Child Found… And then Some

Thank you for praying for the kidnapping situation. This morning the child was found and brought to a local police station. No money was ever paid, and the child returned almost just as he was taken: barefoot, pants-free, with only a band-aid on his eyebrow.

The boy’s father is a true man of faith. No matter what your level of faith, you would have been shocked by the faith he had in his God to bring his child home. He was a courageous negotiator. He spoke as a man who was sure of the outcome (in reality, God started speaking to him in dreams since the first night, so he was more than encouraged to be bold). At first he offered to try to come up with money for feeding his kid during the kidnapping, then (a half hour after we left his house) the kidnapper calls and says “I see that Pastor Bataille and your Cousin (a businessman) are willing to offer you help, and you’re giving me this talk about Jesus saving your child.” (We saw suspicious people down the street as we left, but not up close. Dad even pointed out that he would of arrested them right there if he had a gun and a badge. It was clearly an at home job). With that, the kidnappers refused to reduce their rediculous ransom price.

After that, for ChaCha, there was nothing to negotiate. He’s not the type to ask for charity, so he refused to beg for money to pay a bunch of crooks. God always manages to put money into his hands when he needs it most. Since God hadn’t put any money into his hands, then he was sure that there was no more negotiation to be had. “I don’t have money, I have Jesus only, and Jesus is gonna take my child and bring him home the way he knows how.” He went on to tell the kidnapper his demands. With that, he and his family and some friends climbed onto the roof and prayed through the night. In response, Jesus did a little more than bring the child home.

First-off, the child barely knows he was kidnapped (he’s so friendly with everyone). When we showed up at the police station he was talking to some of the officers then he said “Hey! I found daddy! I’m going to go with daddy” and ran to join him. On top of that, you could call the kid a missionary. The kidnappers put him in with a pack of other children, and because of his return, at least 5, soon to be 6, suspects have been arrested, and police are doing what they can to find and rescue the other children. It won’t be long before the whole area where we live is turned upside down to root out gang activity.

The people who brought the child to the police station, though they did a good act, they don’t appear to be good Samaritans. More like criminals in regret that were doing all that the could to not get caught. Their story of how they “found” the child is all over the place, and it makes no sense. They claimed to find the child in a hole filled with water, in front of an uninhabited house. Who told them who to call from there? The 2-year-old? What were they doing near that house when they live so far away? Where did they bring the child to get treated for his eyebrow? From the beginning, a policeman in civilian uniform was listening as they each told other people in the station their story(ies). Then they put it all in official police documents. They couldn’t answer any of these questions and their stories don’t hold water. Plus the kid was especially accustomed to them (i.e. an obsession with their cell phones—his toy over the past few days to keep him quiet?). They are in custody until further notice. From the looks of things, it won’t be long before the child gives them away himself. In the car he started talking… If he fully understood the situation that he had just escaped, he would point them all out real quick.

There was one kidnapping that happened a while back and the parents paid and received their child. A little while later, the father and the child were in an office (I believe where the father works) and a stranger enters the office. The boy ran to the stranger, hugged him and started yelling “Daddy, he’s the one that fed me! He gave me chicken and rice and milk….” The child went on and on, seeing that among all the bad guys, this one was his “friend.” His friend was arrested on the spot. This kind of thing has happened a couple times, so we’re praying hoping for a similar testimony to root out the ones the police cannot find.

If you read some of the other stories on my blog, you’ll see that only God can bring about this result for ChaCha. Parents without money almost always lose. This is a miracle and a half! Praise God From Whom all Blessings Flow!

In Christ,
Junior Bataille

True Stories of Kidnappings

Life in Haiti is another reality. That sad reality came closer to home since the kidnapping of the 2-year-old son of a well-respected leader in our church. That case is still not closed, so keep praying.

Below, you will find a few stories of kidnappings that I have heard since my first trip. Some sad, some sadder, some miraculous, and some kinda funny. I may be mixing in details from other stories, but I’m at least sure that the individual details are true.

fyi: i just spent a good hour or so compiling stories, then lost them, so here are a few of what i had originally tried to send. unfortunately they may be shorter than they were originally.

Bittersweet ending: An elementary school girl was kidnapped as soon as she was dropped off for school. She was placed in a police officers car (yeah, police…). Luckily, the officer had to step away for a moment (perhaps not to be suspicious). In that moment, the little girl pulled out her cell phone and called her mom for help. Her mom came running up to the squad car making a huge commotion. The police officer became frantic and quickly opened up the car and returned the girl. He said that he saw her in danger and put her in there for protection. I don’t know if justice ever knocked on that officer’s door.

Miraculous Ending: Two young children, the only children of their mother, were kidnapped at the same time. When their mother realized it, she dropped to her knees crying out in prayer. Probably about an hour later they were still on the road. Suddenly, the kidnappers became terrified for no apparent reason. The car came to a halt and they hurried the children out of the car with urgency in their voices. Then they sped off. Immediately after the children were dropped off, a “stranger” showed up and helped them get home.

Sad Ending: (feel free to skip this one). A teenaged girl in our church was kidnapped a couple years ago. She recognized someone that she knew among the kidnappers. Acknowledging this was her mistake. As the ringleader was negotiating with her mother on the phone, she cried out, “Please, you know my mom, she’s always been so good to you.” The leader put down the phone (without hanging up), turned to the girl and hits her hard twice (seemingly to bust out her eyes), and says, “apparently you see too much.” The mother gets the money together as quickly as she can. Sadly, after the delivery, the kidnappers directed her to a place where she can pick up her daughter’s dead body. They don’t usually take chances with people they know. The girl’s mother was granted assylum in France.

Really Sad Ending: (if you didn’t like the last one, please don’t read this one). A child of a poor family was kidnapped and the family wasn’t able to come up with the money after everything that they tried. Finally, the kidnappers “agreed” to accept part of the money. Once the delivery was complete, the kidnappers got angry and told the family where they can pick up “part of” their child…

What-the-heck Kinda Story: A police officer that attends our church was kidnapped (off-duty, no weapon). At a time when crime against police officers was high, the kidnappers were rediculously nice to him. It took awhile for him to “warm-up” to them, but they sat around and joked with him, gave him their good food, bought purified water for him, and when it was all over, they sent him home without a word. Most “pro” kidnappers don’t work without police, so they were probably looking for a friend on the inside. I don’t what has happened to them since, but this officer wasn’t a very good friend.

Sad Reality: A family arranged a “self-kidnapping” to con their rich uncle into sending some money to them from the U.S. I don’t remember if it worked or not, but it ended up breaking some family ties.

The Life of a Haitian Criminal: I heard this one today. A kidnapper was released from prison today. Why? Apparently while he was being arrested, he was a little belligerant, so the officer had to put him in his place (physical force). Using that (calling it brutality), and his connection to a police chief (he’s married to the chief’s cousin), and probably a little bit of American “green play-doh” he bought a get-out-of-jail-free card. Now, that’s the kind of thing that makes you wanna kick someone in the nuts.

Funny Story: A rebellious teenaged girl was upset at the fact that her boyfriend was no longer aloud to come around. She convinced her boyfriend to “kidnap” her so they could take a little vacation together. While her parents ran around frantic for five days, trying to figure out what to do, she was out with her dream-boy. She came back on her own, trying to look a little disheveled and mistreated, but she couldn’t keep her story straight. Her parents eventually found out the truth and they were pissed. I don’t know what happened after that, but I’m sure that it was awhile before she saw the light of day.

Victorious Story: A woman in our church was kidnapped (on her way to church). She fought the kidnappers so hard that they got tired of her and dropped her off. She walked on to church as if nothing happened.

Unfortunately, I have more stories. I may post some of the ones I cut out later. As I said before, keep praying for Fr. ChaCha, his 2-year-old son, and his family.