For ministry training, Haitian makes a perilous journey to Port-au-Prince

It took 13 hours for Bertin Victor to travel from his home in Marigot, Haiti, to his country’s troubled capital, Port-au-Prince, about 75 miles away.

Bertin Victor

“There were many roadblocks along the coast before Port-au-Prince, so I had to take a boat to bypass these,” said Victor, a Church of Christ minister and a student at the Center for Biblical Training in Cap Haitien. “I spent about three hours on the sea.

“I could not find a boat with a motor, so the one I was in could not go fast. You want to choose a boat run by a strong young man, because groups of men sometimes attack the boats on the sea.

“There was shooting between some of these bandits and the Haitian coast guard. Because of this, our boats had to go out on the deep part of the sea.”

At least seven people died in gun battles at sea near Victor’s path, Haitian media reported. Bandits also kidnapped several boat passengers.

Why risk the dangerous journey? “I was obliged to get to Port-au-Prince today so Monday I could leave for Cap Haitien to make it to the preaching school in time for classes Tuesday.”

Bertin Victor, center, studies at the Center for Biblical Training near Cap Haitien, Haiti.

Gang violence — always a threat in Haiti — has escalated across the impoverished nation since the still-unsolved assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The United Nations notes a significant increase in killings, kidnappings and rapes, the Associated Press reports.

Victor sent a young man from the Marigot Church of Christ to Cap Haitien to study at the Center for Biblical Training last year. The student, Sobert, “grew so much in his Bible knowledge that Bertin was determined to come in this class,” said Sarah Dirrim of the Haitian Christian Foundation, which supports the training school “Sobert is preaching in his place while he is gone.

The Marigot Church of Christ worships in southern Haiti.

“My favorite quote of his is: ‘I want to know as much as I sound like I know,’” Dirrim said of Victor. “He has a magnetic personality and is an excellent speaker. However, he wanted to have the depth of Bible knowledge. His congregation on the southern coast of Haiti is definitely a mission area that’s unreached. The church building is a frame with curtains on all sides.

“I want to know as much as I sound like I know.”

“He left a wife and four daughters (he lost a son in an accident) to come to the CBT, so it’s quite a sacrifice for them all to realize this dream.”

Bertin Victor’s wife and daughters in Haiti.

The Haitian Christian Foundation asked for prayers for Victor and his fellow students — and also for the nation of Haiti.

Victor asked for prayers, too.

“Pray for us,” he said. “We will continue to pray for you. Pray for the nation. God bless you, my friends.”

Filed under: Center for Biblical Studies Christianity in Caribbean Christianity in Haiti Haiti Haiti violence Haitian Christian Foundation International Partners Port-au-Prince Top Stories