Historic Congregation Gets New Roof

Pastor Eli prepares the beams that will hold the roof trusses.

The facade of the Ounamenthe church

Galvanized steel trusses will resist the termites and rot that destroy so many church buildings in the tropical environment of Haiti.

The members of the first Christian Reformed Church of Haiti, the Ounamenthe congregation, have, for the first time in many years, a solid roof over their heads!  This congregation was originally planted by and connected to the Iglesia Christiana Reformada de La Republica Dominicana (ICRRD), the denomination where many of the original pastors and members of the CRC of Haiti came from.  These founders were Haitian-Dominicans who returned to Haiti during the 1980s when the Dominican government was persecuting Haitian immigrants.  Upon their arrival in the Haitian border-town of Ounamenthe, these Haitian-Dominicans planted the first congregation of the CRC of Haiti.  During the early years, many other CRC of Haiti congregations took root in the countryside surrounding Ounamenthe as well.  However, the roof of the original Ounamenthe church, built in the 90s, was collapsing because of age and termite damage.  Though the congregation was extremely motivated, the galvanized metal trusses needed to resist insects and elements were too expensive for it to purchase.  SONBEAM International provided plans and funds to fabricate the trusses along with a generous donation from a foundation in Fremont, MI.  The construction team from the CRC of Haiti (Pastor Eli Metalus, Kesnel Ady, and Edouarnus Estivil) provided leadership for the project.  Finally, the Ounamenthe church itself provided the manual and skilled labor needed to install them.  Unfortunately, the project was many months behind schedule because the metal truss fabricator's warehouse and plant was flooded in November, 2015, damaging the steel rolling machines used to fabricate the trusses. We give thanks to God that the Ounamenthe congregation can benefit from this new roof.  It is a small reward for the many years of faithful work and church planting on behalf of Christ and the Gospel.