Kominote Espwa

Here is the first dinner with half the members of Kominote Espwa, the Hope Community, at my house at Castel-Pere. For several years now a number of young men from our group have expressed an interest in living a life dedicated to our mission of helping the poor children. We are exploring the possibility of forming a religious community. Pray for these young men as they discern their vocations.

Fegen

Fegen spends most of his day with us. He's usually the first in line for the soup kitchen. I asked him where home was and he answered, "Not far. Can I stay with you here?". We'll look into it but this is not the time to consider taking in more children. The global economic crisis has hit us and our finances do not allow us to expand at this point.

Laundry time

Here's MacDonald washing a white shirt he'll be wearing on Sunday. All the older children do all their own laundry and do it well.

Rainy season

The kitchen (yellow) and the Guest House (aqua) share the little pond created by another thunder storm yesterday. It is the rainy season after all so the area is filled with large puddles and lots of mud.

Prisoners' Day

After church yesterday, Nancy, Peter, Claire and I headed to town to participate in Prisoners' Day celebrated on the last Sunday in October here in Haiti. Lots of fancy speeches and promises by local and international dignitaries. Thank goodness this was followed by a wonderfully typical rice, beans and chicken dinner for all prisoners.

A new bonnet

The original container which we have been using as storage for cement, rebar and tools started leaking recently so we covered it with two by four framing and local sheet metal. The wood and metal roofing come from other projects and were not being used. A+ for recycling!

Portable dental equipment

Thanks to the devotion and generosity of our dentist, Dr. Charles Tozzer, from Tustin, California we now have dental equipment so that when dentists come visit they have all they need to work their wonders. The collage does not look like much but inside those boxes and cases is everything necessary for three dental suites. Thank you very much, Dr. Tozzer. May God bless you and yours.

Which came first? In our case it was chickens.

Today's harvest.

A few of the 100 hens we have who lay eggs for the children's kitchen.

Drying rice

This is the second day our neighbor has put her rice out to dry so it should be good to go now. She'll be putting the rice in bags and will go to the market to sell it. Her two daughters came home from school and they joined their one year old brother to wait for mama to be done her work. The girls attend our school and eat with our children. Notice the tupperware container with the leftover food the oldest child brings home for her brother to eat!

Bon Voyage !

Doctor Cynthia, Nathalie and I are leaving Les Cayes this morning and will hopefully end up in Fort Lauderdale for a meeting with Cross International this evening. Tomorrow is dedicated to some training and the next two days will be TWI/FTK Board meeting. Will post when I can. We could use some prayers, especially for the board meeting, as some tough decisions need to be made.

Accounting Office

Louinda, Renold, Nathalie, Jonas and Joel

Nathalie has been working with our accounting team these last five weeks. She has been doing a lot of training and bringing our team to a new, more professional level. We are grateful to Nathalie for spending her vacation with us and sharing her knowledge to render us more efficient and transparent. Thanks, Nat.

Happy B'day, Linda

We celebrated Linda Faford's birthday this evening. The kids put on a show: Jonaldo recited a poem; Jean-Remy and Samy Nelson sang a French religious song; our folklore dancers did their number and Easy Cross performed brilliantly. A favorite meal was prepared and a beautiful cake was baked by Carmelle. I'd post more photos but the internet is NOT cooperating.

Benito

Benito was just getting up from a nap when I came by yesterday afternoon. This is the closest thing to a smile he could muster.

MarcKenson

MarcKenson is one of our junior leaders, a bridge between the staff and the boys. An above-average student, he is a Senior Altar Server, sings in the group called Easy Cross and is darn good in soccer.

Foot care

Willem ripped his toenail pretty badly while playing. He came limping to the Guest House for some TLC, a bandage and a cookie. Linda and Claire rose to the occasion-- actually, as you can see in the photo, they lowered themselves to the occasion.

Sermon's essence

"I will do more than belong, I will participate. I will do more than care, I will help. I will do more than believe, I will practice. I will do more than be fair, I will be kind. I will do more than be friendly, I will be a friend. I will do more than forgive, I will love." Author Unknown

My sermon for tomorrow morning is based on the above quote which I found while searching the web. Thought you might appreciate it.

Two reasons to help

Carlos

Keke

Plumbers

Jeannot and Lifaite, two of my older boys, are in training to become plumbers. They came to my place yesterday to fix a leak in my kitchen sink. The musty smell is almost gone. Thanks, guys.

Gift

These two papaya trees come from wayward seeds. They took hold and look at 'em now. Biblical?