Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles detailing Janet Chismar’s Dec. 8-12 visit to Haiti with the leaders of New Directions International, a missions and relief organization based in Graham, N.C.
As the witchdoctor staggered out of a back room with his zipper down, spilling moonshine, I found it hard to take the figure with glassy, red eyes seriously. He seemed little more than a street corner drunk. But soon I realized this was no laughing matter. Scattered throughout the Voodoo temple were a handful of toddlers, several teens and a couple of concubines – each held spellbound by this man’s “power.”
He poured a capful of his potent alcohol for a thirsty tot and plopped down into a chair. The young ladies in the compound seemed to compete for a shed of his leering attention. Children covered their faces in fear when the spirit “Lesly” invaded his convulsing body.
“I can make someone fall in love with you,” he promised in slurred Creole. Looking for a promotion? Want to win the lottery? It’s as simple as buying a spirit – for the low, low price of $5,000 to 25,000 U.S. dollars – depending on how much power you want, of course.
For anyone reluctant to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promises of voodoo would seem appealing – especially in a nation devastated by poverty, famine and disease.
By some counts, an estimated 75 percent of Haitians actively practice Voodoo, a melding of West African spiritism and witchcraft. "One common saying is that Haitians are 70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant and 100 percent voodoo," says Lynne Warberg, a National Geographic photographer who has documented Haitian voodoo for more than a decade.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this ancient practice is the commingling of demonic ideology and Christian terminology. Bible in one and voodoo 
handbook in the other, “Lesly” explained to us that there is “no difference between the work of witchcraft and the work of evangelism.” He believes God sent him as a saint to earth to “help people.” If someone dies an unnatural death, Lesly can raise him from the dead. “But the power I have is from God. I take my pleasure in God’s word – it is great and huge.”
Hope for the Future
Against this backdrop of darkness and confusion, Haitian pastors and international ministries are making great strides in the name of Christ. The evangelical church, by some estimates, now makes up 40 – 50 percent of the Haitian population.
Even in the early days of the largely Catholic nation, Protestant Christians made their presence felt. According to the Library of Congress Country Studies, by the mid-19th century, small numbers of Protestant missionaries – principally Baptist, Methodist and Episcopalian – served the Haitians. Almost half of Haiti's Protestants were Baptists; Pentecostals were the second largest group. Many other denominations also were present, including Seventh Day Adventists and Presbyterians. In the late 1950s, about 20 percent of the population identified itself as Protestant.
