Meet Josue Etienne  (Part 1)

Josue Etienne is a native born Haitian young man who has a passion for helping the children and people of Haiti. We are honored to have him serving on our Haiti Scholars Board. I asked Josue, “ How do you feel serving on the Haiti Scholars Board?” A resounding, “I love it! This is a great opportunity for me to give back to the people of Haiti for what God has done for me. He will use me to help other people.” Josue is instrumental in helping with our understanding about the people of Haiti and the school in Mariani in particular. He translates for Pastor Valcourt and talks to him on a regular basis. Josue advises us and is a wonderful resource. He has also spoken to our scholarship students at the school via zoom. I asked what he said to the students.  He told them to “Love God, love your parents, listen to your parents and teachers. Be good and success will follow. Life is not easy, nothing is given to you, but work hard now and you will have a better life tomorrow.”

Early life in Haiti

Josue grew up in Carrefour, Haiti, not far from Port-au-Prince and not far from the Centre D’Etudes Lumiere School in Mariani. He was a hard working student and he always wanted to do well in school. He had more opportunities at the school in Carrefour because it was larger than the one in Mariani. He learned some English, but Haitian Creole was the primary language. Some teachers also taught in French. Josue faced many challenges growing up in Haiti. His family was not wealthy, but his parents did all that they could to make sure their eight children received an education. Josue’s father worked at the school and the church. After leaving the work at the school, his father started a small grocery business. He continued to work at the church on a voluntary basis. The church helped pay tuition for the family one child at a time. Other challenges growing up in Haiti in the 1990s included crime and unrest. “You didn’t know if it was safe to go to school. You didn’t know if you would get kidnapped. It was really bad.” Josue went on to attend college for five years to study public administration. He never received his papers from those years.

Josue joined the Praying Pelicans mission organization in about 2011. Praying Pelicans “exists to build up, encourage, and assist the local Church in serving and reaching their communities for Christ.” That is exactly what Josue did for the church and school in Mariani. In 2015, he met Nicole Waite, the president of Haiti Scholars, Inc. who was in Haiti on a mission trip with Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (OSLC). Josue’s job was to help the high school group and chaperones from Naperville, IL with lodging, transportation, food and faith. 

Part 2 of the story of Josue Etienne will be available next month on the Haiti Scholars website: haitischolars.org

Josue Etienne (Part 2)

Josue Etienne is a native born Haitian young man who has a passion for helping the children and people of Haiti. We are honored to have him serving on our Haiti Scholars Board. This is the second part of Josue’s story. Part I was published on the Haiti Scholars website in March 2022.

Life in the U.S.

Josue’s parents and most of his siblings had relocated to the U.S. He spent some time with them in Florida and Alabama and thought he would stay there. Then Scott Peterson, who met Josue on one of those OSLC mission trips, reached out to him. He asked if Josue would be interested in enrolling in an English immersion program at North Central College in Naperville. “Yes!” was Josue’s response. He came to Naperville, took the TOEFL test and gained admission into the program. Josue has been adjusting to American culture ever since. He finished the program at North Central College, then studied business management for two years at the College of DuPage. He has been living in Lisle, Illinois for four years. Along with all of his studies, Josue has been working as an account manager for a local marketing company. He is grateful for living in the U.S. due to the many opportunities he has here. “There is freedom to work here and make money.” Josue is grateful for so many things: his job, Uber Eats, Door Dash, Uber, Lyft, etc. “It’s so great to have a car here. That was not possible in Haiti because maintenance and gas are so expensive.”

Challenges in the U.S.

Josue admits that it is hard for him living in the US. It is hard for him to meet people. He has some friends through Haiti Scholars, but it’s a different culture in the U.S. Learning those cultural differences and nuances is an ongoing process. People here might get offended by a comment like, “She is big.” Whereas, in Haiti, that comment is just a statement of fact and no feelings are hurt. The language poses challenges on a daily basis. “English is my second language. It’s hard sometimes. It would be so much easier if English was my first language.” Josue is reminded about cultural and social differences daily between the U.S. and his native Haiti.

Faith, Family, Goals

Josue said, “My life is about my faith. Any decision I make on earth is just short term. I will spend eternity with Him.” Josue has had many people influence him through the years: his parents, teachers, Bible School teachers and friends. He would love to have his own family, finish his degree and get a better job. Then he said that he would really like to start his own business.

Josue lives and believes all of the things that he told those young students in Haiti.

“Love God. Love your parents. Listen to your parents and teachers. Be good and success will follow. Life is not easy and nothing is given to you. Work hard now for a better life tomorrow.”

A great positive message for us all. Thank you Josue!