As always, I would like to start by praising the Lord for making the trip possible and for His interventions all throughout it. I would also like to thank the Hand to Hand for Haiti (HHH) team for their support, advice, and prayers. My gratitude extends to our sponsors who faithfully, year after year, support Hand to Hand’s work financially and through their prayers. We also like to thank our brothers and sisters and several churches who supported us financially and through their prayers for this special trip.
Micheline serves food at a VBS intro session.
This trip wasn’t a routine missionary trip. There were several challenges that stood in our way all through the year to weaken our decision to serve, but we were convinced that the Lord wanted us to go. As everyone knows, the problem of gangs is escalating in almost every major city in Haiti. Since over a year, the USA has stopped all US-based airlines from flying to Haiti. It was not easy to find an airline that flies to Haiti directly but by God’s grace, we were able to book with Sunrise, the only company that flies from Miami to Cap Haïtien.
We left Connecticut for Miami on June 23rd. We flew to Cap-Haïtien on June 24th, and praise God that the flight went without any problem. By God’s grace the Vice President of the Choir and the Secretary, Brothers Janeau and Carl Henry, were already at the airport to bring us to the hotel. We rested for the remainder of the day, fellowshipped with our brothers and sisters, and then started our work on June 25th. One of my main responsibilities was for Vacation Bible School (VBS), an opportunity for children to come together with trained teachers, to learn the Word of God in engaging ways (see below to learn more about what VBS entails). This was the first year where I truly was not responsible for leading all of VBS, which is a testimony of the diligence of the leaders and teachers who have been involved in VBS and who take seriously their responsibility of leading this ministry. This is evidence of the sustainability, importance, and impact of this work. I praise God for the VBS Director Mrs. Hilda Duperier, and each of the VBS teachers for their preparation, diligence, commitment, creativity, and their heart to see young people come to know the Lord for themselves.
Each VBS session this year welcomed several hundred children, and the sessions were held in partnership with a local church.
The theme for VBS this year was: Jesus’s Power Gives Life.
The lesson for children 6-12 and youth 13-17 was: Jesus Raised a Man Who Was in The Tomb for Four Days, from the story of Lazarus: John 11: 1- 44
For kids ages 3-5, the lesson was: Jesus Blessed the Little Children: Marc 10: 13-16
The following note is from the VBS Director Mrs. Hulda Duperier:
July 2015- Jul 2025, it has been ten years this year since the Michel couple established a spiritual school for the children. In French, it is called: École Biblique de Vacançes (EBVA). The goal of this school is to give an opportunity to children from 3 to 12 years old and to older children, 13-17 years old to spend at least a day learning some new songs, Bible stories, learning to do some crafts, have a good lunch and a complete meal at the end of the day. This year we worked in eleven different churches.
Our mission trips always start with a day of fasting followed by a conference for the teachers. On Wednesday June 25th, we met with fourteen teachers.
Here is our schedule for this year:
Teachers: 14
Two other teachers were provided by Maranatha, who also provided a former VBS craft teacher and her group to supervise the food and clean after dinner.
Women pose at an event at the Wesleyenne Church during the Summer 2025 mission trip.
Special Notes: Among the church buildings that hosted our VBS sessions this year, the first place, Eglise Chretienne Communautaire des Saints, is worse than everywhere that we went. What is called church building is made of plain dirt as the floor; the walls are made in part with fabric, and other parts used in metal. The roof is made of used tin, and there are other problems that create risk factors for children. Some pictures of this could be shared. I would suggest that HHH includes this place in its budget so soon something could be done for the church building.
As we stated in our last meeting, there are great needs in Haiti - all kinds of needs. In Cap Haïtien, it is over populated because of the number of people who moved there for protection for themselves, and their families against the gangs. They cannot afford good housing, food, work, and continuous education of their children. The needs are so great, and it’s as if everybody is waiting for you to take care of them.
In the midst of the intense need, we know that God is working and He is the ultimate provider. We praise Him for His provision for this trip, and trust that He will continue to fellow missionaries, Hand to Hand, our supporters, our partners, and others to meet the needs of our Haitian brothers and sisters as we share the love and light of Christ.