Haiti is a troubled nation that needs the light of the gospel as much as any nation.  We as Christians live by the belief of deliverance promised by Jesus.  We also believe an education of the mind will loosen the economic chains Haiti is experiencing.   Thus, faith and education together can help Haitians find a path to heal such a broken nation.

Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM) was founded by a U.S. missionary, John Turnbull in 1943.  Wallace
Turnbull his son and his wife Eleanor, became leaders alongside John as BHM matured. Through their tireless efforts then, and continuing today, they have strived to spread the gospel and provide much-needed educational opportunities.  Their efforts have produced over 350 Christian churches, each with an attached or related school; thus, spreading the gospel of Christ and fighting severe illiteracy in Haiti.  The schools provide education to over 55,000 students who otherwise have no outlet to learn.  BHM networks touch hundreds of thousands of people each year through church planting, discipleship, education, health care and community development.  The organization started and maintains the Fermathe campus which includes the hospital of Fermathe, the only medical facility for over 250,000 Haitians.  BHM is one of the most respected Christian organizations within Haiti.  These efforts have produced a hard-earned respect from the Haitian people and its government, a rare event.  An example of what BHM can do for an individual is Daniel Jean Louis.  His father was a pastor in a BHM church, and Daniel attended one of their schools.  The Turnbell’s took a personal interest in Daniel and helped him achieve a scholarship to Liberty University in the U.S. where he earned a BS and MBA .  To help his country, Daniel returned to Haiti as the Country Director for Partners Worldwide.  In that capacity he was spreading the gospel while simultaneously working to create jobs and economic opportunities.  Daniel is now the Country Director for Parole’ et Action, a Netherland-based faith organization partnering with Haitian schools.  He is also the managing partner of Bridge Capital.

As Mr. and Mrs. Turnbull aged, they were looking for a partner; a partner who would carry on their rich tradition of spreading the gospel and education for the future.  BHM is a legal organization of Haiti and run by a Haitian Board of Directors.  In 2014 the Turnbull’s felt they had found a U.S. partner to take over their organization.  That group was Crossings from Kentucky, and management control was handed over to them.  Unfortunately, Crossings was not able to give it the attention it required and in 2018 BHM needed a new direction.

Mission of Hope or MOH based in Austin, Texas, was asked to fulfill the leadership, direction and management duties for BHM.  As such MOH took over the board to maintain and run the day to day activities of BHM.  MOH has been a major Christian organization in Haiti for years, spreading the gospel through church advancement, education, medical care and nutrition.  Simply, MOH righted the BHM ship and provided much needed funds and management during a trying time.  MOH and the Turnbull’s have been long term friends with shared goals.  Their friendship and goals allowed BHM to continue its vital work in Haiti.

In early 2019 MOH and the Turnbull’s mutually agreed to return control of BHM back to the Turnbull’s. 

Furthermore, to assist in the transition, MOH provided interim funding for the Turnbull’s to explore their next step.

During this time of reflection, the Turnbull’s now both in their 90’s, called their old friend, Daniel Jean Louis, and asked for assistance in management of BHM.  Daniel by that time was a well-respected author and international speaker on economic issues in poverty-stricken countries.  Additionally, he is a well-known figure in Haiti.  At the urging of Mr. Turnbull, Daniel became president of the BHM board. Daniel’s charge was to pull together a new Haitian board to run BHM and explore funding options.  Funding for this large organization is starting from scratch.  All previous organizations were not able to return the prior donor list to BHM.

Impact Cares Foundation (impactcares.org) or ICF was formed as a 501C3 in 2017 by two US business owners, Fred Eppright and Reagan Stricklin.  Their company, Impact Floors, is a flooring company based in Dallas, Texas.  Mr Eppright lives in Austin and attends Great Hills Baptist Church.  Reagan lives in Dallas and attends Fellowship on The Park.  After the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, they were led to see for themselves the current condition of Haiti. With no agenda, no real reason and on their own, they simply got on a plane and followed the will of God.  Once in country both simply said, “We do not know how or why, but we are here and we’re going to help.”  On their first night in Port Au Prince, Reagan and Fred, along with their wives, met Daniel Jean Louis.  Daniel owns a small hotel, Trinity Lodge, where they had miraculously booked rooms.  That night started a conversation.  That simple conversation has turned into a bond and friendship beyond words.  Together these three have a passion to help Haiti and the Haitian people.  Their goal, simply stated, is to spread the gospel of Christ and provide educational opportunities.  Together these three men have worked with other children’s homes and schools.  As a team they have also created a partnership called Bridge Capital of Haiti to provide financial assistance to Haitian business to create much needed jobs.  Through jobs, Bridge Capital is striving to keep children out of the plethora of “orphanages” in Haiti.  Tens of thousands of children in Haiti live in unfathomable conditions simply due to parents abandoning them for economic reasons only.  In 2017 Fred and Reagan formed a 501C3 entity called Impact Cares Foundation.  The Foundation was formed to eventually accept funds for a larger project, if one ever came across the table.

In April of 2020 during the Covid-19 shutdown Fred felt the need to call his friend Daniel and visit.  In a conversation between friends, Daniel told the story of BHM / Crossings / MOH and his pressing list of needs.  One of his critical needs was a 501C3 to accept donations and save BHM.  Fred said “Well, Reagan and I have a 501C3, maybe we can help.   The return call to Daniel was “it will take a miracle to make this happen, but if God wants it, it will happen”.   A new journey began.

In summary, it takes a team to save a 75-year-old organization that is dedicated to sharing the light of the gospel of Christ to hundreds of thousands, provide education with much needed nutrition to 55,000 children, and provide medical assistance to 250,000.  For those who have supported BHM in the past, this is the only organization that is solely dedicated to the much-needed funds for BHM.  If you want to join the team, please pray for BHM to continue the long journey it started years ago.   If you feel lead by our Lord hit the donate button with your support.

Please join our team and secure the future of BHM and its much-needed work in Haiti.