Backdrop
I first heard about this on a Sunday announcement at the Lebanon Brotherhood on Oct 17. A group of 16 Christian Aid Ministries workers and staff were kidnapped in Haiti by the gang 400 Mawozo. This was the first in several decades of a large group of english/white people being kidnapped for ransom in Haiti. Most kidnappings are of locals and smaller groups of foreign for ransoms.
The 16 who were kidnapped are of the Anabaptist faith with Amish and Mennonites being the largest. They hailed from communities in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Ontario, Canada. The ages of the adults being held captive range from 18 to 48. The ages of the children are 8 months, 3 years, 6 years, 13 years, and 15 years.
The time line summary is as follows
- 2021 Oct 16 afternoon - 16 members kidnapped
- 2021 Nov 21 morning - 2 of the members released
- 2021 Dec 6 morning - 3 of the members released
- 2021 Dec 16 morning - rest of the hostages escaped and are free
- 2021 Dec 20 afternoon - all made it back stateside and safely
You can listen to various testimonies, starting with Sam, on how the kidnapping occurred and the full experience. I wanted to summarize the work of God in these peoples lives in the two plus months that they were held in hostage.
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. This rings true more now after hearing these testimonies, where we see God working, like He did in Exodus, Daniel, Acts and in several stories from Martyr's Mirror.
Spiritual Warfare
The hostages were grounded in the Word of God and knew they were dealing not with flesh and blood. From Eph6:12, ![[ephesians.6.12]] This lead them to be extra vigilant, even when some of the younger brothers were not exposed to spiritual warfare. It became clear that they had to keep their mind guarded in what they listened to and let in via surrounding noises. They also called upon our Master Jesus to rebuke Satan and his servants frequently.
They noticed that some of the attacks was used on the children. The children would wail and cry uncontrollably unable to sleep thru the night. The brothers and sisters would gather around and rebuke the devil. They also saw a great deal of high temperatures in the children, which threw them into fits. Again, they treated these as spiritual warfare and rebuked the devil.
When confronted with evil directly, as a gang member brought a spell casted blood or some red liquid in a bottle, the brothers were able to rebuke and cast it out, to the surprise and helplessness of the gang members. The gang was using these as a talisman for protection. This again shows that when we serve God the Most High, we dont need to worry about idols and spells.
The subtle message that Sam talked about, which was the tougher of the battle was around not adopting the violent attitude and taking the easily available firearms and using it on the gang members. There were several opportunities that were available to these young brothers, who in their youth and zealous attitude could have easily fallen prey to the temptation of AK47 and other weapons lying around or to over power the guard using violence to take the firearms and use it on them. This to me was a tougher battle than the explicit devils blood bottle or the satanic attacks. Praise God, the brothers were victorious in these as well.
One of the parts that doesnt get talked about is how the modest lifestyle of the brothers and sisters caused no temptations on the gang men to abuse or get physical with the women. Only one occasion of physical violence was mentioned - early during the kidnapping, the driver from Canada was slapped as the gang thought he was going too slow.
The head covering along with long modest dress of the women provided the protection as Paul mentions in his epistle. 1 Cor 11:10 ![[kjv/1 Corinthians/1 Corinthians.11.10]]
Freeing due to sickness
As we noted some of the hostages were released earlier due to some ransom being paid by an anonymous donor as well as due to sickness. This brings up the hardships they endured - of small quarters, lack of food, hygiene products, comfort of cooling, insect bites and fly infestation, unsanitary bathing conditions and lack of change of clothes that projected modesty they wanted uphold.
United in Spirit
Although the hostages had been discussing escape options and plans, none of that materialized till God's right timing. This was only possible when they all were united in Spirit and in agreement. They didnt sit idle, but were planning routes, evaluating distances, next steps when they were able to get out, conditions for escape etc.
God uses our past and His Word to sometimes show the direction. This is what happened for one of the brothers who took the stand to escape as he wanted to take his family out of this situation. He was encouraged by God and challenged to the same faith his grandparents had displayed. The story of one of the brothers' uncle who was born out of a rape in a mental institution, and the institution wanting to abort the baby, but his grandparents had held steadfast to the Word of God and obeyed. God had been faithful to his grandparents and now He called this brother to walk out in the same faith as his grandparents did those many years ago.
Angels watching and guiding
The escape itself can be a book to demonstrate how God worked in our age to free His children. From removing barriers, to hiding things to the gang members, to having noise at the right time, to clearing paths, to shutting the animals and villagers when they traversed the gang territories, and finally to getting a believer to share the cell phone to make calls at the end of the escape.
Angels also watched over the women and children so no harm was done. This is a plain fact in how His Hands of protection was visible.
Fleeing thru the wilderness
The escape reminded me of the Israelite journey thru the wilderness. There were over 10, so it was not a small group that escaped. There were both children and women in the group. There was not proper foot wear and it was a bright night due to it being closer to full moon, so as to have God's luminary showing the hostages the path thru brambles, around lake, through rough terrain and to the village where they got help. The only difference was, only the second generation entered the promised land in the Exodus, but here all of the hostages escaped the captivity.
But God worked the same, in laying the path clearly, giving them diversions, testing their faith one more time through the brambles, protecting their feet and giving them the courage and spirit to keep the journey so as to complete the escape.
Trusting in YHVH
The biggest theme for me is the trust in the Most High by not only the hostages while in captivity, but their family and congregation who through their trust in their Master, were able to stay faithful and encourage each other. The friends and the broader communities also rallied and brought in encouragement through scriptures from young girls and boys to elders, who all had something unique to contribute to this testimony of trust.
Not single one of the hostage gave up hope or were downtrodden thru the trial. There were days when one of them would be discouraged, but the others would encourage and bolster the faith of this brother or sister. They would sing songs and praise God through the afflictions. This continued day in and day out, which meant they had to adopt new routines, prayer times, fasting, devotions as well as communal sharing. Just the act of living out each day, when all seemed lost, is the biggest testimony for me of their trust in God.
Testimony of witnessing and Jesus' teachings
Never once did the brothers show any act of violence. They truly obeyed our Master Jesus' teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. To me, this was a testimony for our days to show the non violence principle and the teachings of Jesus still works. I have personally struggled with this due to my background and needing to show force to people that either oppress or challenge me. The very act of being like a sheep, who belongs to the Great Shepherd, shows that the Great Shepherd is our protector and not ourselves. This didnt mean, the brothers were pacifist in their approach. They talked back to the gang members when applicable, asked them not to use foul language, asked to turn down vulgar music and in general admonish them of their lifestyle, even under gun point.
The oppressions they felt from the gang members, was not used by these brothers to be vengful in not praying for their souls or wishing them ill. Quiet the opposite, these brothers prayed for the kidnappers, continued to preach the gospel and demonstrate the walk of Christ.
They forgave the kidnappers who held them captive for over 2 months and continue to pray for them. This is the best walk of the Sermon on the Mount I have ever witnessed first hand. Praise God.
They continued maintaining their prayer vigil, just like there were prayer chain held around the world for their release. They had 24 hour prayer circle while having only 1 watch to keep time. They also prayed for each other and the victims who were present there.
This walk around prayer life and their faith, has not only been a testimony to the kidnappers and others in Haiti, but also to FBI and around the world.
They exemplified Psa27:14 and Psa37:34 ![[Psalms.27.14]] ![[kjv/Psalms/Psalms.37.34]] for waiting on the Most High for their deliverance and He delivered as He promises. What a wonderful and glorious testimony!!h
All glory to the Most High
It was all to God's glory and praise! The ransom money nor the FBI negotiations nor the political pressures worked completely. Only the prayers and petitions of the saints worked, as it is commanded in the Bible. This is such an assurance for this day and age to look at the testimony of the escape of these Haitian hostages to take God at His word and to never doubt. When we get discouraged on our daily walk, we only need to remember any one of the examples from the Bible of God's deliverance of His people and the more recent event of this escape to get on our knees and praise the true Creator and God the Most High we serve. HalleluYah, HalleluYah!!
My lessons
Here then are some of my personal prayers for myself and my sons - Always be prepared spiritually - Trust in YHVH in all things - Memorize key scriptures for spiritual protection, encouragement, praise to God, attacking despondency, trusting in God, thanks to God and being steadfast in our walk. - Memorize and build a hymn singing routine. Songs sung in pure heart is a great testimony to all. - Learn survival skills like tracking distance, direction via stars, learning about terrain and vegetations - Be physically fit in laboring outside - Control appetite and build temperance - Be modest in all things. - Guard my mind at all times. Try to keep Romans 12:1 in the forefront for offering an acceptable sacrifice to God Most High. - My Master may return at any time. Therefore stay vigilant and diligent. Matt24:33-44
Resources
- [Sam Stoltzfus]
- [Wes Yoder]
- [Noecker Family]
- CAM