Saturday, February 6, 2010

Biography

Antony and Marietta Duclos

I was born in Jean-Rabel, Haiti, on March 5, 1957. As a twin, my sister and I were the last of seven children born to our parents. I met the Lord at an early age, but rededicated my life in 1977. In 1978 I attended a formative Bible study led by American missionaries and I was given the opportunity to continue my college degree at the same time at the same city.

In 1981, God granted me the privilege to come to the United States of America. With the desire to serve in ministry, I chose to get training at South Florida Bible College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More importantly I found a wife in Marietta Michel, born in the Bahamas. We were happily married in 1983 and now have five wonderful children. I met my wife as I was serving as youth pastor in Florida. She also attended South Florida Bible College and received certificates for children's ministry and music. She enjoys leading prayer meetings and organizing fasting services when it is necessary.

After receiving a theology degree, I continued study at the same institution and worked toward a bachelor's degree. Next, I attended San Diego Mesa College. I am pursuing my Bachelor's degree in Philosophy & Theology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

I continued ministering during college, focusing on evangelism and reaching the lost for Christ. Along with a fellow classmate, we started a church to support these new believers in 1986 called Philadelphia Baptist Church. The church grew tremendously in 8 years. After my ordination in 1990, I returned on short term trips back to Haiti, accompanying missionaries. God blessed us with a group of believers that eventually became a church in Fond Latanier, Jean-Rabel, Haiti.

Desiring to plant more churches, I returned to American soil and started another church, this time in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This church continued to grow under my leadership for three years. While on visit to San Diego in 1998, I was asked by the people to organize a Haitian church here in San Diego, California. After much prayer, my family and I moved to San Diego in 1999.

After seven months of ministry in San Diego on my own I had the desire to see all Haitians worship together. God led me and the group to join others who were already worshiping at the Church of the Nazarene in Mid-City, San Diego, California. Our congregation was welcomed and had good fellowship with other Nazarene congregations. Since then I was happily and faithfully serving the Haitian group called "French/Creole Congregation of the Church of the Nazarene".

As my desire was to reach the French population in San Diego, I started to evangelize French-speaking refugee people from everywhere in town. I had the opportunity to gather a group from Congo, Africa who served with the Haitian group for at least seven months until God had sent a Congolese Pastor to serve the group in their own worship culture. The Pastor speaks French and Swahili and is about to be ordained as an Elder in the Church of the Nazarene.

Desiring to see more converts, I returned to Haiti in 2008 and started another new Nazarene church in a remote area where the people have not always been receptive to the gospel. In the midst of misery and financial struggle, the group (Bouflette Church of the Nazarene) has grown by leaps and bounds. Both Fond Latanier and Bouflette churches are worshiping under tents made up of dry palm leaves. The Sunday School classes are meeting mostly under trees.

Besides joining the feeding program for the homeless in Downtown San Diego with the English Congregation, my passion to witness for the Lord has pushed me to join Work & Witness trips in many countries such as: Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Haiti. More importantly, I am gifted in speaking many languages such as French, Creole, Spanish and English. Marietta and I both have the vision of being involved full-time in missionary service or Work & Witness coordination here in the U.S. or elsewhere.

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