Haiti
Haiti occupies the western
third of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti is bounded on the north by the
Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Dominican Republic,
on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the Windward Passage,
which separates it from Cuba. Its area is 27,750 sq km (10,714 sq miles).
Port-au-Prince is Haiti’s capital and largest city.
The Arawak,
the original inhabitants of the island Haiti shares with the DR, call the
island Ayti, meaning “land of mountains.” When he
arrived in 1492, Columbus named the island La Isla Espanola (The Spanish
Island) in honor of his Spanish sponsors. The name later evolved into the
modern name Hispaniola. After an early settlement near Cap-Haitien was
destroyed by the original inhabitants, the Spanish settled the eastern
half of the
island and left the west unsettled. French pirates operating from the island
of Tutue hunted wild boar and other animals in Haiti to sell as food to
passing ships. By 1697 when Spain formally ceded the western 1/3 of Hispaniola—the
portion that later became Haiti—to France, the French had established
a flourishing slave-plantation system throughout the colony. At the end
of the next century, St. Dominque (the French colonial term for Haiti)
was the
worlds’ richest colony. The population at that time totaled more
than 450,000 slaves, more than 25,000 free mulattoes, and 30,000 French
planters.
About 800 Haitian volunteers fought in the American Revolution (1775-1783)
under the French General Marquis de Lafayette.
About 95% of
Haitians are of African origin. The remaining 5% are mulatto and other.
The mulatto population makes up about half of the country’s
elite. French and Creole are the official languages of Haiti, the latter
gaining this status in 1987. The poorer class (about 90% of population)
speaks Creole, while the other 10% speak modern French. About 80% of Haiti’s
people are nominal Roman Catholics, many of them combining an African
animism called Voudo or Vodun (commonly spelled voodoo) into their religious
beliefs
and ceremonies.
The Church of
the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene did not begin ministry in Haiti until 1948. In
1945 a law student and school teacher named Carlos Egen was exercising his
call to preach. By this time he had two main churches and 7 preaching points
with a total membership of 600. Yet he knew that he could not resource this
growing holiness ministry, so Egen approached Dr. C. Warren Jones, executive
secretary of the Dept. Of Foreign Missions hoping to unite with the Church
of the Nazarene.
In the 1948
session of the General Board Meeting, Dr. Hardy Powers brought the motion
successfully through voting. Egen’s group was officially
recognized, and the Nazarene Church began to subsidize his ministry. By
1950 Haiti had its first missionaries, Rev. and Mrs. Paul Orjala. Their
emphasis
in ministry quickly focused on developing new church leaders. Rev. Orjala
wrote, “Our only hope is going to be in developing a new generation
of young people.” To this end they began a Bible school program as
soon as they were competent in the Creole of Haiti. By 1956, with the addition
of missionaries Charles and Alberta Alstott, Nazarenes were beginning to
have a firm foothold in Haiti. In 1960, the Bible school, now in a different
location than originally located, held its first graduation ceremonies.
The 3rd District Assembly in that same year marked the fist ordination
of Haitian
elders.
During the developing
ministry in Haiti, agriculture was introduce as a viable way to win converts,
develop revenue for Nazarenes, and
influence
the dietary
quality of the poorest of the poor. 1973 saw the influence of Charles
Morrow and family. He moved to Haiti with a master’s degree
in agriculture from Iowa State University. He educated farmers in
new techniques, introduced
quality seed, and imported top quality livestock.
In the decade
between 1975-1985 a fundamental shift took place in the missional strategy
for Haiti. Efforts tended to focus more on church
growth and ministerial
training as opposed to relief and development programs. The fruits
of
this decision were seen by 1985 when the six Nazarene Haitian districts
hosted
almost 48,000 members.
This phenomenal
growth in Haiti has continued even until today. Presently there are 11
Nazarene Districts in Haiti with 90,000+ members. Haiti
continues to have the largest Nazarene membership of any country
outside the U.S.
Sources:
Parker, J. Fred. Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the
Church of the Nazarene through 1985. Nazarene Publishing House,
Kansas City,
MO, 1988.
http://encarta.msn.com/