UPDATED: We reported earlier that the notorious 400 Mawozo gang had released the final 12 of the 17 missionaries and their families that it had kidnapped in Haiti on Oct 16, 2021. The gang had released five earlier due to health issues.

But Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) is now reporting that the group, which included a 10-month-old baby and three children (ages 3, 14, and 15) had, in fact, escaped their captors.

Any attempt would be wrought with danger, as the notorious gang had a reputation for violence, but during their captivity, several members of the group sensed that God wanted them to escape.

In a news conference explaining what happened, CAM spokesperson, Weston Showalter, said:

“The hostages were sensing God nudging them to attempt an escape. Over the time of their captivity, God gave various hostages a desire to attempt an escape.”

“To attempt such a thing would be dangerous. They sought God over and over again seeking direction from Him.

“After much discussion and prayer, they became solidly united that God seemed to be leading them this way.“

Showalter added that though they sensed the Holy Spirit was leading them, they prayed for a sign to confirm when they were to make such an attempt. Twice they pulled out of an escape attempt when the sign showed up, revealing this was not the time.

But that all changed on the night of Wednesday, December 15, 2021.

Showalter explained:

“When they sensed the timing was right, they found a way to open the door that was closed and blocked, filed silently to the path that they had chosen to follow, and quickly left the place that they were held despite the fact that numerous guards were close by.

“In the distance, they could see a mountain feature that they had recognized and identified in the previous days. They identified this landmark before and they knew that this was the direction they needed to go. They also followed the sure guidance of the stars as they journeyed through the night, traveling toward safety.”

There were instances in the Bible when people asked God for a sign to confirm the direction they were to go. Gideon asked for two signs to confirm he was to go to battle with the Midianites (Judges 6: 36-40). Along a similar vein, the apostles prayed and then cast lots to see who would replace Judas as an apostle (Acts 1:24-26).

But it also seems that members of the group were operating in one of the spiritual gifts, a word of knowledge, that the Apostle Paul mentioned in his letter to the Corinthians. Through this gift, an individual receives supernatural revelation about a situation past and present (1 Corinthians 12:8).

And even during their escape in the middle of the night, they prayed several times for direction as they travelled through the gang’s territory covered in thick brambles and woods.

After several hours, they eventually came across a person enabling them to call for help.

In its news release, CAM noted that when the group became aware that they were being kidnapped as they visited an orphanage in Haiti, they began singing a chorus based on Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.”

The song became one of their favourites and was sung repeatedly during their two-month captivity.

READ: Kidnapped Missionaries Made Daring Escape from Their Captors, Fled for Their Lives on Foot at Night AND Update on Haiti kidnapping AND Missionaries staged daring escape from kidnappers in Haiti, CAM reveals