EUTAW SPRINGS -- Four days in January proved to be life-changing for Shalonda Goodwin, 27, of Charlotte, N.C., formerly of Orangeburg.

Goodwin spent four days in the rural mountain area of Bayonnais, Haiti, as an "amateur carpenter," building benches to be used in churches and schools through an outreach ministry of Organisation de la Force Chretienne de Bayonnais, which translates to "the Organization of Christian Strength of Bayonnais."

"This made an everlasting impact on my life ... and I have a clearer understanding of God's love," Goodwin said of her brief visit to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

Goodwin learned about OFCB through her church in Charlotte, and she and two OFCB ministry partners -- David Nichols, mission chairman, and the Rev. Actionnel Fleurisma of Haiti -- recently presented information about the ministry at Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church at Eutaw Springs.

"Our purpose is to preach the Gospel spiritually and socially. To us, this means that human beings have a soul that will go to heaven. That soul has to dwell in the body and, therefore, that body has to be taken care of. To take care of that body, we have to eat, get an education and have proper medical care," Goodwin said, adding that the OFCB seeks to meet the needs of both body and soul.

Fleurisma grew up in the remote mountain community of Bayonnais -- an area where basic educational, medical and nutritional needs aren't provided by the Haitian government, he said.

He said his upbringing was typical of most of the families of Bayonnais: the practice of Voodoo, visits to witch doctors, no nearby schools to attend and no paved roads to travel from one community to the next.

At age 12, however, Christian missionaries came in contact with Fleurisma. With their encouragement, he finished elementary school at age 18, graduated from high school in 1990 at age 26 and furthered his studies at a college in the United States.

By that time, he'd married and started a family.

In 1994, he decided to return to Bayonnais and helped in the organization of OFCB, which provided educational opportunities for children. Classes began under the shade of mango trees and the "school" soon blossomed into unimaginable ministry and educational opportunities, he said.

Next, a school building was erected, then a church, and plans are now under way for a medical-care center, Fleurisma said.

"Evangelism and education are working side by side" now in Bayonnais, he said. The most recent enrollment totaled 1,700 students in grades K through 13 and 500 churchgoers.

"We are all employees of the same boss: God in heaven," Fleurisma said. "Our young folks are very smart; they may be poor in their pockets, but they're rich in their brains."

Nichols, who's traveled to Haiti 12 times since 2003, said his involvement with OFCB and ministry to Haitians "has been the most wonderful thing" he's done in his life.

He and his local church, South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., started an OFCB donation program in 1995 where individuals and organizations can contribute tax-deductible donations.

Jake Washington, chairman of the Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church deacon board, said the church "plans to partner with (OFCB) at some point in time."

"This church is committed to your mission," Washington told Fleurisma and Nichols.

For more information about OFCB, call 1-704-544-0404, visit ofcbministries.org or write to South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church, 8601 Bryant Farms Road, Charlotte, NC 28277-1606.

T&D Correspondent Martha Rose Brown can be reached by e-mail at marfawose@aol.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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