Monthly Archives: November 2014

Francine is a young mother of two boys. Her husband is dead, and she is illiterate. Francine works in a restaurant 12 hours a day, 18 hours on Saturday. She earns $50 a month. She is not able to pay her rent nor send her kids to school. They live near us in a shack with one bed for the three of them. Francine is allowed to eat in the restaurant, but her kids eat in our Manman Angela Kitchen. She is very depressed. Both of her boys failed to pass school last year, and she is not able to help them. They participate in our Pay-it-Forward Program. The boys are dirty and do not have clean clothes. They often ask us for soap. We try to help them as much as we can. Now Fenol, the oldest of the two boys, is doing well in school. He is second in the class with the help he is getting. We have been able to give them clothing and shoes with the donations we have received.

Today, Wilnor, her youngest son, who is 8 years old, came to our door early in the morning before prayers. His arm was in a sling. It seems as though he and his young friend had a fight the night before and Wilnor fell and hurt his left arm. We took him to the hospital here in Jacmel. We got him registered, and he needed to wait for an x-ray. After he finally got the x-ray, the doctor said it did not look right–maybe it was dislocate–but he could not do anything. Not even an ace bandage was given to Wilnor. Our doctors from the Manman Angela Klinic are on a retreat weekend with Caritas so we need to wait for them to return on Monday to see what we can do to help Wilnor.

Please pray for Wilnor and continue to pray for Christella. We still have not heard anything about where she could be, and she also needs medical assistance!

Every Thursday evening, twelve of our young kids and teens gather for catechesis as they prepare to receive the sacraments. Every Saturday afternoon, these twelve young people, with some of the other children, gather for the Eucharist in our chapel. Once a month, on a Sunday, those preparing for the sacraments attend a special Mass at St. Michael’s Parish. Today, on the Feast of Christ the King, we took our group, which is preparing for the sacraments, to the celebration at St. Michael’s. It was a privilege for us to be asked to help distribute Communion.

After the Mass, when we all returned home, we had a small celebration with croissants, peanut butter and jelly, and ICE CREAM!

Happy Feast of Christ the King!

Many of you wrote to us today asking about Christella and assuring us of your prayers. Today we did not hear good news about her situation. We know that a few days ago she ran away for the first time and was found by the police. She was returned to her aunt’s home in Jacmel, but then ran away again. No one seems to know where she is now. It has been said to us that she has been diagnosed with AIDS and did not want to go to the hospital. She is very scared. We also found out her real age is 15. Please keep praying that she will have the courage to return home to get the medical help needed at this time.

In the town of Jacmel everyone knows everyone’s business and everyone is talking about it, even the children are making comments. It must be very difficult to return to a place where everyone is judging you.

“God has entrusted to your care the souls of those simple folds, so do not desert them, do not be deterred by any hardship from saving their souls.”
Mother Mary Angela
Blessed Mary Angela, pray for us!

Christella is a young teeneager that joined our community last summer. For two days now, she has been missing. She did not return from school yesterday. Christella, the cousin of one of our kids, came from the mountains to continue schooling in the 5th grade, even though she is 14 years old. This was the first time she had been in the city. She lives with her aunt here in Jacmel. During the summer, she earned money for school by selling food in the market that her aunt had cooked. This was very difficult work, having to walk all day in the sun. We bought Christella’s books for school and some other needed school items.

In the first photo, where the girls are learning liturgical dance, Christella is in the white t-shirt. In the second photo, she is wearing the red t-shirt. Please pray with us that she is found and that she is okay.

The engineer from Poland, Karolina, showed us the new John Paul II school for kindergarten and primary grades that is still under construction. Foundation Polska Haiti is funding the project that is taking more time than expected. But this is the reality of Haiti. Architects and engineers from other countries are not able to perceive what it is like to build in Haiti. The cost is more than the Foundation funding the project expected and projected. This is a challenge.

Our friend, Dr. JeanPaul, who has been engaged in our Felician mission in Haiti from the beginning, visited our home in Jacmel from November 7-14. This was the first time he has been back to Haiti in two years. Everyday he accompanied our doctors and nurses in the clinic and visited people in their homes. JeanPaul knows French so this made it a little easier for him as he made his visits. His love and compassion for the poor was seen in everything he did. He was especially touched when he visited a single mother with three young children who live in the bushes without running water and electricity. To get them some help has become one of his goals as he returns back to the States.