Authentic taste of Haiti comes to Sugarcreek
From early afternoon to closing time in the evening on Friday, Aug. 28, Maranatha Church in Sugarcreek was packed with patrons dining on authentic Haitian food while providing funds for Restoring Lives Ministry.
The allure of Haitian rice and beans, chicken, spicy cabbage relish and red beet salad was only a portion of why hundreds of people opted to dine out at a recent Haitian mission fundraiser meal near Sugarcreek.
For those who attended, being able to support Restoring Lives Ministry’s effort to reach the people of Haiti through biblical training and education, support, and hope was the real reason for attending.
It was a simple yet authentic Haitian meal that greeted patrons of the annual Haitian Supper Fundraiser at Maranatha Church near Sugarcreek on Friday, Aug. 28, where visitors didn’t have to travel many miles to taste the authentic flavor of Haiti.
The fundraiser was an idea that launched seven years ago when Lenord and Patricia Bonnegre from Haiti cooked up the first Haitian Supper Fundraiser and served it to the community. The response then was tremendous, but the event has grown to even larger proportions as it continues to provide funding for the mission Restoring Lives Ministry.
“Every year it has grown, and we have seen more and more people coming to support our mission,” Patricia Bonnegre said at the meal. “We had wanted to get into missions because we saw so many people coming to us for help, but we had not enough resources. We had 280 people that first event, and now we have seen more than 800 people coming to eat and help meet many family needs in Haiti.”
Trish Bonnegre was raised in the larger Holmes County area and met Lenord Bonnegre in Haiti more than two decades ago. They married in 2010, and together they launched Restoring Lives Ministry to serve the Haitian people through church, pastoral training and providing education to the youth and children.
The call to the ministry came to Lenord Bonnegre’s life in his late teens, and he has been pursuing it ever since.
“I want to see the church progress spiritually,” Lenord Bonnegre said of his ministry vision.
Though the call to the ministry was clear, he endured frustration in making it happen. After much discouragement and limited resources, he began exploring options of how he could serve people in the United States and use it as an avenue to raise funds to help his own people in the village of Passé boi d’ormes in Haiti.
His inspiration came through his native country’s cuisine. Most of the food is prepared in the same Haitian style that Lenord Bonnegre grew up with. Many people from the larger Holmes and Tuscarawas county areas have visited Haiti on mission-related endeavors, and this gives an opportunity to reconnect with the tastes, culture and ministry on the island. All guests are welcome to dine for a freewill donation to benefit the ministry.
Patricia Bonnegre said Restoring Lives Ministry focuses on family needs and reaching out into Haiti communities to do faith-based seminars, teaching, developing leaders and community development. A nondenominational ministry that allows them to reach out to many people, they have worked with Haiti communities to build relationships and plant hope and faith.
Aside from this benefit meal, they also do fundraiser meals in Indiana and Pennsylvania, although this has been their largest endeavor.
Patricia Bonnegre said they couldn’t do what they do without the many volunteers at the meals and those who have supported them.
Patricia Bonnegre said each natural disaster that hits Haiti is monumental and takes years to recover, but even as they provide support and aid, they themselves have been lifted up by the spirit of the people of Haiti during a crisis.
“Haitian people are every resilient; they jump back up and learn how to keep going,” Patricia Bonnegre said. “Our whole goal is to build relationships while we do our ministry because that is the only way we believe any mission can work effectively. We are very excited about where it is going.”
Anyone who missed the benefit meal and would like to donate to the ministry can visit the website at www.RestoringLivesMinistry.com. They also can write a check to New Life Covenant Church and send it to 5554 E 500 N, Kokomo, IN 46901.