Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

Our newest member in our Felician mission here in Jacmel is Shamael. She was born on Friday, February 26, after midnight. Her mother, Beverly, is one of the young women who helps us make the Blessed Mary Angela chaplet bracelets.

On Sunday, February 28, Sister Marilyn returned to Jacmel, accompanied by Sister Adrianna from Lodi, NJ, who would be Sister Marilyn’s companion while Sister Inga completes her immigration process for the United States. As you can see, our kids already have embraced Sister Adrianna with their loving welcome!

On Wednesday, February 17, the Committee for the Felician Haiti Mission met in Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Central Convent in Livonia, MI. It is always good to gather with our sisters and partners to share updates of the mission and ways we can continue to walk in relationship with our Haitian brothers and sisters. This also includes the efforts of Madonna University and Felician University.

Another blessed event that took place at the end of the meeting was the signing of the contract to begin construction of the new convent on our property in Jacmel. May God continue to be known, loved and glorified.

At our last Provincial Assembly, Sister Mary Christopher, our Provincial Minister, introduced a simple project to help the poor and homeless, using plastic bags that are crocheted into mats for sleeping or sitting on the ground. This is perfect for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Our Sr. Lois Marie, from Lodi, NJ, embraced the project and made us two large mats for our people. We thank Sr. Lois for thinking of us and our people.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Wallington, NJ, invited us to speak during the Masses on Saturday, February 6, and Sunday, February 7. This was the second time we shared the Felician Haiti mission at Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We were blessed to be able to thank the parishioners for their support two years ago and to update them regarding God’s growth of the mission.

There were eight Masses in all: three in Polish and five in English. We thank our dear Sisters Janet Marie and Maria Magdalena for assisting us in the collection at the end of each Mass. The faith community was very generous in their support of the mission in Haiti. We are in awe at the goodness of the Lord through the generosity of his people.

On Thursday, January 28, in the afternoon, we were preparing for our catechesis classes, as well as our return to the States. All of a sudden, we heard a bang; and our priest and a young lady, who was studying outside where we were working, ran and shouted, “tramblemonte,” which means “earthquake.” We ran out of the room and saw everyone shouting the same thing. The priest looked frightened. We, of course, did not feel anything. All we heard was the bang of a chair that was thrown when Father ran outside. People were all on the streets shouting “tramblemonte.” As you can imagine, the people were full of great fear because of the memory of what happened with the last earthquake in 2010. They were scared. There was no aftershock, just shock on the faces of the people. That night, we did not put the padlock on our door in fear that we might need to run out of our house and down the stairs to get out of the building because of an earthquake.

Our Felician Artists continue to be busy filling orders for art requested by our visitors and also some orders from our friends in the United States. They have been using some papier-mâché which is very famous for mask-making during Carnival time here in Jacmel. Today we went with Daniel, the master artist, to get some supplies for one of the orders requested.

We have six women who come to a class that we provide for them to learn how to read and write. It is called Alfabatysyon. They meet twice a week. This is an opportunity to return to school or even to start school for the first time in their lives. In Haiti, every group that attends classes or school has a uniform; this gives them identity. Well, since last year, our group wanted a uniform, too. So, we had some extra shirts that had our Felician logo, and now they wear it for class–a beige shirt with dark pants or a dark skirt. We even gave each of them a book bag for their books. Some of the women are mothers of our kids.