Monthly Archives: April 2018

On Wednesday, April 18, after a busy morning, we went “tree” shopping. This was a first for us, as we are trying to do some landscaping on our property. We needed to buy some mango, bread fruit, and palm trees, as well as some bushes, for the mission complex. We are always learning something new…

Wednesday, April 18, started with a beautiful sunrise, but then we saw what the rains of the previous night had done to the tent we use for the boys who watch the gate. Well, it was broken in many pieces, and the tent itself was ripped in two.

Then Father Dalo arrived for Mass, and as it started, we heard the Word that promises us life. During the consecration, Sr. Inga seemed distracted. Fritz, our driver for the Mobil clinic, needed our car keys. It seems Fr. Dalo’s car caught fire and was rolling into our car. Thank God for Fritz who saved the day! As soon as Mass was finished, we ran outside and saw all the clinic team helping to put out the fire in Father’s car motor.

What a day…

On Saturday, April 14, Our Lady finally had her home ready. She still needs a few paint touches, but she looks beautiful! Five years ago, Sr. Mary Francis Lewandowski sent the statue down in a crate so she could be ready for our new home.

For five years, Our Lady was in our container. True to herself, she was patiently waiting, full of grace, until we found the right place and the right spot where she would belong.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Hope, Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us and protect us!

We have had some sad moments here on the mission. This, too, is part of living the Paschal Mystery. We have an 86-year-old woman, Regina, the grandma of one of our kids, who has an infected left toe. The infection went into the bone and, as a result, there is no circulation in that leg. Some visiting doctors from the States were here, and we went to see if they could help Regina in any way. They said they would need to amputate the foot up to the knee. She was ready to do what was needed to be done. Then they found out she had no circulation in the other leg. They wanted to do an angiogram to evaluate the situation.

Well, Jacmel has a hospital, in fact it was just built a few years ago by Canada and Japan. The hospital was beautifully built, but it lacks supplies, medicine; and there are even not enough doctors and nurses because the hospital cannot pay them.

Regina goes for the test before the surgery, and they have no dye for the angiogram…end result, no surgery. She was sent home, and all she can do now is sit and suffer. This was a big blow to her, her family, and to us, as we thought she was getting help, even though it meant she would have an amputation. The infection is in her bone. All we can say is that we tried.

When we think of how blessed we are in the USA, we see how the poor are at such a disadvantage here. Please pray for Regina. We believe in miracles, and we do believe God is going to open some door for us. We wait in hope…and wrap her in healing prayer.

On Sunday, April 8, the feast of Divine Mercy, we had some special guests for dinner to celebrate new life in Christ. Rosemarie, one of our young women, was welcomed into the Catholic faith at the Easter Vigil this year. As it has become our custom to give a celebration after one of our people receives the sacraments, we invited Rosemarie and her parents for a delicious Haitian dinner. It was a delight to have them!

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself (950).

On Saturday, April 7, we had our first Mass with the children and youth in our new mission complex. It was a wonderful day to have this celebration of the vigil Mass in anticipation of the feast of Divine Mercy.

Those of us who, through Baptism, continue His mission in the Spirit must remember that as individuals and as church, we are icons of Christ. The world must see in us the same merciful Christ who appeared to the apostles. Then, from us, they can learn of Christ’s mission and perform great works with his Spirit.

Have a graceful and merciful day! 🙏🏾🕊❤️

We see this Gospel fulfilled here in so many ways. Our passion fruit is growing more and more everyday.

The vine of life keeps growing here with new children and families.

“It is to the glory of the Father that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples.” John 15:8

Before we moved here to the new mission complex, many had asked us if the same kids would be coming to us. Well the joy of the Lord never ceases to amaze us. We have been gradually starting up our programs again, in between the workers finishing up some things on the site. Today, there was so much life in our midst, as children came for the computer lab, the after-school activities, and choir practice.

We have been having heavy rains everyday. It is really helping our plants to grow.

It even brings brother spider and sister frog, as well as all the other bugs.

But we have been blessed with someone who gave us a liquid that is for bugs. So, thank God for Fritz who sprayed around every building on the complex.

Let all creatures of the Lord, bless the Lord. Praise and exalt Him forever.

Blessings this holy Easter Day! Every morning, as the sun rises, this is what we see outside our gate. In our hearts, we hear the risen Lord say: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Everyday we are promised new life in Christ and are sent to be about His mission.

New life requires new ways of living. One of the options for the second reading in the Easter readings shares this awareness. “Clean out the old yeast,” St. Paul tells the Corinthians. “Become a fresh batch of dough.”

Although God’s kingdom appeared quickly, awareness took time. Mark shows this in the amazement of the women, who needed time to understand what had happened. As the other optional Lectionary reading reveals, Christians took years to realize how much had changed. “Seek what is above,” St. Paul chides the Colossians decades later. Faith in the resurrection requires believers to let go of their attachments and take a step back to see the eternal life they have in Christ.

Finally, Mark shows that sometimes we have to move elsewhere to find Jesus. The young man at the tomb tells the women to assemble the rest of the disciples in Galilee. “There you will see him, as he told you.” This is not the case in the other Gospels, which have accounts of post-resurrection appearances in and around Jerusalem. Mark gets the disciples out of Jerusalem, which in his Gospel is a place of only agony and rejection. Mark knows that eyes not adapted to God’s kingdom will miss sight of the risen Lord, and that this awareness requires a complete shift in perspective.

Today’s feast reminds us that we still live in that time when heaven has drawn near to earth. Like the first Christians, we, too, need to see with new eyes. Lent gave us the opportunity to clear our vision. Starting today, our mission is to catch sight of the risen Christ. We must rummage through our hearts to remember those places Jesus told us to find Him, and then we must go there, seeking with new eyes the face of our beloved Lord, whose presence brings heaven to earth.

We see Jesus here everywhere. From our home in Haiti to your home, we wish you a blessed Easter and a holy living faith. Where will Jesus tell you to meet him?