it all,” one villager and church member, Michelle, explains.
Members of the church often come to Pastor Samuel for prayers or even for money and provisions for their families in times of great need. “We don’t have the tools that we need to offer to the community,” Pastor Samuel says, “…sometimes we evangelize and turn people to Christ, but we don’t have Bibles to give them to help them grow in their faith.”
A man of great faith and a true pillar of hope for his wavering community, Pastor Samuel can no longer do this on his own. He needs support, encouragement and the tools necessary to help loosen the grip of poverty that has overtaken his community.
Through World Concern’s One Village Transformed program, rural pastors like Samuel will get the support that they need to equip and meet the needs of their community. Oftentimes, in fact, churches like this become the greatest champion of supporting and implementing this change. Working together, through prayer and with your help, they will begin their journey towards holistic, physical and spiritual transformation.
Become a One Village Transformed sponsor today and walk with the people of Lestage village!
