With the establishment of Cornerstone School of Truth, our vision sharpened and our steps felt more purposeful. We had a forward motion with Jesus and local relationships at the core. There was still so much mystery as we looked to the future, but what we did know was that God was laying a foundation for an educational institution in our small mountain village. We were partnering with Him to create a space and culture that would raise up generational leaders who knew that they were loved, that their ideas shift culture and that their education brought freedom.
Cornerstone School of Truth grew year by year. Each year we took new preschool students and graduated our oldest class to the next grade, hiring new staff with each added grade. Our vision to develop Christ-centered community, educate generational leaders and cultivate economic growth was happening all within our school family.
Our family (Lancour) was growing too! We went from newly married to a family of six in six years. It seemed that ministry and family life was happening in parallel and we were so thankful for how God was leading us. Life in Haiti always had unique challenges and as the years went by they seemed to be multiplying, but God’s grace was abundant to flow, learn and adjust. And then in 2021 some tragic and unexpected national events began taking place that massively affected the way we thought about the future.
In July of 2021 the president of Haiti was assassinated. With the departure of the U.N in 2019 and this new tragedy, chaos became even more widespread and gang control began spreading at a rapid pace. Kidnappings and carjackings, which had already become a huge threat to nationals, now became a common occurrence among the general population and expat communities. Gangs began descending upon communities in and around the capital to take more territory from other rivaling gangs and the government. Fear. Violence. War. Chaos. Evil. This is what marked the daily news.
Though gang violence was not affecting our area, many in our community were massively affected economically and emotionally. And with supply access to Port-au-Prince cut off due to the presence of gangs, in 2021 we began traveling into the Dominican Republic for supplies. With every new curve ball, the Lord walked us through with His wisdom and grace. With eyes on Jesus all we could keep doing was say ‘yes’ to every next step He put in front of us. Over the next year we marched forward, doing our best to keep hope alive in the hearts of our team, students and ourselves.
With the past several years of growth within Cornerstone Haiti mixed with uncertainty of the future in Haiti, our family was in desperate need of a sabbatical. Burnout is a very real thing and I (Kirsten) was at the brink. In September of 2022 we prepped our team for the start of our seventh year of school and said “goodbye” to our Haitian family and home for what we thought was going to be a three-month sabbatical.
It turned out God was leading Cornerstone Haiti and our family into a season of transition that would test our trust in Him on an even deeper level…