Although Christians around the world rejoiced when five of the 17 Haiti missionaries were released, the remaining 12 are still held – as en went to press – by one of the nation’s most fearsome gangs, ‘400 Mawozo’.
The hostages, who included women and children, were seized as they visited an orphanage outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, in October.
In December, Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), which employs the missionaries, launched three days of prayer and fasting after a Haitian Christian contacted them to say: ‘God has laid on my heart to propose three days of constant prayer and fasting by all the Haitian churches and schools that are supported by CAM in Haiti. And it should not only be in Haiti, but also that the churches in the US gather Christians together to fast and cry out to the Father’.
In response, CAM invited believers around the world to observe focused prayer and fasting for the release of the hostages, inviting them to consider fasting on one or all of these days.
The families of the remaining captives also used the US festival of Thanksgiving on 25 November to express many things for which they are thankful, despite being keenly aware of the empty places around their meal tables. One said: ‘We are so thankful for the thousands of prayers that have ascended for the hostages and us, their families. We are also thankful for the many, many encouragements that have come in from all over the world. May God bless you all’.
The gang initially demanded a ransom of $1million per person, but that was widely viewed as a start to the negotiations that are common in kidnappings in Haiti. It is not known how much money, if any, was paid for the five who were set free. But it is understood that CAM has been involved in protracted negotiations for the group’s release, with the gang demanding more money and the missionary group offering to bring services into their area instead.
