My friends and ministry partners at United Christians International are working to raise up a whole generation of Christians who can lead the way. I really love these guys. They’re doing the heavy lifting of teaching kids, leading Voodou practitioners to Jesus, and planting churches. They give me hope.

The headlines are a combination of heartbreak and déjà vu! Haiti again descends into chaos. The prime minister resigns. Anarchy pounds on the door and, as a result, millions of moms face growing challenges simply to care for their kiddos.

Healing Nations founder and executive director Mike Bell has been to Haiti numerous times over the past fifteen years. He cares and thinks deeply about the situation and puts his time and money where his mouth is: He and his wife sponsor and provide a home for a young Haitian man allowed to move to the US through a special humanitarian parole program.

In a recent conversation, I asked Mike for his thoughts on why Haiti faces such crushing struggles.

Why is Haiti the way it is?

If you look back in history a bit, Haiti is the result of the only successful slave revolt (1791) in the Western Hemisphere! But the revolt was not for religious freedom, liberty, or justice. Just mainly to get rid of the French! Having kicked them out, they then treated each other as badly as the French had treated them!

No sense of God-given rights. No Christian worldview.

What effect do you see Voodou and its animistic roots having on the country?

Voodou has its roots in the religion of the people of Benin, who were brought over as slaves by the French.

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