What God Is Doing in Pignon

The calm before the storm: The beautiful view climbing up on Haiti's Central Plateau early in the morning.

By the time we got down into the Plateau, the rain was falling in sheets.

The mountain outside of Pignon during a brief, dry moment.

The leaders working with MCD in Pignon.

Zach's last trip to Haitian countryside was to Pignon, a small town in northern Haiti.  Pignon also happens to be the first place where the Christian Reformed Church worked in Haiti.  In the mid-seventies and eighties Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) started agricultural work in this area.  Many of the first CRC staff to serve in Haiti lived in and around Pignon, and some local Haitians still remember their names.  Later, in the late eighties, CRWM began training church leaders through the John Calvin Bible Institute.  Pignon was also one of the first training sites chosen for this work, which eventually became known as "The Ministry for Christian Development" (MCD).  Today, MCD supervises the work of both CRWM and World Renew (formerly CRWRC) in Pignon.  During our trip to Pignon, we filmed a new promotional video which will be completed and posted to Youtube sometime in June.

We are excited about the work in Pignon.  We visited with a number of deacons, pastors, and other church leaders who are making a difference in Pignon because of their faith in Christ.  In addition to the growth of the churches partnering with MCD, the leaders have built latrines, tree nurseries for reforestation, and even a home for a widow in the area.  On a lighter note--it rained during the whole trip to Pignon, making some of the thickest and slipperiest mud Zach has ever traversed.  At one point, the muddy water was so deep that it gushed in our car and submerged the seat belt tensioners, causing them to become locked.  Traveling is never simple in Haiti!