Monthly Archives: November 2013

As in every house, Saturday is cleaning day. Here in our house, we have a public stairway that no one has responsibility for cleaning. So we have our helpers that we named the “Spider Team,” who clean the cobwebs, as well as the stairs. Even Father Phanel lends a helping hand. 😊 After the job is done, our “Spider Team” gets a snack. Here they are eating our homemade pumpkin muffins. They were delighted that they could have three muffins each.
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We thank you for your prayers and messages today. It seems as though the demonstrations were peaceful. On Monday, November 18, there is going to be a nationwide manifestation in every city in Haiti. Once again, we will need to be vigilant. Please continue to pray for justice and peace for all people.

On the land next to where we will be building our new convent, the Foundation Poland Haiti is building a new school for the Diocese of Jacmel. The building construction is well on its way. We have been blest to get to know their engineers who are overseeing the project. Karolina and Marta, two young engineers, visited us today. Take a look at the following link; this is our Bishop Launay Saturne thanking the organization. http://youtu.be/P0OzwtgW6Ro

We received word that tomorrow morning, beginning at 8 a.m., there will be a big manifestation in the city of Jacmel. We have been advised to stay home and not go out for the day. They are expecting violence in the streets. The anger of the people toward the government is growing because basic needs are not being met, such as availability of electricity, rebuilding of a bridge that was destroyed by the earthquake, and completion of the airport in Jacmel.

Manifestations are not new in Jacmel; however, they used to be peaceful demonstrations. For example, previously, when they had no electricity, the people would walk for miles with candles. Today they are turning to violence, and innocent people are being hurt.

Last week, before our return to Jacmel, we heard that the children did not go to school for a few days because the violence in the streets was very bad. Those that did choose to go to school were forced to take part in the demonstration. The Salesian Sisters did not allow their students to take part in the manifestation, and angry demonstrators struck their school with rocks that did damage to the school and its property.

Please pray for us and for the people of Jacmel, that in a peaceful way they can receive what is right and just.

Thanks to our Sister Jeanine Heath from our Chicago area, we made a connection with the Hospital Sisters who help mission countries with medications and medical supplies. They collect medications and supplies from various hospitals that are not being used. Sister Giovanni was able to order many things needed for our mobile clinic. Pray now that these items will reach us in a container.

St. Gabriel’s Parish in Saddle River, NJ, donated altar server cassocks for a few of our young boys. In Haiti, altar servers need to buy their own cassocks. Our boys were delighted and right away asked Father to bless them. Both of the guys pictured here are thinking about becoming priests. The journey to become a priest here is very difficult because the young men come from very poor families that are not able to pay for their studies and books. This year our Bishop is looking for people to sponsor our young seminarians. Please pray for them and help support them if you can.

Thank you again, St. Gabriel’s, for the cassocks. The boys promised to pray for you.

Our ESL (English as a Second Language) School has started up again. We have one group in the morning and one group in the afternoon. We meet twice a week for classes. Since we know a little bit more Creole, we were able to speak with each individual child. We learned that out of 26 kids only two of them have both parents. Many of them live with a relative or a family friend. In one case, three siblings are living together on their own since their parents were killed in the earthquake.

A few months ago, we received t-shirts from JDM Associates, Inc. We distributed them among our kids and used them as our “uniform.” In Haiti, it is a custom to have a uniform or t-shirt that identifies you belonging to a school and/or organization. This was a very big deal for our kids. Right now our t-shirts have a baseball logo on them, but we hope that one day we will have our own logo for our kids.

Today our door bell was ringing all day as our kids were happy to see that we were back. They joined us for our evening prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The prayer time became an hour of praise and worship before the Blessed Sacrament. After tonight’s prayer experience, we have invited them to come every Sunday.

Felician College is preparing to send three students, with our Sister Mary Honorata, during Christmas week to teach English as a second language. It will be an intensive course given to our students here in Jacmel. We look forward to sharing the mission with them.

The night before we returned to Jacmel, we met with Father Gene Squeo, Pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish, Jersey City, NJ, and some of his medical team members, who conduct a medical mission every year near us in Jacmel. They are interested in collaborating with us when we begin our mobile clinic. Plans are being made for the team to come to Jacmel in March, 2014.

God is continuing to “widen our tents” as our relationships grow and we are called to work together for the Kingdom of God here in Haiti.

On Saturday, November 9, before returning to Jacmel, Yvon wanted to show us his new mission–CAD = Welcoming Center in Delmas, a place for young boys and teens who live on the streets. Many are orphans or do not know the whereabouts of their parents. This program is being sponsored by the government. We are so happy that the government is reaching out to young people and doing something for the most neglected. Yvon is a consultant for the program; and our good friend, Joseph, is the new director of the program. This will be a place for living, learning and recreating. We pray that the Good News of Jesus Christ will be proclaimed, and that God will be known, loved, and glorified in this place. This was the first time we saw anything like this in Haiti. Up to this time, we only saw efforts taken by the Church and NGO’s.