A word from Bro. André Petit

Dear Bro.

Warm greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

I am writing you today on behalf of the brothers in Haiti, as the apostle Paul once wrote on behalf of the Saints of Judea. As you probably know, I have come to know the country quite well. I have developed a great love and concern for the Haitian brethren ever since my first missionary trip to Haiti, in 1989. As I have gone back over 20 times, I have come to know the local churches and their leaders very well. Although the common people mostly express themselves in Creole, French is actually the official language, such that every time I preach in the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince, or any of the other larger cities, I simply preach in French. The lack of language barrier has greatly facilitated interpersonal relationships and helped create lasting bonds. Every time I go, I am struck by their great poverty, and the tremendous lack of just about everything: from life sustaining essentials to indispensable Christian supplies, such as Bibles, Message books, and the like.

November 2009, I decided to resign as pastor, in order to embrace the mission field, full-time. My son-in-law, Bro. Steeve Brisson, is now pastoring the Assemblée Lumière du Soir (Evening Light Assembly) that I had been pastoring for the last 18 years, out of Warden, in the province of Quebec. Two months before this recent earthquake, I had actually already planned to go to Haiti and had already purchased the tickets.

For many years now, Bro. Raymond Hébert (from Madawaska, Maine, USA) has been travelling there with me. We have brought literally thousands of Bibles, thousands of Message tapes, and thousands of French biographies that Bro. André Morin had written, back in 1983. We were even able to get 3,333 of these biographies printed in Santo Domingo, on the Dominican Republic side of the island, at half price, and then cross them over to Port-au-Prince, on the Haitian side, again at a very low cost. By the grace of God, we were also able to distribute 500 MP3s, each containing around 300 French messages. Up until then, the ministers only had a couple of Message books to go around. With the ministers' needs covered, we then helped them set up a printing shop in Port-au-Prince, so that Message books could be made available to the Haitian Bride on a larger scale. There are roughly 20,000 believers in Haiti worshipping in approximately 100 churches... and their numbers are on the rise, each and every year.

Today, I am making an emergency appeal for financial support. Our Haitian brothers and sisters have always been in dire need, but since the recent earthquake, it has taken on a whole new proportion: Most of them have no food, no medical help, nor even a roof over their heads. The purpose of my upcoming trip will be to help the local pastors evaluate the many needs and establish priorities, and then to give out whatever funds the donors will have sent us. Since our Assembly has a bank account directly in Haiti, I will be able to go to the local bank to withdraw the previously transferred funds and see to their fair distribution.

My son-in-law, Bro. Steeve Brisson, has set up a bilingual web site, enabling you to keep up with our efforts to help the Haitian Bride of Christ, and on how to transfer funds. Our Haitian bank account enables us to transfer the funds quickly and safely.

The Lord willing, I will be travelling to Haiti as often as required.

Thank you for your trust and generosity, and may the Lord bless you richly,