In a dark winter
night in January 1992, the stars and the moon were hidden by gloomy clouds over
the northern part of Haiti more precisely over the historic city of Cap
Haitian. Reveverend Ecclesias plunged
into prayer in that evening commemorating his forty third anniversary as his
usual nightly practice. After a good
hour into deep communication with the Lord, came suddenly this revelation in
which he was ordered by God to build a Tabernacle. Without hesitation or question, he invested in
a small parcel of land and began his godly mission under a few mango trees with
only three church members. His
perseverance against all odds and his beliefs in God, gave him the strength to
persevere and never weaken to achieve what he has achieved today, all in the
name of Jesus.
As late in this century, it may be a surprise to many that
prayers and fasting were rare subjects and may have been considered taboo in an
environment whose members have lived centuries of superstition and supernatural
beliefs. Reverend Ecclesias was resolute
as he, without questions allowed himself to feel the Holy Spirit blowing on him
the wind of the direction showing him step by step the path of the Tabernacle
Church of Praise. It was in essence a
simple task for a true believer. God
ordered and he obeyed, everybody was bewildered as God continues to create his
miracle. The Tabernacle became a
motivation for all.
Just like me, Rev. Ecclesias don’t take pleasure bragging in
our humanitarian accomplishments however, he has something that I don’t have,
something that all men wished to have: the gift of prayer, unfortunately
that does not come so easy. When I asked
him what was the key for his success, he simply replied: “One husband and one wife”. That answer, as I remember it today, made me
shed lots of tears because I believe and know deep in my heart that is where I
failed… I prayed God for his forgiveness as Reverend Ecclesias prayed for
me.
OUR PROJECT: “The Covering”, “God, save us from the
sun and the rain”
As members of the church, Dr. Reynald Janvier and I for
quite a while were involved in different projects outside the house of worship
but were watching with a close attention to the improvement and construction
completion the Tabernacle urgently needed. Reverend Ecclesias was on several occasions
lied to, mislead to by many national and international visitors promising to at
least put a most needed roof over more than 10,000 worshippers whom often and
always are trampled by heavy rains and scorching suns. Realizing the unspoken suffering of so many,
realizing the humble wish of this friend, Reverend Ecclesias shepherd of his faithful
flock; we have engaged and embraced this
challenging project to do everything within the power anointed in us to commit
Operation Hope and the Tabernacle Church of Praise to build this ROOF “The Covering”, the Tabernacle 10,000
faithful urgently need.
Dr. Eddy Delaleu