After the earthquake in 2010, Bobby and Sherry were divinely inspired to build the huge marketplace, Gwo Maché Mirak, as a gift to the community to host commerce so the 1,200 new refugees from the destruction could have ways to make a living. With the Big Miracle Marketplace, the new residents of Fond Parisien could have a safe, clean, Christian place for businesses such as restaurants, fresh produce vendors, a meat processing and butcher shop, a gas station, and it would even host community events like Crusades for the Lord and popular music events.

The meat processing and butcher shop, Farmer John’s, has evolved into much more than just a local business; it is a critical part of Love A Child’s Development for Sustainability programs. Farmer John’s now has 200-300 customers a day, providing direct employment for 47 people who are trained to work at the butcher shop, Poul Mirak chicken farm, a drinking water plant, and large vegetable gardens.

Beyond direct employment, the business supports over 50 independent local “marchands” (retail merchants) who purchase meat, chicken, water, and eggs to resell in their own communities, creating a ripple effect of economic opportunity. The mainstay of Farmer John’s, though, is the hundreds of nearby farmers who now have a reason to raise livestock and chickens because they can bring them to Farmer John’s, who will pay them a fair price for their animals and process the meat in clean, sanitary USDA-grade conditions. A typical week will see more than 55 farmers bring their cows, pigs, goats, and chickens to Farmer John’s market.

Farmer John’s isn’t just about raw processing in the butcher shop; they are elevating Haitian cuisine through specialty smoked and cured products such as ​Smoked Bacon and Country Style Ham, Beef Jerky, snack sticks, and their craft meats like Summer Sausage. The Haitian people love these new food products that have made Farmer John’s such a popular success.

​When Bobby and Sherry started their Development for Sustainability outreach to help the Haitian people break their cycle of poverty through the dignity of work, they probably did not realize how successful it all would become.

Deuteronomy 28:8  –  ^“The Lord will send a blessing on your storehouses and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.”

Rad Hazelip, Assistant Executive Director