Dear Friends,
Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” And verse 16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Tricotte, Haiti, is not a city. It is a little village “set on a hill”. The people of this village are beacons beckoning all surrounding people to come and know the God they love and serve. It is the privilege of Starfish Ministries to have our orphanage located in Tricotte, and to have it as our base for all our school ministries as well. We are constantly amazed and humbled by the shining examples of our brothers and sisters of Tricotte.
In 1960 there were but a handful of faithful Christians in Tricotte, including 8 year old Diogene and his father and mother. Today there are 400 – 500 Christians in all of the surrounding area called Tricotte.
The Tricotte Church was started 11 years ago. Now the Christians don’t have to walk 5 miles to Beaudois, the nearest church.
- Ten years ago, the Tricotte Church planted a new church in Port-au-Prince. The core of this new church was made up of Christians from Tricotte who had jobs or high school training in Port-au-Prince.
- The 100 children in our Starfish Ministries’ orphanage have many “fathers” and “mothers” from these committed Christians in Tricotte.
- The Tricotte people have reached out to Eddie, a 23 year old young man who lives with his elderly grandmother. When we first came to Tricotte, Eddie just wandered around the village all day, getting himself into trouble. Some of the church leaders took Eddie under their wings and encouraged him to go to school. They have stayed close to Eddie and we see positive change in his life.
- The Tricotte Christians regularly go to the Nan-Paul village to share the gospel. A few months ago, a rough living man from Nan-Paul received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. This man is really on fire for the Lord and recently led a witch doctor to Christ.
- Two young men from Tricotte pastor a new children’s church in Nan-Paul. They meet under the mango trees every Saturday afternoon with approximately 90 children in attendance and 30 plus adults listening in around the outside of the gathering.
- For a week in July, an evangelistic team from Tricotte and Drigeon, walked 2 hours to the village of Bera. Forty-four people were saved during that week. Now every Thursday afternoon, 3 of the church leaders go to Bera to conduct church services.
- Many Christians from Tricotte are involved in our School Ministry. Norius, the director of our School Ministry, Omer, our new School Ministry evangelist, and many teachers are from Tricotte.
God is truly using the village of Tricotte to shine brightly in what has been voo doo controlled darkness. Many are responding to the shining light of these dedicated believers. We are so thankful that God has called us to partner with them in this ministry. When we consider what these people have it doesn’t look like much by our materialistic standards. However, as Paul says in II Corinthians 6:10, “we were poor, yet making many rich, and having nothing, yet possessing all things.” These Christians in Tricotte have made many rich in the spiritual sense and even though they have nothing materially, they do possess everything that really matters for eternity.
We thank God for the Tricotte Christians and the example of their lives. Please pray with us for their continued spiritual impact in Haiti. Thank you for your support!
Serving our Lord together,
Bernie and Sheryl Bovenkamp
Comments are closed