Pierre Dorval

Peace be with you all. I must say that I am so humbled to have been on this journey with the Lord and His grace continues to baffle me!

I was born and raised Catholic and grew up in such a rich environment in Haiti. My early childhood was filled with such a wide range of memories and experiences. Within my family, there was a strong sense and foundation of our faith. It guided my early years and sheltered my innocence by strengthening my values. My mother was especially such a pillar in my faith. Her faith was so inspiring to me and really taught me how to understand my personal relationship with God.

My parish was so instrumental in understanding what it means for me to be in a Catholic community. There were a lot of lessons I learned that I would never forget from what it means to journey with the suffering, building a strong community of believers, learning to make Church Home, and really encountering the Lord.

I have also been fortunate to have lived in a country where society was very black and white with very little grey area. I have seen the best and worst of what humans can potentially do. I have also experienced the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit in my life during that time.

As I moved to the US, the culture shock was on so many different levels. What it taught me first hand is the spiritual poverty that existed and the thirst of being seen, known, and loved was so prominent through the indifference that was also experienced.

I, later on, moved to Canada in 2007 when a new journey began which really tested the foundation that I had which prepared me for the journey that the Lord was about to have me embark on.

Currently, I am a youth minister at St. Barnabas serving our younger brothers and sisters as I continue to listen to what the Lord wants for my life and how He wants to be glorified. Over the last few humbling years, the Lord has purged a lot from my life as He continues to bring the fruits of His work through the younger and the young adults alike.

My journey is a journey of consistently saying yes to the Lord as I have come to realize that saying anything otherwise is really not a choice but my own demise.

The more I say yes to Him, the more He reveals Himself to me.