American missionaries murdered in Haiti continue to inspire

On the mission field, they made a good team. Davy Lloyd was the communicator, while his wife, Natalie, taught herself to play the piano for worship.

The Missouri couple became full-time employees at the mission Davy’s father started in Haiti. The complex located in the Bon Repos district, north of Port-au-Prince, included a school, a church, a bakery and children’s shelters. They remained there even as the country’s government faltered in the face of persistent and widespread gang violence. They worked with Haitian Mission Director Jude Montis and others to continue serving the region.

When Davy, Natalie and Jude were killed last month, the news shocked Christian circles across the United States. Gangs ambushed them as they left a religious ceremony in Port-au-Prince, killing all three. Montis was 47 years old. The Lloyds were in their twenties.

Timothy Laurito of Bible Holiness Assembly of God Church in Neosho, Mo., who was the young couple’s pastor, spoke with WORLD about who the Lloyds were and why they served. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length

How did you know Davy and Natalie Lloyd? They were members of the church I pastor. I’ve known them since they were little. I went to Haiti, where Davy and Natalie were missionaries and knew their families well. I have a close relationship with the Lloyds and the Bakers (Natalie’s family).

What motivated Davy’s parents to serve in a developing country? They simply had a heavy burden: seeing a need and wanting to help. They had a heart for missions. They were graduates of the Ozark Bible Institute, the birthplace of many missionaries. Then they felt a call and God opened the door to Haiti. And they served there faithfully during very difficult times. Earthquakes and natural disasters. And then, of course, political oppression. But they remained true to the calling.

Didn’t Davy also spend most of his life in Haiti? He considered himself Haitian. I mean, he grew up there. And then he came to the United States to go to college. But he grew up in Haiti and so it was his home. His heart was there.

Once he graduated from Bible college and married Natalie, the plan was always for them to return to work at the orphanage. And to work with the different programs that the Lloyds had set up there, to help his mother and father make an impact in Haiti.

Not all missionaries are preachers. But I noticed that during the funeral, they played videos of Davy’s sermons. Davy had the gift of being able to communicate the gospel in terms that were easily understood. He preached with an anointing and conviction that made everyone, but especially young people, want to respond. It was just part of his passion for the lost, you know? I mean, he’s from Haiti. Seeing the desperate need of humanity and their condition – it was just in his bones, in his heart. And he really had a real passion for communicating that to this generation.

The funeral had video of Natalie singing worship songs and playing the keyboard. She did that. And I will simply add: she taught herself to play. She was very gifted and just wanted to be used by God. So she taught herself to play the piano so that she could help Davy and be able to minister in the church there.

But they have an orphanage there. So she just loved children and took care of them and helped them. They also have a school and she taught there. She was committed to being 100 percent involved and supported Davy in his missionary work.

So it was a real team. And they really loved helping the Haitian people.

How did they first meet? They met at Bible school. They both came to school. And that’s where they started to know each other and fell in love with each other and fell in love with Haiti.

What would a typical day in Haiti look like for Davy and Natalie? In the context of the orphanage, helping kids start the day, getting their school started and all that kind of stuff, providing supplies for the orphanage and building projects. They had a bakery and other projects in the community. So they oversaw a lot of things, helping his father with many daily operations. They cared for people who were suffering and showed them God’s love. And then, of course, worship services and discipleship.

Have they ever expressed fear or apprehension about dangers? They were not ignorant. They knew it was dangerous. They knew it was bad. But they really cared about wanting to help the kids and wanted to be there. They wanted to serve and they wanted to help. The children needed them and they wanted to be loyal to them.

What kind of response did you, as a pastor, give to their deaths? It was an incredible influx of people, an awakening. Seeing young people who have dedicated themselves to God’s work inspires others to say, “I can do more.” Whatever my context, whatever I do for God. If this young missionary couple can dedicate their lives and be faithful to their mission, then I can be faithful to the mission God has for me. I can do more. I can give everything I have to God’s work. And it’s been incredible to see. People all over the world are simply inspired by their dedication and willingness to serve the Lord in difficult times.

So for me, I pray that their deaths inspire a generation to say, “I want to do my best for God.” I want to give my best to God and God’s work. Even when times are hard and difficult.

In an increasingly secular society, some opponents argue that Davy and Natalie should not have been there. How do you respond? I mean, from a biblical perspective, we would say our calling is to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. And that’s what they did. This is what they experienced. And that’s our mandate from Christ, is to go. So they did it and inspired us to keep doing it. And yes, not all contexts are easy. Not all contexts are open to the Gospel. But that doesn’t change anything about the mandate.

We want to follow Christ and his mandate above opinions.

Christianity has a long history of men and women who gave their lives for the cause of Christ. How will Davy and Natalie’s story be used to continue to inspire others? One of the things we’re doing is establishing a Davy and Natalie Lloyd Scholarship at the Ozark Bible Institute, where they graduated from. (The goal is to) continue this legacy, train more missionaries and send more people to spread the Gospel. And to inspire a generation and enable them to go and accomplish all that God has for them, whether abroad or in the United States.