Here’s the first of our portrait series. Hope you enjoy learning about the people we love!

Wendell Pierre-Louis

                   Wendell (left)

Wendell Pierre-Louis is one of the many youth members who has grown up in the church in Petite-Anse. He lives and breathes music. Whenever music is playing he can’t sit still. His foot suddenly takes on a life of its own and begins to tap furiously. He grabs whatever is closest to him and transforms it into a makeshift drumstick. Wendell is incredibly talented and one of the main drummers on our worship team.

When Wendell was just a child, his mother recognized that God had given him a gift. With money being scarce, she bought two toothbrushes. The toothbrushes and an old chair provided Wendell’s first drum set. Later, he broke the chair legs off himself and whittled them down to a pair of drumsticks. Pots and pans – anything one could beat on – was fair game for this zealous learner. No matter how loud he played, his mother never said a word. In fact, she encouraged him to keep playing.

One day the leader of our church’s worship team came by the house and heard Wendell playing. I’m going to put you on our worship team. Next time you come to church, you need to be prepared to play, he said. Wendell was very nervous, but rose to the task and has been playing in our orchestra ever since. He is now one of the maestros over our dynamic youth choir and has his own singing group with which he works.

Wendell and the other musicians in the church have an infectious love for music which keeps drawing other young folks to our services. There just seems to be an anointing on any young man who picks up an instrument in our church. Scores of budding musicians are swept up into the current of praise and worship and playing an instrument seems to comes easily for them. But, I believe it’s because of the core group which is already there. Our musicians are making disciples without even trying and we marvel at all the new musicians which are always appearing on our church platform! Wendell is a key player in making that happen.

Would you pray for Wendell? We are proud of the leader he is becoming. His life hasn’t been easy and he struggles for his basic needs and schooling. We are grateful for his contribution to our ministry and for his zeal for the Lord. He is ever ready to share the talents the Lord has given him with anyone who has a desire to learn and his humility in teaching others shines through all he does. Wendell is one of so many young Haitians who dream of a better tomorrow for Haiti.