Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti

Praise the Lord! Daily, in our chapel in Jacmel, we have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 3-6 p.m. We are praying for the Lord to have mercy on all people throughout the whole world. We heard about placing a photo of Divine Mercy upon our front door for divine protection. We especially pray for the sick and dying, for doctors and nurses, and for all workers. Know you are all in our thoughts and prayers. Please remember Haiti in your prayers.

Well, like everywhere, plans here are changing day by day. In our last post, we said we were having daily Mass. That changed in a day, when more cases were being revealed in Jacmel. So we have joined everyone in self-quarantine, like the rest of the city and world.

However, we did manage to purchase the buckets with valves and buckets with filters. Now at least the families of our children can have clean water and be able to wash their hands as directed.

After the buckets were prepared, we called families we knew to give them a bucket with Clorox for the washing of hands.

Buckets with filters are being given to women with families in need of clean water. Melinda, one of our workers who helps us with teaching how to use the filters, had a group of three yesterday. Today she will do a few more.

We are so, so grateful for all who have donated to the Felician Haiti Mission. Your assistance makes all the difference, one person at a time. Praying for you…please pray for us.

On Friday, March 20, they confirmed the first two cases of Covid19 in Haiti. That same day, the President announced schools, businesses and Churches would be closed until further notice. There were to be no gatherings over ten people, and after 8 pm, there would be a curfew.

At our mission, we are following the restrictions that the country has placed upon all. The Mother Angela Mobile Clinic is still working. Everyday the clinic is educating the people on how to protect themselves from the virus in the midst of unsanitary conditions. We have provided a bucket with water and Clorox so that patients would wash their hands before seeing the doctors. One of the priests has asked us not to come to his parish chapel for now.

We are in the process of preparing face masks for our clinic workers and personnel; and, hopefully, we will have more for others who ask for them. It is impossible to purchase them here in Jacmel. We also ordered more buckets with filters for clean water and buckets with valves. We will be buying Clorox and soap for our people.

Everyday our children come to eat. We wash their hands, measure their temperatures, and only accept small groups at a time. We are following the restrictions of ten people at a time in the mission. We are blessed to still have Mass in our convent chapel and to receive Eucharist daily. We are praying for you and for healing of the world many times during the day. Please keep us in your prayers, too.

We hear news everyday that the virus is spreading very quickly in the Dominican Republic, which is on the island we share. Haiti does not have the medical help as in other countries. The people are in fear, and we feel we are here first to bring them hope and to proclaim Jesus Christ and His Good News. We try to help them believe that God will make all things new in a different way than we imagine.

Making surgical face masks for our clinic and workers on the property…

Every Friday during Lent, we participate in the Stations of the Cross with the kids in our Faith Formation program. Every other week, we go to the Church; and other weeks, we try to do something that will give the kids a real experience of the Way of the Cross. We also notice that some new kids seem to come along. Our Way of the Cross is a real journey as we walk with Jesus and remember how much He loves us with His arms outstretched on the Cross. He is saying, “I love you this much.”

1st Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death

2nd Station: Jesus Accepts His Cross

3rd Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

4th Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

5th Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

6th Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

7th Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

8th Station: Jesus Meets the Weeping Women

9th Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

10th Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

11th Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

12th Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

13th Station: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

14th Station: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

15th Station: The Resurrection

I know many of you have been praying for our situation, that we might get the proper medications for the Mother Angela Clinic in order to serve the sick here in Haiti. After a month of planning and getting assistance from some people in the Dominican Republic, we finally received medications for the Mother Angela Clinic. It has been very difficult here in Haiti to purchase medications in Port au Prince, but God led the way to get them so we could continue our mission to serve the sick and suffering.

We have been preparing some of our children to receive Baptism and Communion. We meet every Thursday. The first part of each class is choir, preparing their songs for Mass. The celebration is planned for June, but it takes much preparation with our kids and their parents and guardians. On March 12, we had a meeting with the parents of those children who will receive their sacraments. We are very blessed to have our young adults work with us. God is always so good!

We are busy getting our sewing machines ready for our newest project–Sewing Classes! Sr. Isajasza is very talented in this area and has already set up plans for her classes, as soon as we get the new inverter and batteries installed to provide more electricity. Thank God we have one treadle machine, which is controlled by a foot pedal. It just needed some parts for it to work. This type of machine is new for Sr. Isajasza, but she was getting the hang of it!