On Friday, February 24, Sr. Marilyn was invited by Sr. Janet Lehmen, SC, to teach her English class the song “Holy is His Name” by John Michael Talbot. The text and the melody offered much opportunity to give witness to the call of Mary and her surrender to the Lord and to know what is ours to do. The students you see in the photos are in the Nursing program.
Every Thursday and Friday, we have different groups who come to meet the Lord in the Word and to deepen their relationship with Jesus. We have four different groups, with kids and teens on different levels of faith. As Jesus says: “Let the children come to me for blessing.”
Some are preparing for their First Holy Communion.
And others are learning Bible stories and meeting the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in creative ways. They are learning to pray and sing praise to the Lord.
It is Carnaval time everywhere, especially here in Haiti! In every culture people have a way they celebrate with special cakes. Last week we shared with you the King’s Cake that was shared with us. Today, on Fat Thursday, we wanted to bring Panczki Day to Haiti. This was a new experience for both of us!
The week of February 13-20, we were asked if two American volunteers from Lavalle could come and spend a week with us at our mission in Jacmel. They are from Louisiana and Tennessee. They have been in Haiti since September, working in a school in the mountains of Lavalle. They are teaching English to 200 students. The school is sponsored by an American from Tennessee.
Hannah is from New Orleans and Abby is from Nashville. They graduated college last year and wanted to give a year of service. They had heard about the Mother Angela Clinic and the various activities we have here in Jacmel and asked if they could come for a week while their school had exams.
In the mornings, they went with the clinic to help and to learn more about acute care among the poor. In the afternoons, they helped with the Mother Angela Kitchen and taught English to our teenagers. It has been a joy having them with us, sharing community and the mission with these young women who eventually want to become a doctor and a nurse.
Hannah
Abby
Hannah and Abby having English class.
On Friday, for their English class, Hannah and Abby made a famous King’s cake, which is served in New Orleans at every Mardi Gras. They shared it with the kids and us. It was delicious!
On Tuesday, February 14, Valentine’s Day ❤, there was a knock at the door. Two of our poorest little boys–who have nothing, who live in a poor shack, who have no food–presented us with a little chocolate and wished us a Happy Valentine’s Day! We saw the face of God and His unconditional love. The beautiful flowers came to us from another one of our boys as he returned from school to get his only hot meal of the day at the Mother Angela kitchen. Thank you, God, for being here!
This morning, as we entered the kitchen, to our surprise we saw a hummingbird flying around. What a beautiful gift from God!
Hummingbird Meaning… “Appearing out of no where the Hummingbird springs joy in the heart, and there is magic in the air in this moment of fleeting serendipity. Iridescent colors shimmering in the breeze, she pauses mid air to to drink in the sweet nectar that the flower so generously provides her. Hummingbird is a symbol of all things good.”
Hummingbird Symbolism…”The sweet little bird of joy, ever so dainty and beautiful, the Hummingbird symbolizes great courage, determination, flexibility and adaptability. This little beauty is only a few ounces in weight, yet has the courage of a lion. Indeed size is of no consequence. Hummingbird is a totem of fearlessness, and represents lightness of being.”
Do you think God has a message for us?
Jacmel, Haiti
Jacmel, Haiti
New Jersey, USA
New Jersey, USA
Poland
Poland
Haiti’s Comet!
Isn’t GOD magnificent?! 🤗
Today, February 8, is the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of human trafficking. As we remembered her feast this morning and thought about the many children that are victims of this terrible crime, we thanked God that we have not experienced that here in our community.
But, today, after our prayer, we had a woman from the community come to see us. She said she had a big problem. Her nephew, Jamsie, who used to come to our food program, was taken by the father to Port au Prince after Christmas. He wanted him to go to school there. He claims he took him to school one day and, when he went to pick him up, he was lost, missing. Seems as though everyone in our area knows about it. We think Jamsie may be a victim of human trafficking here in Haiti. Please pray for this little seven-year-old boy; no one knows where he is or what has happened to him.
Foundation for the new convent.
Activity center and food program area.
Volunteer house.
Mother Angela Clinic pharmacy, office and storage.
Caretaker residence.
These new buildings will be the base of operations for the Ministry of Presence in Haiti and will provide lodging for short-term volunteers. We are conducting a capital campaign to raise funds to cover the costs of this project. Please pray for its success. Blessed Mary Angela, intercede for us.
Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti 