Happy 2010

A very Happy New Year to all of you. May your 2010 be blessed with His peace and His consolation. January 1st is our anniversary. Twelve years go Pwoje Espwa Sud began. We've come quite a ways and look forward to growth and being able to better address the needs of His poor children in Haiti. Thank you for your encouragement. May God bless our combined efforts.

Valery Minik

Recall that beautiful old lady who comes by and picks up litter in our yard? The one with the striking eyes? Well, this is her grandson, eleven year old Valery. He eats with us and attends our school. He loves soccer and riding bikes though he has neither a bike nor a soccer ball. Yet, he smiles easily.

And the winner is..

Nelson in full costume

Lead singers: Mikael, Patrick and Woodlin

The winners of the Christmas Song Competition: Groupe Flambeaux.

Christmas morning

Joseph with his mystery vehicle

TiOurs playing with his new HotWheels car

The girls with their dolls

There isn't much that can compare to the excitement and smiles of happy children. Thanks, Rafael.

Distribution of presents

Hot Wheels! yeah!

Another favorite: soccer balls

Christmas presents

Trucks, cars and motorcycles of the HotWheels kind

Cool and colorful watches

Thanks to the generosity of our friend, Rafael, the children received presents on Christmas morning. May God bless this kindness which brought a lot of cheer and happiness to the kids.

Bedazzled

We were dazzled by the color and movement of the brothers, Bosico and Bonhomme.

Competition

Nelson made up as an old man posing with an old man.

Christmas Vigil Mass

Our choir did a terrific job leading the singing of traditional Christmas songs. That's Jean-Levelt conducting.

Christmas Eve

Full house for the Christmas Story

These handsome young men are sporting bow ties made of plastic which they fashioned themselves. Cudos, guys!

John the Baptist

John the Baptist (MarcKenson Miliste) announces the coming of the Messiah in the Christmas Story. Limited costume options here!

Paying homage

The three wise men played by Wesnerson, Jasquelin and Garry.

Angels and shepherds dance on their way to see Jesus.

Holy Family

Mary, Joseph and Jesus

Mary (RoseLinda), Joseph (Lutianzo) and Jesus (doll) waiting for the shepherds, angels and wise men to come and pay homage.

Angels

Duval

Tama

Duval and Tama are old hands at playing the Christmas Story angels. Both were in last year's production.

Christmas Eve '09

The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all humanity will see the saving power of God.

Isaiah 40:5

Christmas 2009

Sisters and brothers,

A very Holy Christmas to you all. May His peace and love be yours this Christmas and may His hope be with you throughout 2010. Thank you for gifting us with your time, energy, talent and prayers.

Gratefully,
the children, staff and me

Samson

Samson trekked through the mud to come see me this afternoon. Here he is watching another visitor play a game on my computer. What do you suppose he's thinking?

Woodlin Placide

Self-portrait of Woodlin. I've always amazed at how they love having their photos taken. Woodlin is an excellent student, sings in the choir and with Best Boys, is an Altar Server and a pleasure to have around.

M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E

It has been raining for over 24 hours now and the result is mud and water everywhere. It is cold and clammy and the kids are miserable. All outside activities are canceled and there's not much to keep them busy indoors. We got more rain last night than at any point during the hurricane season. El nino? Who cares as long as it ends soon.

Still more rain

This is the road heading to town. Anyone have a hovercraft I can borrow? The road is bad but when it rains it becomes impassable to all but the few who have a 4X4.

More rain

The rice paddies overflow their hand-made banks and flood the road.

Rain

This is the yard between the Guest House and the Children's Kitchen this morning. Notice that there's no one in sight!

Health and Hygiene Training

Twenty Universite Lumiere Medical School classmates of Joey Lamarre are spending the week with us and providing our children with a variety of courses and fun activities with the goal of making the kids more aware of the need to be pro-active in all matters of health and hygiene to stay healthy. The rather dapper Joey (above) has always been a help to us and still thinks of us when he could be on vacation. He and his friends are doing a great job. Many thanks to them.

Preparations

Enock working on the repair of the net

Jeff making sure the lines are straight

The soccer field for the semi-final and final matches is ready thanks to the work of Enock and his team. Thank goodness we have young people like them around especially when there's no school.

Feedback on Sam's photos

Wow. I received 18 comments. Ten here, seven on facebook and one email. The majority of you liked the photo of Sam smiling. Only one of you liked the first photo (Sam looking to the left). My preference? I like the one in the middle. Course I was there and know the situation. He was listening as Berthony Constant was speaking about the Christmas pageant and other activities we have planned for this week. This is Sam's first Christmas with us so this is all new. The smile is the result of my asking him to show me some teeth. I was using my telephoto lens so he was not aware that I was taking his photo until the third shot.

Thanks for the comments. It is reassuring to know that folks actually look at and read this blog. Until next time.

Characters who care

Judex

Rico

Joanel

SonSonn

All the above are exceptional in that they are extremely helpful with the younger children. Judex is also very good as a translator; Rico is a star soccer player; Joanel is tops in his class and runs the Children's Liturgy every Sunday; Sonsonn, also, is very bright and at the head of his class, is the captain of Baobab (one of our more accomplished singing groups) and does a bang-up job in training the children for peer formation.