Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Subscribe now to get this column delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

I can still see the joy on the faces of the Haitian people.

I traveled to the poor Caribbean nation in 2018 to report on Healing Hands International, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, drilling water wells.

As water gushed from a new well in one remote mountain village, a woman gleefully splashed the clear, flowing liquid on her face. Little boys and girls giggled as they cupped their hands under the spout, taking big gulps before filling plastic buckets to take home.

I witnessed a similar exuberant scene in a community near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

In a country beset with challenges, I saw hope. So much hope. And so much promise.

But now? 

Heavily armed gangs have overtaken Haiti. Fatally weak political institutions have collapsed. Kidnappings and homicides have surged, as noted by a United Nations report.

Just last week, an American missionary couple — Davy Lloyd, 23; and his wife, Natalie Lloyd, 21 — were killed in a gang ambush in Port-au-Prince. 

Words seem empty right now…Our hearts are broken. This is the hardest thing we have ever done. We’re grieving, but we want Davy and Natalie’s story to be told because it deserves to be told. They were the perfect example of a life of putting others before self. A life of loving… pic.twitter.com/pgZ5ipXSH9

— Ben Baker (@BenBakerMO) May 24, 2024

They died along with Judes Montis, 47, a Haitian father of two who worked for more than 20 years with Oklahoma-based Missions in Haiti Inc. Davy’s parents, David and Alicia Lloyd, founded the faith-based organization in 2000.

“It wasn’t Haiti that killed our children, it was selfish evil men who only have evil purposes, they do not represent Haiti,” a post on the organization’s Facebook page declared Thursday. “Haiti continues to cry for help and prays the world doesn’t continue to turn their backs on the terrible conditions that these wicked men are making a country live through. Continue to pray for God’s deliverance.”

As tears flow, Jason and Jennifer Carroll keep praying for the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

Photo by Ashley Reeves Gordon