About Samuel

My Spiritual Journey: From Voodoo to Victory

In 2010, my life changed forever when a devastating earthquake struck Haiti. Over 300,000 lives were lost in less than a minute, and where I was, around 500 students and professors were buried alive. Miraculously, I walked out with nothing but dust on my face. My family lost everything, and we slept on the streets.

Amid the chaos, God stirred something deep within my heart. As our community slept in the streets, I began leading prayer meetings. I shared words of encouragement, but deep inside, I felt uncertain of my own foundation. Even then, I sensed God calling me to something greater—a mission that I did not fully understand.

One day, I shared my desire to study God’s Word with a missionary. She suggested I study at Millar Bible College in Pambrun, Saskatchewan—a place I couldn’t even pronounce! At first, I resisted. I had my life planned out: I was pursuing my degree in auto mechanics, studying business management, and dreaming of running the biggest mechanic shop in Haiti. But God had other plans for me.

I didn’t know it then, but my spiritual journey would be marked by both incredible trials and victory through spiritual warfare. One of the darkest parts of my past was tied to voodoo, a spiritual force that sought to enslave and control. It was in these formative years that I began my battle with spiritual darkness.

After several years, my eldest brother became deathly ill. Instead of taking him to the hospital, my mother took him to Jacmel to see a voodoo priest, a man who claimed he could heal him by removing a spell. Jacmel is a port town in southern Haiti where my extended family lived. In Haiti, when someone falls ill, the first thought that crosses their mind is that they’ve been cursed, and the only solution is to find a powerful voodoo priest who can remove the curse.

The priest agreed to help my brother—but only if my mother became one of his concubines. Desperate, my mother agreed. As the youngest in the family, I accompanied her everywhere, and that’s when I started to learn the ways of voodoo. I was taught how to call on spirits, what offerings to give, and the rituals required to invoke and appease them. I was being groomed to become a voodoo priest myself.

But God had other plans. My older sister, a believer, came to rescue me from this spiritual bondage. She took me in and brought me to Port-au-Prince, sparing me from this dark fate. It was there that I began to encounter the light of Christ.

When I became a follower of Jesus, God provided mentors to disciple me. I quickly realized that the Christian life was not meant to be lived alone or to fight spiritual warfare alone. Through prayer, guidance, and the unwavering support of my mentors, I was freed from the domain of darkness and brought into the kingdom of His beloved Son. From that moment on, I became a soldier in the army of the Lord.

In 2011, after surviving the massive earthquake in Haiti, I came to Canada to pursue a Bachelor of Biblical Studies. It was there, in the land of relative peace and comfort, that I realized spiritual warfare wasn’t just something I had encountered in Haiti—it was real, and it was alive, even in the West. Many North Americans lived under the illusion that spiritual warfare was a distant concern, that it was something “out there” and not something that needed to be addressed in their everyday lives. But I had witnessed its power firsthand, and I knew the truth: spiritual warfare is not bound by geography or culture—it’s a universal battle.

Through my studies, I began to see the power God has placed in believers to stand firm in their faith. Romans 8:11 says, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” Paul also says in 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” This truth, this power, is available to every believer. We are called to fight with the authority given to us by God, to stand firm against the enemy, and to walk in the victory Christ has already won.

As I continue my journey in ministry, my passion is to equip others—men and women—to understand the reality of spiritual warfare and how to fight with the power and authority of Christ. I’ve written my Bible study Warrior in Trainingand created the Striking Fire YouTube channel to help guide others in their walk with God and equip them for the battle that lies ahead.

Today, I’m blessed to be married to my wife, Leah, and we have three beautiful children. We live in Manitoba, Canada, where I serve as an itinerant preacher, author, and speaker on spiritual warfare.

My journey has shown me the power of God’s deliverance and the importance of standing firm in the face of spiritual battles. Whatever challenges you may face, my prayer is that you, too, will trust God enough to say those life-changing words: “Here I am.”