Meet Esaie & Natacha Etienne

Esaïe and Natacha are natives of Haiti who minister in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Esaïe has been in church-planting ministry since 1993, and Natacha has a B.A. in elementary education. They have been doing ministry in Haiti for the past 19 years, but as of January 29th this year, they have moved to the Dominican Republic to oversee ministries in both Haiti and the DR.Their ministry in Haiti includes three church plants, a leadership training center, and a school for children from preschool to 12th grade. The school has 500 students this year. 

The country of Haiti has been going through some very difficult times for the past five years which makes it extremely difficult for other aspects of their mercy ministry such as medical clinics and short-term teams to come and help. The past few months have been even more dangerous because there has been a hyperactivity of the gangs that control more than 80% of the capital and major cities of the country. Last weekend, there was a prison outbreak where more than 5,000 dangerous prisoners escaped. 

The situation is dire and getting more dangerous by the day. This has increased the poverty level of the population because, for the past few weeks, the people cannot even leave their houses. Everything is functioning intermittently including the school because sometimes the teachers are not able to get to the school. 

On the other hand, in the Dominican Republic, they are continuing some training that they started a few years ago with a group of leaders. They are also praying and exploring other avenues for ministry there.