Hostages’ Miraculous Escape from Haitian Gang

All 17 Christian Aid Ministries missionaries taken captive by the Haitian 400 Mawozo gang are at home with their families now — alive, unharmed and free! This is an account of God’s hand in their miraculous escape.

When the Lord called the believers to share His love on the tiny island ravaged by hurricanes, an earthquake, economic crisis, and violent gangs, this is the verse He laid on their hearts:

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9

Little did they know that on the afternoon of October 16, 2021, after visiting an orphanage, they would encounter a roadblock and find themselves surrounded by trucks. When the Christians realized they were being kidnapped, they prophetically sang Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encampeth ’round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them,” a song they would repeat in faith countless times throughout their next few weeks of captivity.

The abductors escorted the Canadian van driver and 16 US citizens (five men, six women, two teens, two children and a baby) at high speed to a house, where they were held in such tight quarters none could lie down to sleep that night.

But they were all together. And they could pray.

In fact, in every location the gang held them throughout their more than two months of captivity, God provided for the CAM hostages to be together in the same room. They were given small amounts of food and clean water, with plenty of baby food for the children.

The Christians didn’t have a Bible, but they quoted Scripture they had memorized, and set up a daily schedule of morning worship, which often carried on until noon. At 1 p.m., they prayed specifically for deliverance. Then each evening, they worshipped and prayed again. Often, Haitian hostages held in other rooms of the house would join them in singing, and the missionaries were able to speak encouragement to them through the walls. One of the missionaries shared:

“There was intense spiritual warfare in that place. We often heard the voodoo drums at night and saw other signs of overt satanic worship. Twice, the powers of darkness and light clashed in loud conflict. But praise the Lord we’ve got the power in the name of Jesus.”

The kidnappers threatened to kill the missionaries held hostage for $17 million. But God kept His people from harm. In fact, as you prayed here at the Prayer Wall, He opened up multiple opportunities for the for them to show forgiveness and share Christ with the gang leader and other gang members.

“Freedom is not a place,” said CAM spokesperson Weston Showalter in a press release Monday. “The true hostages are the hostage takers. God invites all of us, including the kidnappers, to seek and find freedom through Jesus from the bondage of sin.”

The weekend before Thanksgiving, two of the hostages were released.

On December 1, Christian Aid Ministries called for a day of fasting and prayer. Soon after, a Haitian brother in Christ offered this proposal:

“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. [I propose this] not only in Haiti, but also that the churches in the U.S. open their places of worship and gather the Christians together to fast and cry out to the Father.“

On December 5, three more hostages were released.

Meanwhile, as Christians fasted and prayed throughout the world, the remaining captives sensed the Lord urging them to escape. After much prayer and discussion, they came up with a plan, but told the Lord that if things did not happen down to the very minute of each part of that plan, they would receive it as a sign to wait. He did indeed make it quite clear on several occasions that it was not yet time.

In the distance, they had noticed a certain mountain the Lord was calling them toward, and felt Him urging them to mark December 15 as their date of escape. During the night, they put on their shoes, packed water in their clothes, and stacked mattresses in a corner. The Lord showed them how to open the blocked door and silently, they filed out of the room, following the path God led them on past nearby guards and into a forest.

The married couple, 10-month-old baby, 3-year-old child, 14-year-old girl, 15-year-old boy, four single men and two single women hiked toward that mountain through dangerous, thorn-infested enemy terrain, with the moon lighting their steps and stars helping to point the way.

They traveled about ten miles through thickets of “fierce brambles,” one of the hostages said. “We were in gang territory the whole hike.” Wrapping the baby in a blanket to protect her from the thorns, they carried her and the three-year-old. Miraculously, both children kept silent, except brief moments of whimpering from the boy when he was scratched. Whenever the Christians weren’t sure which way to go, they prayed and God led them.

Then, as dawn broke, He placed someone in their path to help them make a phone call. Within a few hours, they were on a coast guard flight to Florida.

As we praise the Lord for their safe return, let’s continue praying for the Haitian hostages still in danger, and for the gang members who heard about Christ. Pray God will save and deliver them all from darkness into eternal life.