Tortuga church burnt to ground in arson attack

A Tortuga pastor, whose church was burnt to the ground in an arson attack on Monday, has vowed to rebuild the church, which he said has been a main staple in the community.

Pastor Ralph Young Hoi was moved to tears as he reflected the work put in to establish the Tortuga Open Bible Church at Mayo Road. He said the destruction of the place of worship will not stop the work they do in the community.

“You have a heart for God and for people and when you see these things, sometimes you feel like giving up. But you see me, I am not giving up, this have to build back. Yuh see this, this have to build back. I will do all within my will and my power to see that this come to fruition and people come to know the Lord, that is the main thing in people’s lives.”

Young Hoi said he has been pastoring at the church, which was made mostly of wood, for the past four years and in the last year, a man who has been terrorising the community, began vandalising the church’s water pipes and other items and disrupting Sunday School sittings.

He added that around 2.30 am on Monday, he received a call indicating the church was on fire. This was after someone also attempted to break into the pastor’s office. Young Hoi said he and others in the community made reports to the police about the man, who he claimed used to sleep in the area where they staged Sunday School activities and vandalised the books used during that activity.

Determined to rebuild, he said pastors in the area planned a meeting yesterday to assist with the rebuilding and welcomed assistance from those wanting to do so. Young Hoi said the 45 members at the church were accustomed to helping the community with hampers and food and with other relief efforts, but said they were financially unable to rebuild on their own.

Asked how he felt about having to restart from scratch, Young Hoi, who began crying, said: “It is hurting me because of the efforts and the energy that have been placed into this. We know that God is in control but I dunno where people are going in this world. People are getting more wicked and evil, but I will not give up the fight. I trying to do God’s work in the community and affect the world.”

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