Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

Boys and girls love making those bracelets!

On Monday, June 20, Sr. Desirè began her ballet classes with our young girls. She came prepared with dance clothes and ballet shoes, which she had received as donations from her many friends who knew she was coming to Haiti. In the morning, she prepared the sizes and made individual bags so each girl would receive her own set of dance clothes.

When the girls received their individual bags, they were very excited and felt special. They all changed and were ready to begin. They learned the first five positions of ballet for their first class. They will meet Monday through Thursday every afternoon.












On Saturday, June 18, we welcomed Sister Desirè to the Felician Haiti Mission. It is a joy to have another Felician Sister with us for a month! She is a temporary professed Sister who teaches at Pomona High School in California. She is here for her summer of service. It is a true blessing for us!   😃😃😃

During the week of June 12-19, Mike Edgar and his daughter, Haleigh, have shared totally in the Haiti Mission. During the week, Haleigh went to the clinic and learned much about clinical care of the poor in the mountains. For a few of those days, Mike went with the clinic and helped in the pharmacy.

To end this week of experience and learning, we visited our kids’ homes and those of others in need of some kind of medical care. For Haleigh, this was the highlight of the week. It was great having them with us as we walked in relationship with our people.

Friday, June 17, was a dream come true for us here in the Felician Haiti Mission. The land and construction site were blessed and, finally, construction began for the new convent, volunteer house and clinic building. As we entered the property, we saw the trucks, bull dozer, and construction people with hard hats. At the sight, both of us were filled with tears of joy. Mike Edgar and his daughter, Haleigh, were also with us for the great historic event for the Felician Mission in Haiti.Pop

Bishop Launay Saturne, Bishop of the Diocese of Jacmel, led the prayer service of blessing and groundbreaking. “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build.” Here is where the Lord will reside; here is the where the rock of foundation was placed and blessed for the Lord to be present for His people, that God may be known, loved and glorified. 

On Sunday, June 12, Mike Edgar, Properties Manager for the Felician Sisters, and his daughter, Haleigh, arrived in Haiti. Mike is with us to meet with the construction people for our new convent and is spending time helping us in the mission. His daughter, Haleigh, who is studying to be a doctor, is working in our Mother Angela Clinic for the week. She is also meeting many people in our home. 😃

Those of you who have been reading our blog may remember Christella, a 16-year-old whom we helped when she delivered her baby. We sent her to a Canadian family that helps unwed mothers. She had very good care, but Christella did not stay long with the family.

 Thanks be to God she reconciled with her father, who rented for her a small shack behind the place where we live. Yesterday, the two of us visited Christella’s home and saw what she had inside–hardly anything. Here is little 6-month Rose sitting on the floor.

Christella and her baby sleep on a single sheet on the floor. They have no bed or mattress.

We brought Christella and Rose back to our home to give Rose a bath and some powdered vitamin milk she needed. We also gave her some new baby clothes. Would you believe had to show Christella how to use the baby bottle and prepare the milk😉.




During the first week of our return to Haiti, on Monday, May 30, we participated in the funeral of a 19-year-old teen from our neighborhood. He had been suffering for a year with an illness no one could diagnose. His body was swollen. Evenson was sent to Port au Prince to seek help, but no one could help him.

The funeral took place in the Lutheran Church here in Jacmel, attended by many teens. We have never seen anything like it; all were young and all were weeping. During the time they were reflecting on Evenson’s life, the people began to weep and wail loudly. The service lasted about three hours. After the service, in the evening, a few people came to us with wounds that they had received during the funeral because they were so emotional, throwing themselves to the ground. They all told us it was a power in them that did this. We just prayed for them.

Please remember the soul of Evenson in your prayers, and pray for his family who are mourning his loss.

Praise the Lord! This summer, at the end of August, our container benefactor, Ann Zon, will be sending another container to Haiti. This is good news because we can send things we need to help the mission. In the past, your generosity and support have been a blessing for our people. If you or your organization could help us with the items listed below, we would be grateful. (If sending used items, please be sure they are in good shape.) These need to be put in boxes, marked with what is in the boxes, and labeled FOR FELICIAN MISSION HAITI!

These boxes can be sent directly to:

Anne Marie Zon
10100 Transit Rd
East Amherst, NY 14051

Or they can be delivered to one of three Felician Convents:
1. Felician Sisters
   36800 Schoolcraft Rd
   Livonia, MI 48150
  (Attention of Sr. Giovanni Monge, tel. 734-751-3568)

2. Felician Sisters
   130 Kościuszko St.
   Buffalo, NY 14212
   (Attention of Sr. Johnice Rzadkiewicz, tel. 716-894-7030)

3. Felician Sisters
   260 South Main St.
   Lodi, NJ 07644
   (Attention of Sister Janet Marie Kurgan, tel. 973-715-4816)

Following are the items which would be most useful at this time:

School supplies: notebooks, pencils, pens, sharpeners, erasers, calculators, rulers, crayons, magic markers

Backpacks
Black shoes which are required for school
Any kind of shoes, sneakers, flip flops, sandals
White socks

Underwear for boys and girls, ages 5-18
Clothing for children and adults (sizes small and medium), especially t-shirts and shorts
Skirts for girls 
 
Adult clothing (not large because our people are skinny) church clothes, casual clothes, etc
Ladies, Men, Teenagers

Bath soap
Shampoo
Baby powder
Tooth brushes
Tooth paste
Powdered laundry detergent

Towels
Bed sheets
Mattresses

Baby Formula 
Baby powdered milk 
Diapers
Pedialite  
Baby cold medicines

Multi vitamins for children
Cold medicines for adults
Alcohol swabs
Calamine lotion
Tylenol – Regular and Extra Strength
Visine eye drops 
Band aids
Bandages
Neosporin

Rubber gloves – small, medium and large

Multi vitamins for adults
Sanitary napkins
Adult diapers

Peanut butter
Granola bars
Candy

White copy paper
Sanctuary lamp candles – the ones in plastic
Any liturgical items: vestments, vessels etc.
Musical instruments: keyboard, guitar, drums, etc
Tables for activities
Chairs

Portable closets
White 5-gallon buckets with covers
Games for children

Soccer balls
Any other things useful for people
Gifts for Christmas 

Aluminum Foil
Saran Wrap 
Baggies – all sizes

Thank you for any and all help you can offer! Bondye beni nou! Mesi anpil!