Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries missionaries escaped their kidnappers in Haiti. A true miracle indeed, the group of 12 adult missionaries with five minors (8 months to 15 years old) escaped on foot last week in the dead of the night.
The group was returning from visiting an orphanage in Ganthier, in the Croix-des-Bouquets area, when they were abducted. The gang demanded a $1 million ransom for each of them.
The missionary workers were in Haiti to help the poverty-stricken country. They were there on a project to help rebuild homes lost in a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti on Aug. 14, 2021.
It was a difficult walk for miles and miles. The faith and prayer were their only guiding light, amidst moonlit. The missionaries hand an infant and other children with them
According to Christian Aid Ministries, the sending group for this mission, the abductees felt God was nudging them to escape. “Over the time of their captivity, God gave various hostages a desire to attempt an escape,” Weston Showalter of CAM said.
“After much discussion and prayer, they became solidly united that God seemed to be leading them this way.” He said they sought specific signs from God, and He confirmed over and over that the timing wasn’t right yet. Then, the night of Wednesday, December 15 arrived.
“When they sensed the timing was right, they found a way to open the door that was closed and blocked, filed silently to the path that they had chosen to follow, and quickly left the place that they were held despite the fact that numerous guards were close by.”
“In the distance, they could see a mountain feature that they had recognized and identified in the previous days. They identified this landmark before and they knew that this was the direction they needed to go. They also followed the sure guidance of the stars as they journeyed through the night, traveling toward safety.”
“After a number of hours of walking, the day began to dawn and they eventually found someone who helped to make a phone call for help,” he said, his voice beginning to choke. “They were finally free.”
