First in the Field

GO Haiti’s Lucson Dervilus was in KC this week. We love and respect Lucson. His life story – beginning as an orphan himself to caring for them today – is a powerful example of God’s real and redemptive power. Lucson is the perfect leader for GO Haiti’s pilot Pathways program.

Headquartered at Jumecourt (with US-versions planned for rollout in KC and TX), Pathways is a two-year, residential program focusing on vo-tech training, Biblical discipleship, and life-skills for young adults (18+) who have aged out of orphan care. We love what God is doing through Pathways, as He changes Pathways’ students perceptions of themselves, from receivers to givers. Lucson told me about one such transformation in a teenager named Watson.

Watson grew up in rural, southern Haiti. Family breakdown brought him into the care of Pastor Mongerard at Darivager at a later age. When Watson arrived at Pathways last fall, he was an 18 year old who had only completed the fifth grade. Initially the lack of education was a challenge, but nothing that effort couldn’t overcome.

Lucson says that Watson has always been “the first in the (farming) field.” He outworks the other boys and is always ready to learn (Watson is left in the pic, black T-shirt).  Lucson is encouraged by Watson’s attitude and says that, as the first year comes to an end, Watson is now top tier in the program. He’s not going to be a doctor or lawyer, but with his first in the field work ethic, Watson is on the (path)way from being a child who needed help to becoming a young man who can help others.