Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

By Baptism we become members of the Church, the Body of Christ.

On Saturday, March 24, we were blessed to have a Baptism in our small convent chapel. Let us share a little bit of the reason it took place the 5th Saturday of Lent: Two mothers of some of our kids came to us about a year ago asking for their children to be baptized. Nadia has two children, ages 9 and 1, and Elviane has four children, ranging from 8 months to 12 years. None of these children has the same father. Nadia and Elviane, however, were very serious in making this commitment so that their children could be baptized and become members of the Catholic Church.

They first spent the year going to the Cathedral for faith formation. Because of their stories, it was best that they be baptized in our chapel, so that the two smallest children can be baptized as soon as possible. The other children, varying from ages 8-12, participate in our children’s faith formation program.

Nadia and Elviane will continue their faith formation and prepare for the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation.

Here in Haiti, it is not easy for the poor to enter the Church. They do not have money for their birth certificates, clothes, or shoes. It is their tradition that the women wear a white suit for their baptismal ceremony. Thank God for Madam Omanie, who was able to prepare their outfits from some white material we found in the container. They also needed to find godparents, which they did. They were able to bring their children for the Mass and ritual. Of course, a few more showed from their extended family, which is not an unusual thing here.

Fr. Pierre Samson, pastor of the Cathedral, presided at the Mass. Sr. Inga read and Sr. Marilyn led the music.

God uses the sacrament of water to give his divine life to those who believe in him…Cleanse her from sin in a new birth to innocence by water and the Spirit.

This blessed oil gives wisdom and strength to all who are anointed with it in preparation for baptism…may he strengthen you with his power…

Receive the light of Christ…these children have been enlightened by Christ. They are to walk always as children of the Light…

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The celebration continued with a delicious chicken dinner, prepared by our cook, Jeremine; and, of course, a baptismal cake was enjoyed by all.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

On Tuesday, March 20, for the first time, we opened the new computer lab. Through the generosity of benefactors and with the laptops we received from JetBlue, we have been able to create a place for our kids to learn math, science, history, English, French, as well as to do research. We see how they never get exhausted with the variety of activities the laptop provides. Because of your generosity, we can provide educational fun for our children. May the Lord bless you!

It is a joy to see our kids back. Some of our teens who are in our Pay-it-Forward program prepared the tables and dishes. They even wrote a spiritual message on the blackboard. It is a joy to see them take ownership of their work among the kids.

Monday, March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, brought the children to us. It was our first time having the Mother Angela Kitchen in our new mission complex. When the kids entered, they were in awe and saw that God lives in this place. We also had some very poor women come to our door with a child, who was very hungry. All was gift through the intercession of St. Joseph, our protector and guide, in obedience to the Will of the Father.

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.” The words of today’s Gospel speak so loudly on the holy ground of Haiti, here in our new mission complex. We had the help of so many as we were getting things ready, setting up, and putting away what we had stored in boxes. There are so many who are with us and who helped us. We see JESUS in them as they serve in Jesus’ name.

We thank God for the gift of Mike Edgar, who spent six weeks with us, helping us with the move and seeing to the completion of the construction. We ask God’s blessings on Eric Moyer, who gave of his time and talent to help us with the transition. And we are grateful to JetBlue for donating computers for the computer lab. We pray that the Father of all blessings will fill you and your families in good measure and flowing over.

When we moved into our new home at our new mission complex, we were very busy unpacking boxes for the convent, activity center, volunteer house, Mother Angela Clinic Pharmacy, and computer lab. This has taken several weeks; but, finally, we think that most everything is in place. We still have some construction workers here, but we will soon be able to have all the kids again.

In the meantime, everyday we noticed that a cat was hanging around. He would follow us everywhere we went. So, as good Felician Sisters, we named him FELIX. We speak to Felix in Creole and, believe it or not, he responds. He loves to sleep everywhere he can. Yes, he even catches mice. (Whenever you have construction, it seems to stir up the mice population.) We have never been cat lovers, but this little guy wants to be a part of our community. He is not allowed inside the houses, although there are times he sneaks inside. Felix is slowly but surely learning the rules. We are not feeding him, so maybe he is catching our mice and bugs…

During the week of March 5-9, students from Madonna University and Felician University volunteered their time and talents with us. One of those ways was visiting the homes of our sick people who cannot afford to see a doctor and obtain the needed medication. These home visits always seem to be the heart of the mission experience because the volunteers get to know the family life of our children and their extended families. We are so proud of the way each of our Felician-sponsored institutions have placed in the hearts of their students the Felician core values of being “Grounded in the fundamental beliefs of respect for human dignity, compassion, transformation, solidarity with the poor, justice and peace, reverence, diversity, service, and joy…”

Our kids want so much to come back to us…they are so hungry! We cannot start the Mother Angela Kitchen until all construction workers are finished. Keep praying!

Felician University nursing students, together with their professor, Dr. Kathy Vito, have been experiencing the mission of the Mother Angela clinic. When they return each day, there is always a call to respond to a medical need. We are really seeing the core values of the Felician Mission in them.