Marc & Lisa Honorat and baby Asher
Marc and Lisa Honorat are the Founders of Haiti Arise Ministries. I first met them at CLC Church in Port Orchard, Washington just after the birth of their son Asher (1 ½ yrs). My heart burned as Marc shared his experiences growing up in Haiti. He told us about the extreme poverty, corrupt officials and the grip of voodoo over the nation. We saw pictures of a woman selling dirt cookies, which people ate to fill their empty stomachs.
Born as the son of a voodoo priest, he was but one of fifteen children. There was not enough food, so at five years old he was given to a woman in town. My gut wretched as Marc told us how his little heart broke on that day. Neither his mother or father said, “I love you Marc” or gave him one last hug goodbye. Though Marc spoke bravely on, I could see the memories still stabbed at his heart with steely knives.
The next several years of marc’s life was living Hell. Even though the woman who took him was well off by Haitian standards, little Marc was not given clothes to wear and often no food to eat. He slept each night under the kitchen table, and worked hard all day in hope of receiving one meager meal. He was not allowed to eat the same food as the mistress. If she ate rice, he was given cornmeal. If things were tight, and she ate cornmeal, he was given bulgur. There were many days he was given no food at all.
Marc told of one painful day when he was six. He was given no food, and he could not stand the starvation any longer. He took a couple coins from the table and went to the market to buy himself bread. He was caught and returned home to face the mistress. It was pure hell!
For twenty minutes she beat this thirty pound little boy until he was senseless. She used a hardened leather whip/paddle made by the Haitians for the express purpose of beating their slave children. The loud cracking of the paddle and the screaming of the tiny child carried throughout the neighborhood. The worried townsfolk tried to break in to save his life, but she had every window and door securely locked.
On Friday, I will share how Marc’s brother rescued him from his life as a slave child. Please invite your friends to join us here as this powerful story unfolds. I also encourage you to visit the Haiti Arise Website.
God bless you all,
David
