Q: Tell us about where you were born, and about your family.

A: I was born in Haiti on October first of 1976 in a small village located deep in a wooded area of Haiti, where you could hear the waterfalls as you walk through. I can remember huge mango and banana trees where the plush fruit would be falling off ready to be harvested! Big beautiful parrots were everywhere. I always wanted a parrot as a pet! There were many cane, wheat, and rice fields, too.

There was Mom and Dad and four children. I have two brothers and one sister, who are all younger. I was the only one with a handicap – one leg. My sister was just a baby. I never got to know my sister because I left home, but I think of her often.

Q: How did your family make a living?

A: My father had a huge garden. He had a variety of things such as watermelons, tomatoes, beans, rice, and wheat. The field actually belonged to my grandpa but he was too old to do the work so dad did it. If our crops weren’t doing well my dad would harvest other peoples crops for money and food. If other people were having a hard time with their crops, dad would let them work our fields for food.

We didn’t have much land, but dad would figure out what could be planted together. Like beans and corn – he would plant them to where the beans wrapped around the corn stalks for support.

Dad would work all day in the fields. I remember him taking a nap under the huge shade tree for his lunch break, hat over his face, and then continue working through the evening until the sun went down. We didn’t have electricity so everything had to be done in the daylight hours. We used candles and kerosene lamps at night.

My mom would wash people’s clothes to make money and help support the family. She also took care of us children.

Q: Can you tell us some memories of growing up in Haiti?

A: I remember flying kites in the fields with my younger brothers. We use to make the kites out of bamboo sticks. We made them so huge that they could carry a child in the air. One day when my aunt called us to eat, a friend tied his kite to a small banana tree. When we came back the tree and kite was gone! The wind was so strong it made the kite pull the tree right out of the ground.

On occasion we would find an avocado tree with a big avocado at the top. My brothers, friends, and I would take turns rocking the tree back and forth to try and knock the avocado down. When it fell, we would eat it!

We use to catch fireflies at night, play marbles, watch rooster fights (which was pretty rough), and fish. Sometimes we went fishing in the rice fields. There was lots of water in the rice fields from the river overflowing and it would get hot. One day as I was fishing I stepped into a soft spot that was real deep. I ended up getting my leg stuck and I didn’t have another leg to pull myself out so I would have to crawl out.

When I was growing up a lot of voodoo and witchcraft was practiced in my village. They used a lot of chickens in their ceremonies, which I thought were very scary. I never was a part of any of it because of my handicap. I think they might have thought I would be a curse. It all came down to I needed to do something about my leg.

Q: Tell us about your leg.

A: I was born with only one leg and I hopped everywhere because we couldn’t afford crutches. As a young boy, I got picked on and “OneLeg” stuck as a nickname. I thought there was no hope of ever getting an artificial leg. I would cry to my grandma because I was so upset. I remember how she used to comfort me she would say things like “It’s okay, one day you'll go to America, get a new leg, and then you will be able to walk.” I use to wonder how I could get to America when my family didn’t have any money. Grandma had strong faith, she trusted in God, and she taught me many things about God.

I remember when I was about 7 or 8, a missionary came to Haiti and one night, they had a revival. They ministered about the love of God and how He hears our every prayer. At the end of the evening, they had an alter call and asked if anyone had a prayer request. I went up to the alter and asked them to pray that God would give me a leg. While they were praying, I really thought that God was going to give me a leg right then and there! I was just sitting there, waiting for my leg to grow, not knowing at the time that God had another plan. That plan was for me to go to America, just like my grandma had always told me.

Q: How did you get to America?

A: There was a time when missionaries came to our village. They came to my house and asked my mom if they could take me to Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti. Mom wanted to talk to dad about it but he had already left for work and wouldn’t be back until late. My brothers were in school at the time and my baby sister was home with us. Mom made the decision and these missionaries took me to an orphanage. I never saw the missionaries or my family after that. I look at it as angels sent by God to do a mission.

One day, in 1985, an American woman named Sandy Tucker visited the orphanage, and when she saw me she knew it would be possible to bring me to America for surgery on my leg. She returned to America and diligently worked towards making my dream a reality. Upon her return in 1985, with paperwork in place, Sandy brought me to a small, rural community in America. I was nine at the time, and scared because of the horror stories I heard of Americans cooking and eating little black children for dinner!

The fears vanished away once I got settled into my new home in Liberty, KY. It was here through the love of Sandy and Jerry Tucker that I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior. God took all my fears and replaced it with His love! Today, I'm 25 years old, and expressing His love through my songs and with an artificial leg, too!

Q: What sparked your interest in music?

A: I've had a fountain of music flowing out of me as long as I can remember. I was introduced to music such as Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman and Chris Rice, among others. This little ripple of music within grew into a river flowing out. I started setting up five gallon buckets and playing rhythm. I made up music while watching the rain falling, birds flying, or anything that came into my head. Playing rhythm on the buckets helped me to play the guitar, later on.

God has blessed me with the opportunity to meet people such as The Bishops, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Geoff Moore, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and Charlie Daniels. Charlie Daniels is like an uncle to me, He's has been a great encouragement for Christ, and even gave me one of his guitars, and signed it!

Q: When did you start to write music?

A: Grandpa use to take me to town with him as he ministered to people. He told me that he wasn’t going to be around forever to minister and that I would have to carry on. He said that I would have to tell people about the love of Jesus. After he died I was staring at his picture on the wall and the words “tell them” kept flowing from my very being. The song “Tell Them” was inspired from grandpa.

People loved it and they encouraged me to write more songs. “Gods Painting” was inspired by Thomas Kinkade paintings, ceramics, and books. I don’t have the artistic gift so I put it into words.

Basically I just wanted to capture God’s love on paper. He’s given me so much and showed me so much over the years. I really wanted to share this with people and the only way I knew how to express it was through music. I would write a song here and there.

Q: Where do you perform and how have people responded?

A: I play for a lot of churches. I also play for colleges, prisons (Danville, Lexington, Louisville), youth rallies, weddings, coffee shops, and house gatherings. From these appearances I have received a tremendous amount of support. I have also had the honor of touring the road with The Bishops. I have been playing the guitar for 14 years and have written over two dozen songs. As long as God keeps filling my cup, I'll keep singing and writing.

Jeff and Sheri Easter were on tour with the Gathers, and let me sing with them and offered to help me in any way they can. When Jeff Taylor a musician from Nashville TN, heard me, he got some musician friends together to help me with my first CD.

Q: Are there any final thoughts that you would like to share?

A: My earnest prayer for writing these songs and making this CD is to draw people closer to God, to tell people that God really does love them and care about their every concern, and to draw people out of the darkness and into His eternal light and life. I pray my music brings glory and honor to Jesus Christ. To God be all the Glory!