Praise the Lord! We thank our God for everyone who has prayed for and supported our efforts as we continue our journey in Jacmel, Haiti. We have been here since 2012 and so many good things have happened that we wanted to share a few stories with you! We live among the marginalized and those living in poverty, accompanying them through the challenges and celebrating the joys of life. Join us on our journey and please keep us in your prayers as we keep you in our prayers.
On Christmas Eve, preparations focus on our traditional Wigilia celebration. As with everything, we had to start the preparations ahead of time, so only the last-minute dishes of fish, pierogi, and borsch soup were being baked and cooked. The decorations for the feast were done, and all was ready for sharing the Christmas wafer of pardon and peace. It was a joy to have Eric and his beautiful family with us for this sacred time of sharing and gratitude for the blessings and challenges of the past year.
Eric reads the story of the birth of Jesus!Sr. Inga tells the story of the Christmas wafer and the meaning of the empty chair and the extra place setting for whoever comes to the door. It is for Jesus.As soon as we sat down, the doorbell rang. It was Stefanie, one of our teens, so she joined us for Christmas Wigilia. She was our Jesus visitor.
On Monday, December 21, the great STAR was visible over Jacmel.All of our kids were looking for the great STAR and followed it to the Felician Mission.On the morning of December 22, Fr. Lauture JeanClaude, director of Pope John Paul II Catholic School for the Diocese of Jacmel, received a barrel full of school supplies and t-shirts. We thank especially the Archdiocese of Newark Youth Center for the hundreds of t-shirts and all of you who send us school supplies throughout the year.On December 23, the STAR led Eric Moyer and his family to Jacmel. Left to right: Eric, Abby, his wife Cassandra, Mitchell, Kaitlyn.By the afternoon, the kids followed the STAR that was to proclaim the birth of JESUS on December 25. They were here to get their t-shirts and to signup for the great feast.
Abby and Kaitlyn were there to help.
Eric and Jean Philippe work diligently, setting up our new security cameras. Cassandra gets our 500 plus cookies ready.Mitchell, with the help of our new pump from Tom Conboy, Director of the Newark Archdiocesan Youth Center, prepared 65 soccer balls for gifts.
The STAR was doing the leading and guiding as preparations were being done in readiness for the Nativity of our Lord, JESUS CHRIST. By the end of the day, we had about 200 kids signed up for the feast. Some more gifts needed to be prepared; a count was taken to be sure that the cookies and candy would feed them all; and a check was made that the decorations would be finished.
Everyday, we have the opportunity to encounter Christ in one way or another, through our prayer and community, as well as a simple ring of the bell and knock at the gate. Every month, we get a visit from a very poor woman and her three children. Sometimes they come hungry, always in tattered and dirty clothes, and usually sick. This time it was all of the above; they were totally in need. We looked at each other and agreed: This is Christmas; Christ coming to our door and asking us to be sister and servant.
A mother with her child who is suffering from malnutrition. You can tell by the color of his orange hair.Sr. Inga prepares Christmas packages of food and treats, clothes and toys.Sr. Marilyn gives some medication for a fever and some vitamins.Please pray for this Madam who is pregnant again, with no help or means to have or take care of this child. She is a simple woman who does not know how to read or write.
It has become a tradition at the Felician Mission that, on the Sunday before Christmas, we have a special prayer and dinner for our employees. It is a joy for us to celebrate with those who accompany us in serving the poor.
On Sunday, December 20, all those who share the mission with us came for the celebration. The Mother Angela Clinic Team; our cook for the Mother Angela Kitchen; our other workers, together with their spouses and children, joined in a wonderful afternoon of sharing the meaning of Christmas.
As always, we began with prayer and the tradition of sharing the sacred Christmas Wafer. The Word of God was shared from the Gospel of Luke, proclaiming the birth of Christ! Sister Inga shared the meaning of the Christmas Wafer and how we in our Felician family share wishes of peace, love and forgiveness. Being mindful of the COVID-19 virus we broke the wafer in pieces and placed them on individual plates. After using hand sanitizer we shared the wafer taking it from each others plates.
Christmas Wafer…OplatekEnjoying a delicious dinner…fried fish from the Caribbean Sea……banan, pikles, and dire jon jon! Delicious!Enjoying some delicious homemade lasagna!Some dancing!Taking a moment to say thank you for serving the poor with with us!Now for the moment everyone waits for…the gifts!Dr. Valcin was certainly happy getting his gift.Dr. YvesFritz and his daughter, Naida, and John, our grounds keeper.
Some of you may know that, when we are in New Jersey, we are always busy anticipating another holiday feast. With that always in mind, we need to purchase things and send them in barrels to Haiti. Here we are preparing treat bags, filling them with chocolates and sweets for our kids for our Christmas Day celebration!
From December 10-13, the annual Advent Retreat–Connivance–for St. Michael’s Neocatechumenal community was held here at the Felician Mission. For all of these people, it is the only experience of taking time for their spiritual growth and health with the Lord. Centered in the Word, Eucharist and Community, our lives were able to be transformed, healed and forgiven.
Friday is a day of fast and forgiveness in preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.Sharing meals together…Sr. Izzy takes a break with some participants.Preparing for Sunday Eucharist…Singing the Responsorial Psalm: My soul rejoices in my God!“Are you the Prophet?” John answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said.”
On Tuesday, December 8, Dr. Jean Paul Bonnet and Hubert (his friend who was one of the first graduates of the Madonna University Program in Haiti) made their way here to the Felician Haiti Mission. This was the moment Dr. Bonnet and we have been waiting for–the beginning of the process of giving wells which will provide clean water to us, to the new catholic school that was built behind us, and to the bakery.
Meetings were scheduled with Bishop Touissaint, Father Bertrand (Director of Caritas), and representatives from the Water for Life well-diggers for Wednesday morning, December 9. God made a shift in the plan. Since there was a manifestation on the road to Jacmel the night before, no one could enter the city. This meant the Water for Life people could not be in Jacmel for the 9 a.m. meeting.
Again, we witnessed God’s lead in all this. We had a private meeting with the Bishop and Father Bertrand. We visited the site where the wells could go, and we saw the new piece of land for the bakery and cafe. Things began to unfold quickly.
St. John Paul II School where one of the wells will be placed by Water for Life.From left to right: Fr. Bertrand, Bishop Toussaint, Sr. Inga and Jean Paul discuss the blessed place for the well.By the afternoon, the Water for Life representatives made it to Jacmel to do the measuring and calculations for the well.
From left to right: Jean Paul, Hubert, Claude (Water forLife), Fr. Lauture Jean Claude (Director of the School) and Sr. Marilyn.Sr.Izzy enjoyed meeting the school kids.New land given by the Pastoral Center for the new bakery and cafe. Here we making plans for the well.
On Friday, December 11, Jean Paul and Hubert, together with Fritz as their driver, went to Les Cayes, about a 3 1/2 hour ride from Jacmel, to see a bakery that was built by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Land was given by that diocese and, from funds collected, they are a well-running bakery. We are getting closer and closer to the fulfillment of a dream so needed to empower women and men for jobs and, most of all, sharing a Bread for Life through accompaniment, relationships, and empowerment. As Jean Paul would say: “All good!”
On Monday, December 7, our teens were invited for our annual Advent Penance Service that was led by Father Maurice. Each year, we have our Penance Service in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. It is always a beautiful experience for us as we share Praise and Worship, silence, and God’s mercy together. After, we celebrated with PIZZA for all!
Asking for God’s mercy for our sins…Praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet…Awaiting God’s mercy…More love, more power, more of you, Lord, in our lives.Benediction…for the whole world!
On Wednesday, December 2, our newly-Baptized children and First Communion children experienced their first confession with Father Emmanuel as the celebrant. Our kids came in their white dresses and robes.After they made their First Confession, they received a candle, reminding them they are the light of Christ to the world!
Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti 