Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

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!

On Saturday, June 4, we joined our Felician Sisters throughout the world on this special Felician feast, in the spirit of Blessed Mary Angela. We renewed our dedication to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a ceremony of offering our hearts here in Haiti.

“May It be known to all the world that those who consecrate themselves to her heart shall always be safe and shall not perish forever.”

During the week of May 30-June 2, the Nursing Staff and a student, accompanied by Sr. Victoria, were here from Madonna University, Livonia, MI. Once again, they shared their call to the healing mission of Christ. We always saw the living God active in their lives as they met our people by visiting their homes, participating in the Mother Angela Clinic, and had activities of weight and measure, health education of teeth and washing of hands, and eye exams for our elders. We certainly saw how God was accompanying us 👣 through them. Thank you and God bless you all! 😃

During the week of May 27-June 3, Sr. Esther Falzone, SCC, Pastoral Associate from St. Gabriel’s Parish, Saddle River, NJ, re-visited St. Yves, Monchil, after three years. She was welcomed by our community here in Jacmel by our children.

Sr. Esther attended Mass on Sunday with the community of St. Yves. On Tuesday, May 31, she had the opportunity to visit and talk with Fr. Gaston, the Pastor, on the improvements made in the parish since her last visit. St. Gabriel’s has been very generous to St. Yves. 

In addition to her visit to St. Yves, Sr. Esther was impressed by the growth of the Felician Haiti Mission and our presence to the people of Jacmel.😀 

The Lord continues to bring us angels who want to walk with the Felician Haiti Mission. On Sunday, May 22, we met some new friends who wanted to know more about the Felician Mission in Haiti. These ladies love the Felician Sisters and have known us for many years since we ministered in Bayonne, NJ. They gave us a generous donation to help us with our people and want to walk with us. May the Lord bless them and keep them!

On Friday, May 20, Sisters Inga, Marilyn and Janet  traveled to Elkton, Maryland, to Immaculate Conception School, where our Sister Barbara Ann is a junior high teacher. During the year, the school had various fund raisers to give a sizable donation to purchase water filters and buckets for the “Water with Blessing” project. We were able to share with the whole school the beginnings of the mission and where the Lord continues to lead us to walk with His people. We thank you all for accompanying us with our Haitian brothers and sisters. Together we are building the Kingdom of God.

On Thursday, May 12 we went to Bishop Ahr High School in Edison, NJ to say thank you to all the Administration, Faculty, Staff and Students who participated in their Lenten Mercy for Haiti through the Dime a Day project for the Felician mission in Haiti. They gave a large donation that will assist us many of our activities. The  Green Club also presented us a generous check for our Water with Blessing project. God is good all the time!!!!!!! Thank you so much Bishop Ahr High School faith community for being on mission with us.