For Such a Time as This: When Delay Becomes Deliverance
What looked like a setback was God’s perfect timing.
A long-delayed sea container filled with Tender Mercies meals finally cleared port in Cap Haitien earlier this spring, after months of dysfunction, chaos, and corruption stalled its release. In what can only be described as miraculous timing, the shipment arrived just days before hundreds of displaced families—fleeing violent gang attacks in Mirebalais—arrived in Bohoc, exhausted and starving.
Bohoc became an unexpected place of refuge. Our partner, Matthew 28 Ministries, began distributing hot meals to those with nothing—no shelter, no clothing, no food. Like the story of Esther, this shipment had arrived for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). It was a reminder that what may seem like delay is often God’s way of preparing a greater mercy.
How Refugees and Food Relief Converged in Haiti’s Central Plateau
Route 3 in Haiti became an escape corridor overnight.
Following gang violence and a prison break in Mirebalais, crowds surged north on Route 3. Normally a lifeline for commerce, ministry, and community care, it was now a route to safety. Along that same road, just a few miles away, sat a fully stocked food depot in Bohoc, freshly supplied by Midwest Food Bank after a long customs delay.
That food is now being served to the very people running for their lives.
In the words of Hein Vingerling from Matthew 28 Ministries, “They have no food, no money; we are going to feed them Tender Mercies and try to shelter some of the mothers with children.”
This convergence—people in flight and food in waiting—wasn’t orchestrated by planners. It was orchestrated by grace. And it’s now a lifeline to hundreds who arrived with nothing but hope.
Another sea contaner of food is in the port at Cape Haitien, and we have hope that it’s release is coming soon. Still another shipment is being prepared in Morton, IL, with plans for setting sail the week of June 16, 2025.
When Violence Strikes: How One Small Town Became a Refuge
Mirebalais, a city of 200,000, fell into chaos when gangs stormed in from Port-au-Prince, releasing over 500 prisoners and spreading terror. The result was a mass exodus—families fleeing by foot up Rt. 3 to any town that would take them.
One of those towns was Bohoc, where Matthew 28 Ministries operates a food depot in partnership with Midwest Food Bank. Suddenly, the depot wasn’t just a storage site. It was the only source of nourishment for hundreds of newly arrived refugees—many barefoot, hungry, and sleeping outside.
With no disaster infrastructure in place, the ministry team began serving hot meals and working to shelter the most vulnerable. Bohoc didn’t ask to be a haven. But it became one—through faith, compassion, and sheer obedience in the face of heartbreak.
