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ABOUT THE FOUNDER EMMANUELA PAUL AND HER FAMILY...This story was originally publish in a Christian Publication in Rhode Island in
December 2003 ***** If you remember a popular song from the
fifties that started “To know, know, know him is to love,
love, love him,” and if you have the privilege to meet the
singing Paul family, you will experience the reality of that
song. Their harmony brings sweet music to your ears. Their
message brings hope to the heart. Their love for Jesus
radiates into the depth of your soul. They sing not to
entertain you but to minister the joy of the Lord to those who
have ears to hear and eyes to see the Light of Christ flowing
from them.
This beautiful Haitian family of six siblings
(out of twelve) lost their mom and dad a little less than 20
years ago. Both of their parents were musically gifted and it
was the norm for the family to sing together in church or at
parties with friends. God was the foundation of their home.
Eliotus and Epheta Marie Therese Paul taught their children
that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Him alone is
our hope. Worldly possessions are only temporary. In their
early years the family was wealthy. Eliotus Paul was a well-
respected businessman, blessed by God to provide in abundance
for his family as well as helping the less fortunate. He
believed God blessed him so he could bless others, and he did.
At one point in his career, however, he was tested mightily by
being robbed not only of his money, but money of many other
people who trusted him. Even though he had to work very hard
to pay back every penny that was stolen from him, he was
successful and consequently set a very high work ethic for his
children. He also believed that no matter how poor
(financially) one was, there was always someone else in
greater need. The children recall him giving away the last of
their food to someone else when they were hungry, assuring
them that God would always provide for their needs. “Man does
not live by bread alone,” he would teach them. They should
never allow their belly to be their god. He also taught them
that God showed us the real meaning of love by giving
sacrificially—His only Son—and He set the standard for our
giving of love: give sacrificially, that is, until we feel the
loss in a tangible way. The proof of this lesson…miraculously
food would come.
Oh that Christians
in America would follow the example set by Eliotus Paul; we
could do away with all government aid, with its legal mumbo
jumbo, red tape, and controlling element. Oh that we would
spend less time playing church and more time seeking a deeper
intimacy with our God of unconditional and faithful love. Then
we could allow that love to overflow from our lives with
compassion for the less fortunate.
When Eliotus Paul died
in 1986 (his wife had died two years earlier), he left his
children only two “worldly items,” a Bible and a song book.
His basic message was to read God’s word everyday, and then
give that truth away in song. Unfortunately the children were
separated into different homes. Each of them had their own set
of struggles growing into maturity without their natural
parents, trying to get enough money to finish school (there is
no free public education in Haiti). Because they never wanted
to be too much of a burden to another family, the place where
they laid their head at night was not consistent. Their love
for one another was very strong, so they made every attempt to
stay in touch with each other. When they did get together,
they did not have a pity party about their plight in life.
Instead, they sang. Even though from the world’s perspective,
these children were “orphaned,” they never considered
themselves orphans because they knew that their heavenly
Father would never leave them or forsake them. They knew they
were “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for them to do.”
(Ephesians 2:10) They believed God’s promise from Jeremiah
29:11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the
Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come
and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found
by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from
captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places
where I have banished you, declared the Lord, and will bring
you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’”
Although this promise was originally given to the nation of
Israel, the promise applied to Emmanuela.
Children Are Our Future - The Responsibilities For The Future belongs to Everyone
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