My name is Guiteau Joseph. I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 28, 1956 from a catholic married couple. My mother’s maiden name is Gertrude Dorvil and father’s name was Leon Joseph. He was a very responsible father; he was a very good provider and a person who ensured that every one in the family was in compliance with the family principles. In addition, she was a very caring and giving person who provided love and affection to all family members. Not only her love and affection was extended to the entire family, but also this strong feeling had reached all people who come to contact her. My mother has been considered as the counselor and advisor for the whole family and neighborhood. My family had a total of seven children; four boys and three girls. We were raised in perfect respect for traditions and family principles. The rule number one in the family was the respect and love for each others and unconditional respect for elders. As a result; we were living in a perfect harmony in the family.
In my early age, people were naturally attracted to me either because I was always there to solve their problems or I taught them something. For example, at the age of ten during my summer vacation I created at home a small manufacture to build toy cars for children. From that day on, every vacation all the children of my area come to my house either to learn how to build toy car or to get one as a present. As a result all my friends showed a great deal of love and respect for me because my efforts and idea brought enjoyment, excitement, and hope for the summer. It became a phenomenon in the neighborhood. I always take seriously every thing I am doing, and school has always been my first priority. In elementary school it was like a tradition and obligation for the school principle to take every student to church every Sunday morning. A tradition is something every one is doing without any explanation. Sometime you are doing it but it doesn’t mean anything to you; that was my case in going to church every Sunday.
My father was ill for long period of time; he went to a lot of doctors but was unable to find a cure for his illness. As a result, he decided to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and healer. I was eighteen my parents converted and moved to the Church of God; again there was no explanation from my parents; therefore, going to Church continue to be a tradition for me, and it was simply a change of location for me. After my high school in 1977, I went to Faculte Des Sciences which was one of the most prestigious Universities in Haiti. After four years of studies I became an electro-mechanic engineer. It was at the university in 1979 for the first time of my life I paid attention to the Gospel. It was during an electricity course held by the professor and Pastor Elysee Joseph, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in the middle of the course he decided to make a presentation of the Gospel to the class. It was a precise presentation of the book of Revelation. At the end, the students who for the first time had an in-depth understanding of the Gospel were very perplexed especially when the pastor asked them to change their ways and start preparing their hearts for the return of Jesus Christ. That presentation stirred up a lot of emotions and conflicting ideas within me thereby creating a big internal struggle. I couldn’t understand how a person so educated as the Professor Elysee Joseph could be a member of the group the usually called “the poor spirit”. In my mind, the members of the Church of God were people who were trying to hide their laziness in going to church all the time. Their laziness didn’t bother me because I didn’t have any family members or close friends who lived in that situation. My parents went to church every Sunday; that’s okay for me.
After my graduation in 1981, I went to work and got married in January 30, 1982. I lived with my wife at my parents’ house. At the beginning my wife and I formed a very happy couple. After the birth of our first son, my wife started going to church with my mother every Sunday. In a short period of time, my wife was converted and baptized. She was heading in the path of sanctification taking part in many church activities. Now the Christian people became a big concern for me because my wife became one of them, and I should do the best I could to resolve that problem. It was a big struggle between me and my wife because we each stood firmly behind our beliefs to strongly defend what we at the time thought were right. In my house, my wife and I were at war, my wife became my fervent enemy, and I did every thing that was in my power to win that war. I was determined to win it. Every time I made an attack she responded in a Christ manner and with the Word of God that made me more furious every day. The way I expected her to react was to fight back and she always reacted with wisdom and confidence. All strategy that I used didn’t reach her and my last resort was divorce. The first time I talked to my wife regarding divorce she said to me if Christ allowed you to do it go head. For me this fight lasted too long and I want to end it. Since her conversion she put a sign in our bedroom that said “no smoking” and I was going to use it as my last strategy. One day I bought a cigarette and as soon as my wife came from church I called her in our bedroom; I lit my cigarette out and started to push the smoke into her face. She didn’t say a word until I put the cigarette out. I said to her I was expecting you to say something against that so I can beat you up; she replied the Holy Spirit had already revealed you plan to me and asked me not to say a word to whatever you are doing.
At that particular moment a very big event happened in my life. I had the internal feeling that a very important person was talking to me and said “The group that you are trying to destroy through your wife is going to be an integral part of your life. On August 6, 1989, I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. My expectation was to be saved and remained an ordinary member despite the special call that I received to be a leader. As I continued my journey I got baptized in September 22, 1996, by the same pastor Elysee Joseph whom his presentation had deeply impacted my life as a student at the university. He also became one of my mentors. He was trying very hard to make me understand the Word of God. He was my teacher, my pastor, my boss, and my coworker. I was a teacher in his professional school named HADDEM for almost five years and we talked all the time about Jesus Christ. One Sunday morning, I had a strange experience at church. I was in the congregation and they were singing a song I was used to hear over and over but that day it seems like I was hearing it for the first time. This song expressed the love of God for His people and every word came to me as a sword that entered to my heart and I was filled by the Holy Spirit and I was crying of joy the entire day.
I was always afraid of the idea of becoming a pastor in the church of God, but as time passed by, the Holy Spirit working in my life had imprinted in me the Holy Scripture, transformed my life and confirmed the call that I received for to be a minister. First of all, according to the Bible in the book of Acts 9: 1- 5 which reveals that the apostle Paul was apposed to Christianity until he met Christ on the road of Damas; it means that you can be chosen and react in away that opposed to the Word of God until you personally met Christ in a special situation. Many times I went to places where the persons saw me for the first time called me pastor and I always asked myself why. The reason could simply be that the Holy Spirit had already put His imprint in you that could be visible to others. That’s something my wife had already seen in vision. She told me that she had a dream that she was in a church where they placed me on the pulpit and took a horn of oil and anointed him by pouring the anointed oil on my heard and they did the same thing to her. All those signs and revelations can conclude that God has chosen the family for a special task. We responded to the call in September 1996 by going to the Theological Seminary of Bourdon the only one Church of God School possessed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. After we completed the first year, I have been transferred to another province for my job so I couldn’t continue the studies, but my wife kept had to continue alone.
Due to the political instability in Haiti, five days after my wife graduation on May 17, 2001, we were obligated to leave and come to the United States with recommendation letter from the Superintendent to continue our ministry at the First Haitian Church of God of West Palm Beach. In August we started working my wife was the superintendent of Sunday school. I was a teacher after a wile I became one of the council members and now I am the clerk of the Church and our two sons are also teachers and work in the musical department. Every time God calls a person He always leads you in the path and makes provision. I always said to myself if God really call you Guiteau every where you go in the world He will make a way for you. My participation in this class shows me clearly that God has already made the provision for the fulfillment of His will in my life. At the age of seventy I would like to see myself as a leader of a big congregation and prepare them for the harvest of soul for Jesus Christ. I want the will of God to fulfill my life so I can say as the apostle Paul in @ Timothy 4: 7, 8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept faith, now there is a store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award to me on the day and not only to me, but also to call who have longed for this appearing. God bless you!