Tanis' Testimony in his own Words
What would Jesus do and where would He go to reach the hungry, sick, and hopeless? He would preach the Gospel to them in a practical way with His deeds.
The Word says, “Where there is no vision the people perish” (Pr. 29:18). Do I have a vision? YES – I always have had a vision, but it was not well defined and clear until December 4, 2001.
I was going to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, to pick up mail from my friends. I was sitting quietly in the bus, meditating in prayer. Deep within me I had some questions and I was confused. I should have been able to answer the confusion: I had been working in the Haitian community in the Dominican Republic for 5 years, so I should know my people. You cannot help someone unless you know him: his weaknesses, his problems, his past, and his needs.
Some questions I asked myself many times:
Why do most Haitian brothers and sisters find it difficult to trust a leader, and why are they unable to be trusted?
Why – after so much Bible teaching in tithe and offerings – is it so hard for these brothers and sisters to be a blessing to their local church?
The Lord took me into the background of Haiti, especially its political and religious leaders. Very few of these individuals are known for their integrity, trust, and honesty. Haitians emigrating from their home country to the D.R. have negative experiences which are becoming worse.
Why? Their first experiences in the D.R. are those of abuse. They have no legal status or documents. They speak French and Creole rather than Spanish as the Dominicans do. Many Dominican and foreign businesses love the hard-working Haitians because they can pay them lower wages and dismiss the abuse. The Haitians hesitate to speak out; few people seem to speak for the Haitians’ situation in the Dominican Republic. Events have reached such a level that many Haitians disavow their nationality, preferring to say they are black Americans.
One question I kept asking was “What could Jesus do through me and who is ready to be an ambassador to these shamed people?”
I believe there are many of us who would choose to serve these people, but we are confused. There are good leaders among the Haitians but also many others – especially our brothers and sisters in America – who are very interested in reaching out more and more to the abandoned Haitians.
My own roots in the Lord’s service began when I was thirteen years old when I was saved at my church in Fond Verretes, Haiti. My pastor inspired me and confirmed the Call of God in my life. I wanted to be more involved in the business of His Kingdom.
God answered my prayer in September, 1990, when I received a work scholarship to the American Bible School Caribbean Christ for the Nations in Jamaica. I was so blessed at that school because most of my teachers were well-prepared men and women of God who imparted sound Christian teaching. I learned to trust God in all things and to walk uprightly with integrity – even in the smallest area of my daily life.
In August 1993, some weeks before I graduated, Mr. Bruce Vernon, Director of Christ for the Nations, tried to convince the Haitian graduates to stay on at the campus for awhile. He had been a missionary to Haiti for many years and knew how difficult the situation was going to be if we returned: a military coup had overthrown the government of President Aristide and it was a real hell. All of us decided to return immediately and face the reality. From the airplane we saw Haiti: it looked like a desert compared to Jamaica, often called “The Green Land.” The 3rd year of the embargo in Haiti had put such socioeconomic pressure that I could not cope. My parents saw me as a future for them, so I started praying and asking God for direction and guidance.
The Lord led me to visit the Dominican Republic in December 1993. I met a deacon from the Baptist church in San Pedro de Macoris, never dreaming that later this would be the area in which the Lord would have me work. The deacon told me that Reverend Jean-Luc Phanord needed help with translating for visiting mission groups. He gave me the address of the Haitian Missionary Baptist Church in La Romana.
When I met Pastor Phanord, he told me the truth: I will not be able to support myself and would need to be open to cooperate and do any job he assigned me. He accepted three of us and rented a room for us with a member of his church. Pastor Phanord was a very strong person. It wasn’t always easy, but I humbly spent my due time under his leadership. Sometimes I wondered why the Lord had led me to La Romana. I did not understand, but God knew: He was preparing me for a greater job in the Kingdom business.
Back to the Bus - the Vision
Sitting quietly on the bus at 9:30 that December morning in 2001, God started giving me a great vision. It so deeply moved me that tears started running down my face. I was trying to hide so no one would ask me what was happening. I bowed my head. My crying was not from sadness, but from JOY! I was experiencing something so strange, so real. I could not stop those tears of joy. From my encounter with God in the vision, I learned that I needed to forgive my church members. I needed to ignore their background and give them practical teaching.
God has chosen men and women of faith who are trustworthy and have a positive Spirit. By God’s grace, my wife Esther and I are called from among them for such a time as this – for something great that HE will do.
What did I see in this vision?
•A school
•A temple of worship
•A pastoral residence and guest house
•A health care center
The School
Haitian children once believed that they could not aspire to be more than just a sugar cane cutter, a hole digger, or an animal shepherd. They thought they were dirty and bad-smelling and ridiculed by Dominicans. The school builds a bridge of love and forgiveness between Haitians and Dominicans by sitting them side by side in one of the most professional and well-constructed schools in the area. The school encourages Haitian children that they can become lawyers, doctors, engineers, pastors, managers, etc. They can speak English, Spanish, and French. They will learn to be faithful stewards in the Kingdom of God.
The Temple of Worship
The Haitian people have a historical background of witchcraft and voodoo worship. Those people worshipped in “dark, dirty, littered houses”. Haitians need to be taught that they can be saved by accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. Once they do so, they are children of the Most High; they are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The dark, dirty, littered house of worship will become light, clean, and uncluttered to identify with the God of Israel, Abraham, and Isaac – not with a foreign god. They can come to church dressed up and clean to give God praise. The temple is a practical, visible way of evangelizing the Haitians. The vision I received showed this.
Pastoral Residence and Guest House
The pastor needs a place to live, work, and rest with his family. He needs a place to greet and receive visitors coming from all over the world and to be able to accommodate them. The residences also provide space for administration of mission business. The guest house will provide a resting place for volunteers and visitors while on God’s business. The residences will also provide many employment opportunities.
Health Care Center
Our Haitian people, mostly children, become ill very easily. They are always rejected in public hospitals; private hospitals are too expensive. The lack of adequate medical assistance is a major cause of so many pregnant women and children dying. Also, doctors who work in the public hospitals often go on strike. Haitians lack the economic opportunities to go to private clinics. Haitians are often characterized as hard workers, but many see them as dirty. When they become sick it appears as if no one cares. However, there ARE medical professionals (doctors, nurses, and others) who are willing to provide medical outreach to our site, but we need a center from which they can work.
Medical clinics provide a visible outreach of caring for people and are a practical way to evangelize Haitians by teaching them that Jesus loves them.
It has been a challenge. I’ve been tested. But thus far the Lord has helped us by maintaining the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in me. Among the poor Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic I have experienced and seen the need of preaching a holistic Gospel as Jesus did. They escaped from their country because of poverty, poor economy, political unrest, and lack of education among many reasons. They search for economic and political refuge among a people totally different from them in language, political, and cultural background. It is difficult to imagine the level of prejudice, racism, and mistreatment that Haitian people are experiencing n the Dominican Republic. Many are homeless, hungry, and unemployed.
One of the hardest jobs of a Haitian pastor is to protect his people who have come to the church looking for refuge and sanctuary. Many of these refugees have been beaten by police because they have no legal identification papers.
Perhaps sometime in your life you had a difficult time with trust issues just as I did before I received this inspired vision. But I believe that after reading about this vision there just might be a change in your conception about reaching out to people without fear. If you have a sense of vision as clear as this one, let us sit down as servants of God and put our actions and outreach among the people of God.
From now on – by the Grace of God – we believe that we are ready more than ever to manage whatever the Lord puts in our hands… steadfastly and wisely as good stewards.
We are open to being humbly assisted by whoever God would put in our way to be a part of our ministry.
What would Jesus do and where would He go to reach the hungry, sick, and hopeless? He would preach the Gospel to them in a practical way with His deeds.
The Word says, “Where there is no vision the people perish” (Pr. 29:18). Do I have a vision? YES – I always have had a vision, but it was not well defined and clear until December 4, 2001.
I was going to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, to pick up mail from my friends. I was sitting quietly in the bus, meditating in prayer. Deep within me I had some questions and I was confused. I should have been able to answer the confusion: I had been working in the Haitian community in the Dominican Republic for 5 years, so I should know my people. You cannot help someone unless you know him: his weaknesses, his problems, his past, and his needs.
Some questions I asked myself many times:
Why do most Haitian brothers and sisters find it difficult to trust a leader, and why are they unable to be trusted?
Why – after so much Bible teaching in tithe and offerings – is it so hard for these brothers and sisters to be a blessing to their local church?
The Lord took me into the background of Haiti, especially its political and religious leaders. Very few of these individuals are known for their integrity, trust, and honesty. Haitians emigrating from their home country to the D.R. have negative experiences which are becoming worse.
Why? Their first experiences in the D.R. are those of abuse. They have no legal status or documents. They speak French and Creole rather than Spanish as the Dominicans do. Many Dominican and foreign businesses love the hard-working Haitians because they can pay them lower wages and dismiss the abuse. The Haitians hesitate to speak out; few people seem to speak for the Haitians’ situation in the Dominican Republic. Events have reached such a level that many Haitians disavow their nationality, preferring to say they are black Americans.
One question I kept asking was “What could Jesus do through me and who is ready to be an ambassador to these shamed people?”
I believe there are many of us who would choose to serve these people, but we are confused. There are good leaders among the Haitians but also many others – especially our brothers and sisters in America – who are very interested in reaching out more and more to the abandoned Haitians.
My own roots in the Lord’s service began when I was thirteen years old when I was saved at my church in Fond Verretes, Haiti. My pastor inspired me and confirmed the Call of God in my life. I wanted to be more involved in the business of His Kingdom.
God answered my prayer in September, 1990, when I received a work scholarship to the American Bible School Caribbean Christ for the Nations in Jamaica. I was so blessed at that school because most of my teachers were well-prepared men and women of God who imparted sound Christian teaching. I learned to trust God in all things and to walk uprightly with integrity – even in the smallest area of my daily life.
In August 1993, some weeks before I graduated, Mr. Bruce Vernon, Director of Christ for the Nations, tried to convince the Haitian graduates to stay on at the campus for awhile. He had been a missionary to Haiti for many years and knew how difficult the situation was going to be if we returned: a military coup had overthrown the government of President Aristide and it was a real hell. All of us decided to return immediately and face the reality. From the airplane we saw Haiti: it looked like a desert compared to Jamaica, often called “The Green Land.” The 3rd year of the embargo in Haiti had put such socioeconomic pressure that I could not cope. My parents saw me as a future for them, so I started praying and asking God for direction and guidance.
The Lord led me to visit the Dominican Republic in December 1993. I met a deacon from the Baptist church in San Pedro de Macoris, never dreaming that later this would be the area in which the Lord would have me work. The deacon told me that Reverend Jean-Luc Phanord needed help with translating for visiting mission groups. He gave me the address of the Haitian Missionary Baptist Church in La Romana.
When I met Pastor Phanord, he told me the truth: I will not be able to support myself and would need to be open to cooperate and do any job he assigned me. He accepted three of us and rented a room for us with a member of his church. Pastor Phanord was a very strong person. It wasn’t always easy, but I humbly spent my due time under his leadership. Sometimes I wondered why the Lord had led me to La Romana. I did not understand, but God knew: He was preparing me for a greater job in the Kingdom business.
Back to the Bus - the Vision
Sitting quietly on the bus at 9:30 that December morning in 2001, God started giving me a great vision. It so deeply moved me that tears started running down my face. I was trying to hide so no one would ask me what was happening. I bowed my head. My crying was not from sadness, but from JOY! I was experiencing something so strange, so real. I could not stop those tears of joy. From my encounter with God in the vision, I learned that I needed to forgive my church members. I needed to ignore their background and give them practical teaching.
God has chosen men and women of faith who are trustworthy and have a positive Spirit. By God’s grace, my wife Esther and I are called from among them for such a time as this – for something great that HE will do.
What did I see in this vision?
•A school
•A temple of worship
•A pastoral residence and guest house
•A health care center
The School
Haitian children once believed that they could not aspire to be more than just a sugar cane cutter, a hole digger, or an animal shepherd. They thought they were dirty and bad-smelling and ridiculed by Dominicans. The school builds a bridge of love and forgiveness between Haitians and Dominicans by sitting them side by side in one of the most professional and well-constructed schools in the area. The school encourages Haitian children that they can become lawyers, doctors, engineers, pastors, managers, etc. They can speak English, Spanish, and French. They will learn to be faithful stewards in the Kingdom of God.
The Temple of Worship
The Haitian people have a historical background of witchcraft and voodoo worship. Those people worshipped in “dark, dirty, littered houses”. Haitians need to be taught that they can be saved by accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. Once they do so, they are children of the Most High; they are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The dark, dirty, littered house of worship will become light, clean, and uncluttered to identify with the God of Israel, Abraham, and Isaac – not with a foreign god. They can come to church dressed up and clean to give God praise. The temple is a practical, visible way of evangelizing the Haitians. The vision I received showed this.
Pastoral Residence and Guest House
The pastor needs a place to live, work, and rest with his family. He needs a place to greet and receive visitors coming from all over the world and to be able to accommodate them. The residences also provide space for administration of mission business. The guest house will provide a resting place for volunteers and visitors while on God’s business. The residences will also provide many employment opportunities.
Health Care Center
Our Haitian people, mostly children, become ill very easily. They are always rejected in public hospitals; private hospitals are too expensive. The lack of adequate medical assistance is a major cause of so many pregnant women and children dying. Also, doctors who work in the public hospitals often go on strike. Haitians lack the economic opportunities to go to private clinics. Haitians are often characterized as hard workers, but many see them as dirty. When they become sick it appears as if no one cares. However, there ARE medical professionals (doctors, nurses, and others) who are willing to provide medical outreach to our site, but we need a center from which they can work.
Medical clinics provide a visible outreach of caring for people and are a practical way to evangelize Haitians by teaching them that Jesus loves them.
It has been a challenge. I’ve been tested. But thus far the Lord has helped us by maintaining the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in me. Among the poor Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic I have experienced and seen the need of preaching a holistic Gospel as Jesus did. They escaped from their country because of poverty, poor economy, political unrest, and lack of education among many reasons. They search for economic and political refuge among a people totally different from them in language, political, and cultural background. It is difficult to imagine the level of prejudice, racism, and mistreatment that Haitian people are experiencing n the Dominican Republic. Many are homeless, hungry, and unemployed.
One of the hardest jobs of a Haitian pastor is to protect his people who have come to the church looking for refuge and sanctuary. Many of these refugees have been beaten by police because they have no legal identification papers.
Perhaps sometime in your life you had a difficult time with trust issues just as I did before I received this inspired vision. But I believe that after reading about this vision there just might be a change in your conception about reaching out to people without fear. If you have a sense of vision as clear as this one, let us sit down as servants of God and put our actions and outreach among the people of God.
From now on – by the Grace of God – we believe that we are ready more than ever to manage whatever the Lord puts in our hands… steadfastly and wisely as good stewards.
We are open to being humbly assisted by whoever God would put in our way to be a part of our ministry.