I’ve written about two Haitian pastors recently: Lucner, who confronted the Voodoo witch doctor in the power of Jesus (Let’s see what God will do), and Vilmer, who did some translation work for another friend of mine. When the subject of money came up, Vilmer said: My interest was not, is not and will never be money, but the Kingdom.

The reason I know these two men is that they were my students when I taught a 2-week discipleship course at Emmaus Biblical Seminary in Cap-Haitien. The founder of that school, Dr. Bill Cooper, has just passed away at age 90. This blog is about Bill.

I don’t remember all the details, but Bill told me that in his 60s when he retired from being a pastor, part of it was for health reasons. The doctors told him no travel, no strenuous activity, etc. AFTER that, he went on to build seminaries in six different countries. You can read the complete obituary here. Because of his health(?!), he was only half time in Haiti. One month in Haiti, one month in Fort Collins, Colorado, etc. Another way Bill invested in Haiti was by sponsoring Vilmer and Lucner (and a few others, I think) for advanced degrees in the U.S. Vilmer earned a doctorate from Nyack College and Seminary in New York because of Bill.

Lucner and Vilmer will be here for the memorial service on Friday, and I am helping host them. I hope to write more later. In the meantime, here is what Lucner posted on Facebook:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4.7, ESV)

They still bear fruit in old age. Psalm 92.14, ESV)