I met Leontes D’Orleans while I was a student at Cincinnati Bible College. Leon was working on his Master’s degree. A sharp intellect, a magnetic personality, and a through-the-roof work ethic identified this native son of Port Au Prince, Haiti. Even before he graduated, Leon was being courted by churches of Haitian immigrants to the United States. Well-to-do communities in places like Miami wanted a fellow Haitian of Leon’s caliber to be their preacher. But Leon was single minded. He wanted to return to Haiti. He moved back to the same neighborhood he left, and in a short time, almost every member of his old gang had been converted to Christ. Many of them are preachers now.
Success Despite the Conditions
The first time I visited my old friend in his own country, I could barely process what I saw. He had started a church in Cite Soliel, the poorest slum in the Western hemisphere—open sewage ditches, raw garbage everywhere, people living in hovels with car tires on the roof to keep the metal from blowing away. Leon preached from a porch while his church members sat on boards across cinderblocks in the alley. This preacher could have had a comfortable job in a beautiful church in a prestigious city. Instead, he had chosen to live in this place. The people came in droves despite zero amenities and few resources. That church of 100 now numbers well over 1,000 and has sponsored several successful church plants across Haiti.
Strength in Weakness
Leon has had his share of difficulty—extreme poverty, lawlessness, the kidnapping of his wife for ransom. Yet the Christian community there flourishes. No church planting organization in its right mind would choose that place for a plant. Yet still it grows. Because it’s not about resources and good conditions and lack of obstacles. It’s about God’s grace! God needs only a willing heart—sometimes, willing to suffer as Paul did. When God calls, before you say “I can’t,” remember that it’s his grace and not your abilities or resources that will bring success. |L
Walker Gaulding is the senior minister at the Rappahannock Church of Christ in Warsaw, Virginia. He and his wife Mary Bob have three daughters: Kylie, Spencer, and Olivia.
