UPDATE ON HAITI AND ST. ANDREW'S MISSION TO HAITI

Country road near our home on Saturday

Beautiful winter scene on Saturday

We were asked by our pastor to give an update on Haiti and our church's mission to Haiti at yesterday's services.  Saturday was a blustery winter day in our area and we were out in it.  When we arrived at church for the 9:00 a.m. service the church was fairly empty.  John had been up at 6:30 to blow the snow out of our driveway and we thought perhaps others thought they would just stay home as there was too much snow to be rid of before an early service and a warm fire would be a much more pleasant alternative.

The more pleasant alternative occurred for us
on Sunday afternoon

However, as 9:00 a.m. arrived the church was starting to fill up and at the  11:00 a.m. service attendance was really great considering the day.  Our congregation is very supportive of their mission to Haiti and were very attentive to what we had to say.  This talk is about 10 minutes long. We trust you will read through and find out what our church family supports.  Our minister followed with a sermon about how we can trust God to provide and a little turns into a lot.  If your interested go to www.st.andrewsfergus.org and go to sermons.

Today Dorothy and I would like to talk to you about our adventures in Haiti and also about the St. Andrew’s mission to the children of Haiti.  But, before we do that we should try to answer the question we are asked more often than any other, “Are you seeing any positive change in Haiti?”

The answer to that question depends upon who you ask, and the context within which the question is asked.  Is the cup half full or half empty again depends upon who you ask.  We listened earlier this month to our former Governor General and now special UNESCO envoy to Haiti, Michaelle Jean, being interviewed on CBC’s “The Current” and how hopeful she was that things are starting to change for the better - more children are attending school, more of the debris from the earthquake is being removed, and signs of economic renewal are apparent.  Conversely, there are those who see Haiti very much in crises as many of the promises of aid have failed to materialize, or NGOs are doing their own thing rather than coordinating their efforts with what the government is attempting to do.

Personally, we are more on the side of those who see things improving.  While we can only relate second hand what others have told us regarding the Port-au-Prince area, what we have heard suggests that progress is being made.  Our exposure to Port-au-Prince is limited to flying into and out of the airport at Port-au-Prince early in December.  We saw many of the tent cities surrounding Port-au-Prince from the air but were unable to see any of the destruction that occurred there as a result of the earthquake because of landing direction and only being at the airport for about a half an hour.

What we can share is what is happening in the north of Haiti in the area around Cap Haitien where we are working.  We are seeing new roads and sidewalks under construction, new sewers where none existed in the past, and improvements to the infrastructure and delivery of government services.  More, much more, needs to be done, but all the things we are seeing suggest that there is improvement and the changes have been more positive than negative.   And, the Haitian people also seem more hopeful, building homes, starting small businesses, and feeling that perhaps there is a future for them and their children. 



Little girl waiting for treatment
at Bethesda Medical Clinic

As to our adventures, there haven’t really been any in the sense that we have experienced catastrophic weather conditions, and we haven’t been in fear for our safety.  However, there have been some things that have happened to others we know personally.  Yes, the Director of the OMS Bethesda Medical Clinic, Dr. Rodney, had his appendix burst and was thought to be near death, but with many people praying for him and the help of the medical staff at the Milot Hospital he has made a full recovery.  Yes, the Haitian Supervisor of construction and maintenance at the OMS compound in Vaudreuil came down with cholera, but with prayer and the help of the medical staff at the Bethesda Medical Clinic and in Santiago, he is well on his way to making a full recovery.  And yes, the Vice-Chair of the Emmaus Biblical Seminary, Matt Ayars, was thought to have something medically wrong with him that needed the attention of medical specialists back in the United States, but yet again, with many, many people praying during the course of the many tests that were administered, nothing was found that would prevent him from returning to Haiti to carry on with that which he loves most, teaching and preaching.

Our greatest adventure happened within days of our arrival in Haiti when Dorothy came down with what we thought initially was a sinus infection, but turned out to be an abscessed tooth.  For two months, until our return in December, we treated the abscess with prayer, antibiotics and tylenol for the pain.  She is now fully recovered, five appointments and 2 root canals later.  Hopefully, when we return to Haiti, anything we might come down with will be treatable with Pepto Bismal.
We also had the opportunity, at least John did, to get out and visit the 4 schools and the orphanage that are supported by St. Andrew’s.  Stella House, the orphanage, is a partnership between St. Andrew’s and the Joy & Hope of Haiti, a group from Hamilton. St Andrew’s feed the children at a cost of $15,000 annually while the Joy and Hope look after the infrastructure and payment of staff.  There are 36 children currently residing at Stella House, almost half of whom are teenagers attending a high school or trades school.  The children really do understand how fortunate they are because the alternatives are not something that neither they nor we would like to think about.  The girls might find themselves involved in prostitution or pregnant, and the boys might find themselves in something equally unsavory if they were not at the orphanage and attending school.

Faith School

Heavenly Brightness

New Life School

Eben-Ezer School

The four schools St. Andrew’s supports, Eben-Ezer, Faith, New Life, and Heavenly Brightness are absolutely amazing.  The current enrolment at the schools is 618 students, that is bums on the benches or chairs.  At the moment Eben-Ezer has classes from kindergarten to grade six, New Life from kindergarten to grade five, Faith from kindergarten to grade four, and Heavenly Brightness from kindergarten to grade three.  The last 3 schools will be adding another grade again in the fall.  Now you may wonder why Eben-Ezer does not add another grade and the answer is that primary school ends at grade six while secondary or high school begins at grade seven.  This is supposed to change in the near future so that primary will end at grade eight.  When that happens we expect that the four schools will find themselves offering classes from kindergarten to grade eight.

You may also be asking how much all of this is costing St. Andrew’s, and the answer is far less than the cost of one teacher here in Ontario.  Each of the four schools receives approximately $5,500 annually for a total of $22,000.  But, what is truly incredible is that each of these children receives one of the very best educations offered in the north of Haiti.  Each of our schools is offering a quality program, where rather than stuffing 40 and 50 students in a classroom such as happens in many schools in Haiti because of the lack of classrooms and teachers, their emphasis is on providing a teaching and learning experience that is child centred and faith based.

The second anniversary of the earthquake that killed upwards of 300,000 people in the Port-au-Prince area was earlier this month, and as with all calamities of this sort there is a review of the accomplishments since that terrible day.  We mentioned earlier hearing on the CBC our former Governor General, but there are others that we have heard from as well and almost all of these observers have had a single theme in their messages, and that theme is that it is primarily through education that Haiti will see an end to the misery that it has found itself in for the last 2 years as well as for the last 200 years.  We were reading recently in our morning devotional time about Martin Luther King, and his “I have a dream speech” and its importance in giving new vitality to the battle for equal rights for all in America.  Likewise, President Michel Martelly of Haiti has a dream for the Haitian people where hunger and ignorance are only memories of the past.  What St. Andrew’s is doing in Haiti and has been doing in Haiti for the last 25 years is truly remarkable because we are helping to achieve that dream.  St. Andrew’s is taking children who would never see the inside of a classroom and giving them the opportunity for something more than would otherwise be their destiny.

When you add the cost of the 4 schools to the costs associated with the orphanage, together with the 4 post-secondary scholarships that are awarded annually, St. Andrew’s commitment to the children of Haiti totals almost $40,000 per year.  St. Andrew’s should be proud that it is helping the children of Haiti in such a profound way and has been in the vanguard of those who are trying to help change the future for so many children.  Our dream for the future, our hope for the future is that St. Andrew’s can and will continue to support a program that has the potential to change so many lives in a positive way, and here we are not talking only of the Haitian children, but those like ourselves who have come to know and to work in partnership with the Haitian people.

By the way, we will be starting our return journey to Haiti this coming Thursday, and should be home sometime around April 12^th.  Please pray for safe travel, good health, and only warm breezes until we return.

The Great, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Great:

A Christmas Card pic taken
on our deck

December the 25^th is the day we have set aside as Christmas Day to celebrate the birthday of our King and also a day which commences the Christian calendar.   JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD IS COME.   Mary’s song, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” should be ours the whole year long.  He is Emmanuel, God with us and this is the greatest story to ever tell.

John and I did not go out to church Christmas morning  because we had been so sick (tell you about that soon) but instead stayed at home to save our energy to travel to John’s brother and sister-in-law’s home to join with other family members for a terrific Christmas meal and lively conversation.  John and I celebrated Christmas morning at home opening our stockings.  We had to use a pair of John’s gym socks because we couldn’t find our quilted Christmas stockings.  We garnered mostly candy and books. 

The Grandchildren enjoying Christmas meals
at their own table

Christmas with our boys and families, with the exception of Reece and Kelly who live in Vancouver,  happened on December 26^th, Boxing Day, and a holiday for Canadians.  We had a great time opening gifts and eating the traditional turkey, dressing, ham and baked beans and all the usual trimmings that go with Christmas. 

Backing up, we celebrated one of our daughter-in-law’s major birthday milestones with her husband and the two grandchildren at a Chinese buffet on December 14^th and had a great time even though our granddaughters took turns breaking dishes and our one granddaughter was upset because she wanted the green Jell-O that was being taken away in the pile of rubble from the first dish to go.  The food and family togetherness were great.  Both kids had been a little sick earlier in the week.

Our oldest granddaughter has been learning to sing in a small choir who were entertaining at a senior’s residence on the 15^th.  The performance was great while our daughter-in-law was feeling a great deal less than great.

We celebrated New Year’s Eve very quietly and did not stay up to see the apple drop in Time Square.  We rarely make resolutions at the New Year because by the end of the first week we have already broken most of them.  However, New Year’s Day’s devotions brought the verse from Ezekiel 36:26 to us. “A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you.“  What an opportunity this was to make a resolution!  There was a whole new year stretched ahead of us with blank pages.  What would the coming year bring if we resolved to be more faithful disciples and to always be open every day to the indwelling of the spirit.  Did we make a resolution?  What do you think!

We feasted yet again on New Year’s Day with Casey, Lisa, Charlotte and Amelia and Roxy, their dog.  What a blessed time when family is around.  My brother and sister-in-law came for the day at few days later.

On January 7, we were invited to the birthday party of a young boy from our congregation who was turning seven years old.  Last year, because his birthday is so close to Christmas, he asked his invited guests to donate towards our church’s mission to Haiti rather than bring him any presents.  This year he did the same thing and we showed a very few pics of what life is like in Haiti and what a difference can be made when someone cares.  The next Sunday the mission to Haiti was presented with $325.  Praise the Lord!

We also had an opportunity to help celebrate the 90^th birthday of one of God’s faithful children.

The Good:

After we first arrived home we kept a very busy schedule catching up with people which was good, getting to appointments arranged before we went to Haiti which was good, and thinking that we must do something toward Christmas as it was sneaking up on us which was good.  We put up the main floor tree, and the downstairs tree, listened to Christmas carols and considered that we had all kinds of time because we had done some Christmas shopping on the way home which was good.

The Bad:

I went to my dentist who so kindly e-mailed me back in Haiti with respect to my very bad toothache.   I’m sure I told you earlier in a blog entry that she diagnosed an abscessed tooth and prescribed some penicillin which I was able to get from the Bethesda Medical Clinic on the other compound.  The penicillin cleared up the infection for the most part but as we were getting down to our last two weeks my tooth just kept letting me know it was there and by the time we were driving home from Florida it was REALLY letting me know – the bad.  I was able to get an appointment within 3 days of arriving home – the good.  My dentist started a root canal but was unable to find the second root – the bad.  Off to an endodontist I went the following Tuesday having psyched myself up for another root canal session only to be told that this visit was just a consultation.   Please come back next week– the bad. 

The Ugly:

Think back to our granddaughter’s choir at the senior’s home where our daughter-in-law was not well on Thursday, Dec 15^th.  By the end of the concert she was really sick.  We went back to their home to read our granddaughters a story.  One went right to bed with Mummy who was throwing up and we read to the oldest.  We left immediately and half way through the night it was my turn to be nastily (Is that a word?) sick, passing out a couple of times while I was at it, and throwing up all over John who was trying to get some sleep between my visits to the room next door.  John was an excellent nurse, washing bedding and being very patient until it was his turn about 6 hours later.  Between the two of us we were an ugly pair.  Neither one of us was able to get out of bed for more than five minutes at a time until the following Monday, Dec 19^th.

Somewhere during the flu epidemic I was to have had my root canal done.  Cancelled!!  Still feeling horrible I called the doctor’s office and was advised to get electrolytes into us.  John perhaps shouldn’t have been driving (I knew I couldn’t.) but went to the nearest drugstore and bought the electrolytes. It was the worst tasting drink (the ugliest drink) we have ever had but it helped.  On top of all this we both came down with colds, mine quite a bit worse than John’s.  I also realized that I was not going to get any Christmas baking done.  I didn’t feel up to it and it was now Dec 20^th.  Christmas was 5 days away!  We did our Christmas baking at a Mennonite bakery about 20 minutes from us
  (This really doesn’t belong in “the ugly.”)

The Grand River taken on my Christmas
shopping day in Fergus

Wed. the 21^st was my next root canal appointment.  I thought I would try to do John’s Christmas shopping.  The first place I used my credit card to purchase something I found out it had been cancelled.  Short explanation – someone used my credit card to purchase Netflix in the US.  How is anyone’s guess.  WE cancelled the card but because we weren’t quite up to scratch yet I had forgotten.  I then went across the street to a book store and was about to use my credit card again.  All of a sudden I realized I wasn’t well, and drove home carefully.  John, seeing my condition volunteered to drive me into our next largest city where my root canal appointment was and help me finish HIS Christmas shopping.  Now he knew almost everything Santa was putting in the stocking. 

During the consultation for the original root canal the endodontist found a second tooth requiring a root canal.   Back to him I went on Jan 4 for the second root canal and later in the month to my own dentist for the permanent fillings in the root canal teeth and a repair on another tooth. 

There HAS to be a happy pic - no snow!

John also went to the dentist three times during this time frame because he had a cleaning at which they found a cracked filling, another appointment, and then he had another filling fall out the day before Christmas, another appointment. 

The End:

We have been loading up again on items that cannot be purchased in Cap Haitien in preparation for our return trip.    We are planning to leave home on Feb 1 or 2^nd, weather depending, but do not fly into Haiti until February 16^th.  Why leave early?  We are going to rest, rest, rest, and try to completely return to good health prior to our arrival in Haiti.  

Since January, among other devotional material, we have started reading some of Max Lucado’s books together.  This morning from Just Like Jesus, the verse to start out the devotion was, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive ourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. “James 1:22-24 (NIV).  The ending…let God have you, and let God love you…