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Another project done by Sr. Francis while she was in Jacmel was the painting of our Haitian kitchen wall. The kids organized themselves around her, and they all wanted to help her. They appeared very quickly and did not want to leave for a moment. What Sr. Francis had first designed was not the finished creation because the kids took over. This wall is the work of many hands, something Mother Angela would love.

The morning after Sr. Francis left, we noticed that there was a meeting of our young kids with our older boys. They were having a meeting about a new club they wanted to start. The older boys came to us with a proposal to begin an art program called “Felician Sisters Artist Haiti.” They have some creative ideas and projects. After Christmas, we will be looking into this project. Sr. Francis, you need to come back!

After we returned from the Conference today, we had visitors from St. George Parish, Buffalo, NY. They are involved in the Twinning Program with St. Michael the Archangel Parish located just outside of Jacmel in the mountains. They heard about our mission in Jacmel from our Sisters in Buffalo. They have a medical clinic and help to support a water purifying system for the villages that the parish serves.

December 13-15 was the 4th Annual Charismatic Conference for the Diocese of Jacme,l held at Immaculate Conception Parish in Zoranje, Haiti. Everybody talks about the conference for months before it happens, and every Catholic attends. It seems as though Charismatic prayer is the prayer of our Haitian brothers and sisters. Hundreds of people, young and old, attend this great holy event. We participated two days of the three-day event. Lwanj pou Jezi! Praise the Lord! Alleluia!

Thank you, Christine Millington and family, for donating these beautiful t-shirts! What a touching idea that your family did this as your Christmas gifts to one another!

DuDu is a young teenage boy who lives with his father; his mother is deceased. He loves to learn, so he started school in September but could not continue because he could not pay for school. He came to us for help the day before Sr. Francis arrived in Jacmel. We told him that we are not able to help him at that time, but we would pray that he would be able to finish school. The next day, Sr. Francis arrived not knowing about the situation with DuDu. Imagine our surprise when she gave us a donation from St. Michael’s Convent and said the sisters would be happy if this would be used for someone to go to school. It was an answer to our prayers and to DuDu’s prayers! Thank you, Sisters from St. Michael’s Convent, Livonia, MI!

Sr. Francis got right down to work, sharing her love for art and painting. Using various colors, the kids entered our Franciscan spirit by painting Brother Sun and Sister Moon…

We continue to prepare for the mobile clinic here and in the States. Thanks to Sr. Giovanni’s participation on the States side, we will be receiving many medical items and supplies from the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, which is located in Illinois. Sr. Giovanni’s brother, John, went with a truck from Michigan to Illinois to pick up the donated items. These, together with some other supplies, will be on there way to East Amherst, NY. From there, the items will be shipped to Haiti. We thank you, John, for your help and assistance; you are truly a part of this mission!

A few days ago, Alberto, one of our boys, came to our house when he should have been in school.
We asked him why he was not in school, and he responded: “I have no shoes; they are broken.” To go to school in Haiti, you need to have a pair of black shoes. After checking and discovering that he was telling us the truth, we went to buy him a new pair of black shoes. We never before realized how much a pair of good shoes can change a person’s life. On that same day, he went to church with us because he had a pair of good shoes. He even behaved differently and was more responsible. Now he seeks different company. He feels important and worth something. A pair of shoes has given him dignity that to some degree had been taken away by his poverty.

To celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, we went to St. Michael’s Parish. We like to attend liturgy there because the whole Mass is in Creole. Before we went into the place of worship (because they don’t have a Church), we noticed many people gathered outside dressed in purple. They really enter the liturgical season even by what they wear. We each said to ourselves, “Too bad we don’t have purple on for today.” We wish we could share with you a video we took of the choir singing; it is so beautiful. Our Creole teacher, Madam Omanie, is the choir director.