Everyday, in the morning and in the afternoon, we have our kids come to work on their homework and do activities that will improve their skills for school. Everyone comes with excited smiles and works hard, learning together.
When they finish their homework, the kids are able to play with games.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller
On Thursday, October 5, we began our faith formation classes for our children. Our Catechists prepare with us every week for their lessons, and then they conduct their classes with the children. We begin by listening together to the Good News with a story from the Word of God, and then we share how we can live this Word in our lives. This week we shared how the Word could produce its fruit in us for the spreading of the Kingdom of God.
We have children who are currently preparing for Baptism and Communion, and every week there are others who want to participate in the faith formation program.
On October 3, in the evening, our teenagers gathered with us to celebrate the Transitus of our holy father, St. Francis of Assisi. After sharing with them the story and life of St. Francis, we watched a short video on his prayers and his passion, as well as his love for the cross, creation, non-violence, living the Gospel, and embracing all of humanity.
We then shared the final moments of the death of St. Francis, when he asked for the Gospel of John 13:1-17 to be read. The blessed bread was then broken and shared, followed by Psalm 142, which was chanted by one of our boys. After this, all were encouraged to do what is theirs to do, as we live today as followers of the Gospel of Jesus.
May the Lord give you peace!
As we began this new week, we have been experiencing a “flock of babies” arriving at our door–all of them sick with colds or injuries from falling. More and more, we understand what is meant by total availability.
This little guy fell in his house, but he seems to have something else going on, because he does not stop crying. Today, they all go to the Mother Angela Clinic that is nearby and will see Dr. Wanitha, who is our pediatrician.
Here are our twin baby girls. Two of our teens decided to play with them for awhile to give their mother a break. They, too, need to see the doctor.
The Mother Angela Clinic continues to grow as we reach out to various areas in the mountains, areas where people have never had access to medical treatment due to distance and rocky roads. But the Clinic team does not allow that to stop them from visiting places where there is a need. On Friday, September 29, the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the clinic traveled to a far distant site in the zone of Decouze. We only get to visit this site every month and a half, since we have 28 places in all to visit. Once we left the main road, Nationale 2, we made our way up the mountain on a very rock and steep road. The site was gorgeous, and we felt like we could touch the clouds.
Once we arrived, many people were waiting for a chance to see a doctor and receive medications. As always, we began with prayer and then a few minutes of health education. Today, it was the importance of not sharing medications one receives with someone else, unless it is prescribed by a doctor. Sr. Marilyn shared the story of the Felician Sisters here in Haiti and about Mother Angela’s passion for the sick. She also told everyone how happy we were to be with them.
As always, Dr. Yves sees the elders and Dr. Wanitha sees the children, babies and mothers.
The people in this area do not have clean water and suffer with many types of infections.
It is our hope to bring the “Water with Blessing” project here in the very near future.
Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti 