Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

I still remember and shed a tear every year, as I remember what happened that day we call 9/11.

Can you imagine never having your own pair of shoes, let alone dress shoes? This little guy for the first time received a new pair of dress shoes and he was ecstatic with joy! Thank you for caring enough to offer a kid a new pair of shoes. Now he can go to school.

Now that school has started, during the week we offer an after-school study program. Kids come with their backpacks and books and work with a teen tutor to do their homework. Kids also have the opportunity to use the computer lab regularly.

We are taking great pride in our garden on our property. Lately, we have been having a lot of pumpkins and watermelon.

Soon the papaya will be ready.

On Saturday, August 25, Ludwiga and Mathilda were prepared to receive their First Holy Communion…their joy and anticipation shouted loudly their love for the Lord and their desire to now take and eat and to take and drink the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It has been a very blessed weekend for us here. Ludwica and Mathilda were accepted into the Catholic Church and received their First Holy Communion. They have been preparing for this moment during this past year, desiring every day to participate at the Table of the Lord. Over the summer, they had some intense preparation as the day became closer.

On Friday, August 24, everything was ready for their Baptism in our convent chapel. The water, the holy chrism for Baptism, the candles. Dressed in their white dresses, made by Madam Omanie, they were ready to enter the sanctuary of the Lord. Father Samson presided at the Mass and preached boldly what their Baptism means for them and the Church: their call to be priest, prophet and king, now to be a living witness of their lives with Jesus Christ and His Church. Ludwica and Mathilda were ready to answer loudly the questions asked: DO YOU BELIEVE…? YES, I BELIEVE…could be heard by all.

After the celebration, a small receptions was given with Soup Jamou (pumpkin soup) and two cakes. The joy of the Lord is our strength!

We never know when someone comes to the door what their need might be. One day, within that one morning, we received two little babies. One, you may remember his story, was Jamesly. When he came to us last year, just a month or two old, he was nearly dead. Malnourished and sickly, he did not have the strength to feed at his mother’s breast. Today Jamesly, who we see monthly, is a healthy year-old boy, getting ready to walk. Jamesly gives us such joy when we see his progress.

Right after Jamesly left, another mother arrived. This one we had not seen before. Her child was lifeless at first and also a year old. What a difference from Jamesly!

Both the child and her mother looked so sick and so hungry. The mother gave us a story that the child had been in the hospital and received blood, but she was still in bad shape. We gave her some pedialyte, powdered milk, diapers and some clothes. We encouraged her to see our doctor in the Mother Angela Clinic.

And, as always, we prayed over them for healing…

Here at the Felician Haiti Mission, August means preparation for the the new school year. Felician backpacks with school supplies need to be prepared, and uniforms need to be made…

On Saturday, August 11, we celebrated the feast of St. Clare. What better way to do this than by inviting some young women who are interested in our religious life to pray with us and to learn about the life of St. Clare! It was indeed a Festival of Lights!

We all gathered in the chapel before the San Damiano Cross, just like Clare would do with her sisters. The young women first watched a short PowerPoint about the life of St. Clare in French.

Then we shared the prayer from darkness to light as we walked with Saints Francis and Clare, embracing Christ and listening to our personal call to know what is ours to do with our lives here and now.

The celebration continued with homemade banana bread, iced tea and, of course, some chocolates. The joy of the Lord was shared as we got to know each other even more.

What you hold, may you always hold.

What you do, may you always do and never abandon.

But with swift pace, light step and unswerving feet,

so that even your steps stir up no dust,

Go forward, the spirit of our God has called you.

—St. Clare of Assisi

Sharing our gifts and talents with others is a necessity. James, our seminarian, shares the faith with Ludwiga and Mathilda as they prepare for Baptism and Communion; Sr. Marilyn gives guitar lessons; and Sr. Inga leads young women in prayer.