TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

January 19, 2012

Springing from the depths of poverty are inventive ways of making a dollar or two.  On more than one occasion, I have observed ways just how creative Haitians can be.  Much of what they have chosen to do would be beneath the dignity of someone who has not faced the day-to-day challenges of finding ways to keep your family alive.  But when starvation is a cruel reality, no task is beneath one’s dignity.

Huge freight ships from Venezuela bring large loads of cement into the waters of the Caribbean Sea near LesCayes.  The ships are too large to dock at the wharf.  They remain off-shore, while 50 lb bags of cement are hand transferred to smaller boats that will bring the commodity to the wharf where it will either be transported in trucks to the business district or purchased at the wharf to be shipped to other places in Haiti.

The wharf is a place busy with activity. While the bags of cement await their final destination, they are exposed to theft and possible ruin during a rain storm.  In the handling of the bags, many bags split open and their contents spill onto the surface of the concrete wharf.  Strong winds will blow spilled cement dust into the sea and swirl the remaining powder at the feet of its handlers.  Bags left in the elements sometimes harden into a rock-like material that is considered useless by most!

When all the transport trucks, the pickup trucks, and the human-pulled carts leave the scene, this is when the persons scavenging for a way to feed their families move in!   They will find discarded and torn cement sacks or burlap sacks and begin the tedious process of filling the sacks with cement dust.  The wharf surface is meticulously swept for every morsel of useable cement.  Each hardened clump of cement is banged together with another cement clump in hopes of loosening any salvageable cement.  The process is long and tedious in the baking sun of the Caribbean.  Work will continue until there is no more sun to see the task at hand.  Those performing this task will become totally caked with cement dust.  Their hair turns grey.  Their skin is coated and their clothes are covered.  Their eyelashes are laden.  Their nostrils are filled with dust that hardens with the moisture of their breath.  Only their eyes glisten with their normal color, peeping out from their ghost-like appearance.  Bathing, after the task is done, most certainly results in the hardening of the cement dust making the residue even harder to remove.  All this is done for the mere pennies that it earns.

It saddens my heart when I hear people who do not know Haiti declare that its people are lazy.  This is so far from the truth.  I see Haitians as people who work hard given the opportunity to do so.  I see them as people who make the best of the harshest of circumstances.  I see them as people who do not wallow in despair but prosper in hope!  I see them as an example to follow!

Nora Léon                        

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic         Until next time. God willing …………

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

December 18, 2011

GRACE … unmerited favor!   At least that is one of the meanings that I found spelled out in the 1961 version of the New College Standard Dictionary that I have in my possession!  Oh, but GRACE is so much more than that!

Part of the work that I do in Haiti is under the umbrella of GRACE Ministries, a Haitian non-profit organization working solely on the tiny impoverished island of Ile-a-Vache.  Time and time again, we have seen the grace of God at work in this underdeveloped area – a place with no clean drinking water, no electricity, no roads, no hospital and meager incomes from primitive forms of farming and fishing.

Most recently, God’s grace was evidenced with the November 20^th opening of GRACE Orphanage.  Six boys, ranging in age from 8 to 16 now call the orphanage home!  The structure in which they live is crude (two unfinished classrooms on the second floor of GRACE School).  Cement rubble litters the floors, that have a zigzag of electrical wire nestled in plastic pipe awaiting the final pouring of the cement floor surface.  Rough cement block walls are crying for a smoother stucco surface, which can eventually be painted in colorful shades.  A toilet yearns for running water while the boys listen to instructions as to how a toilet is actually used, having only knowledge of the use of an outdoor latrine or nearby bush for nature’s business.   Windows and doors are in a half-state of completion.  The best luxury of all is the bunk beds, each complete with a thick mattress and blankets to ward off the December chill that is felt by the Haitian people when temperatures fall into the 70s.

You may ask, how does such a hodge podge of a home, show God’s grace?

Following the earthquake of January 2010, Ile-a-Vache saw a flood of children appearing in the homes of next-of-kin.  These children had lost parents in the earthquake and were sent to their only known family members, some of whom they had never met.  On an island where families struggle to feed their own children, these children came with physical and emotional needs and added financial stress to the families they came to live with.  The community cried out, “Please open an orphanage”.   Our only response was that everyone needed to pray for God to open doors, as we had no funding for an orphanage.

And then … by the grace of God, in January 2011, the idea of “Bless the Orphans Resale Shop” was born!    When one woman listened to God’s calling to make GRACE Orphanage a reality, the idea blossomed into a non-profit business.  People donate items for the shop, scores of volunteers run the shop and mission-minded shoppers purchase the variety of items offered at this boutique-style store!   All of the proceeds go to GRACE Orphanage!  Because of the dedication of all of these people … Bless the Orphans is indeed blessing the orphans of GRACE Orphanage with a place to call home!    What a wonderful, gracious God we have!

God’s grace did not stop there!    Before we even dared to dream the dream of constructing an orphanage building, we received a call that a group of people wanted to make the orphanage building “their mission”.  By the end of November 2011, ground was broke for the foundation of the building that this team will come to work on in January 2012!

But by the grace of God … what marvelous things He can do!!!

As you go about the holiday season and are thinking of all the things that you can be grateful for, please include a word of thanks for GRACE Orphanage!   Please keep Mommy Yèyèt (caregiver & spiritual mentor to the boys) in your prayers.  Reserve some extra prayer time for Judlin, Gladimy, Jean Louis, Micaël, Maxon and Max – our six precious boys!  May God continue to be gracious to them throughout their lifetime!

Perhaps you are struggling with issues of your own.   I plead with you to lay it at the feet of God.  He has enough graciousness for all who seek Him!

If you are ever in the Jenison, Michigan area (near Grand Rapids MI)

please come shop at “Bless the Orphans”.

They are located at 668 Chicago Drive, Jenison MI  49428   (10-6 Mon-Sat)  616.457.2310

Nora Léon                        

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic    Until next time. God willing …………

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

As written on October 19, 2011

Oblivious to everyone around her, she squats on her haunches almost touching the ground with her derrière.   The sorting of pebbles is her everyday task.  Each pebble is carefully examined and placed in a discarded can or bowl.  Sometimes the sorting occurs in the middle of the busy street.  Sometimes it occurs on the shoulder of the road or in the midst of a torrential rain.  A long ago habit, most likely taught by her mother, remains in her memory.  A bath is important.  After having a bowel movement along the edge of a driveway, the bathing ritual begins.  Soiled clothes are removed and an unwanted container is used to scoop water from a drainage ditch along the congested street.  Water is poured on her head and various parts of her body, as she vigorously uses her hands to scrub away the dirt and grime.  Passersby glance at her and then keep on walking.  Soon dry clothes are produced from a plastic bag and the soiled clothes are stuffed in a crack of a nearby wall.  Her thirst is quenched from the same dirty water where she has defecated and bathed.  To the local people she is known as “the crazy lady.”  To me she is an interesting reminder of harsh life in Haiti, but a life where someone has cared enough to supply her with changes of clothes and an occasional morsel of food.  It reminds me that God cares for the sparrow and God cares for a woman such as this.  As strange as it may seem, I find her life rather interesting.  So unlike the rest of us, this human being has a life free of worry!  She is totally content in her own little world.  Hmm!  A lesson I need to keep learning – being content and not worrying!

I certainly have not been content the last several days.  For over a week, due to installation of new electrical wires in our area, we have had no electricity and no running water.  I soon tired of not having internet access, or lights, or refrigeration, or electric fans.  Bathing out of a bucket and toting water to flush the toilet also became very old.  Stacks of laundry piled up for fear any of the reserve water we had would be used up too quickly.  Barrels were placed under the downspouts and out in the rain to collect what water so we could wash our hair and rinse off the dirty dishes.  I used to call these types of events “Haitian adventures.”  Now, I am not as quick to think of them that way.  I am convinced that we still would be without power if it was not the fact that Léon was home when he saw the electrical workers go past our house.  Grabbing our “paid” electrical bill, he ran down the street after them.  He convinced the workers to come back to our house and reconnect our power.  They were only restoring power to those customers who had paid their utility bill.  I have to tell you, when the electricity was restored, I forced Léon and his brother into doing a little celebratory dance with me!  As of this writing, we are still without running water.  The celebration was only a half of one!  The real rejoicing will occur when all of us can take much needed showers!

Power restored after 7 days

I do try to force myself to look at these events with a better attitude.  After all, when Jesus was on this earth there was no such thing as electricity or running water.  Why should I complain?  For that matter, when my parents were toddlers they too did not have electricity or running water in their homes.  May God give me the ability to be content in whatever state I am in!

May God bless your day with a new appreciation for the conveniences that we have all come accustomed to taking for granted!

Nora Léon                        

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic     Until next time. God willing …………

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

September 21, 2011

Ready or not Haiti, I am back!  After weeks of uncertainty about when I could/should return to Haiti, the time has arrived and I have returned.  Although my ankle is not at 100%, the work in Haiti needs attending to.  Thus, I have returned to tackle the tasks that I can and leave the rest for when I am able.  I must rely on God to lead me down the path that He has chosen for me to follow!

Some have asked if it would be harder to readjust to Haiti after having been stateside for five months.  In some ways it has been.  One easily gets used to life in the USA and life as it is in Haiti dims in the process.

Upon my return, I soon realized that indeed “while the cat is away, the mice will play.”  And play they did!  Their calling cards were left in my underwear drawer, my nightgown drawer and various other places that had been a playground to rodents during my absence.   As if on cue, the running water in our house (that had been shut off for ten days) returned to the sinks, toilets and shower.  Perhaps God understood that I would need a good shower after 18 hours of travel.  Gone are the days of when I could run a load of laundry in my washing machine, whenever I had a certain outfit that I needed for the next day.  Hand washing and line drying certainly takes a much longer time!  Gone are the times of pulling an ice cold drink from the refrigerator whenever I need one!  Room temperature water is much more the norm!  No more jumping into a car and running out for a quick errand.  Now a trip out of the house, on motorcycle or on foot, requires remembering to bring toilet paper for those pit stops where none is available, bringing drinking water as a safe beverage may not be found, and toting insect repellent, hand sanitizer and sunscreen.  Moments of electricity and running fans in the current 90 degree temperatures are savored, as one never knows how long such a luxury will last.

There are some noticeable improvements in our area since I was last here.  New electrical wires are being strung in front of our home, promising longer hours of electricity.  The gate at the hotel across the street has been freshly painted with a colorful design in browns and yellows.   An ice cream cart now makes a daily trek past our house!  Yes!  An ice cream cart!  Rarely, in the past, could one find ice cream anywhere in LesCayes.  Now, a small cart is pushed or pulled by its owner right in plain sight of the whole neighborhood.   A small generator keeps an ice cream churn working.  Small portions of strawberry flavored soft serve ice cream are served with a spoon dipped into a small bathroom-sized Dixie cup for the equivalent of about $.65 each.  Yum!  On a hot day, with no electricity or cold beverages, this business endeavor is sure to please many customers!  (The ice cream cannot help but remind me of the ice cream sold at Cones and Dogs – an endeavor of Bless the Orphans Resale Shoppe in Jenison Michigan.  This wonderful ministry is raising funds for Grace Orphanage through donations, volunteers and the spending by shoppers!  If you are ever in the area, you simply must check them out!  You can find their page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bless-the-Orphans/135654563164538).

Shoe shine man near newly painted gate!

As with every September, the thoughts of most people in Haiti turns to education.  Roving street vendors can be seen toting multiple backpacks that may entice a student’s family into purchasing such a desired item.  But, the thought that is primary on the minds of each family is how they are going to be able to find the money to send their sons and daughters to school.   Daily, we receive inquiries as to whether or not we have funds to help!   This year, the start of the school year has been delayed until October 4^th.  This gives us more time to determine how far this years’ funds will go.  There is never enough for everyone who comes asking.  There is not always enough funds to help those children helped in previous years at the same rate they may have come accustomed to.  It is a yearly dilemma!  We pray that for those children that we are able to help that we are making a life-long difference in their lives through education!

This September, I was also reminded of the deep connection that people here in Haiti have to the people of the United States.  On the day of the 10^th anniversary of the tragedy of the destruction that occurred on September 11, 2001, I received numerous expressions of condolence from various Haitian people.  They too have not forgotten!   I clearly remember coming to Haiti on September 18, 2001.  The airplane was nearly empty as many people still feared flying in airplanes with the tragedy and security issues so fresh in their minds.  When I landed at the airport in Port-au-Prince, I was greeted by Haitian strangers with tears in their eyes and expressions of grief and promises of prayer.  Haitian people know suffering and they are quick to share suffering with other people who are experiencing some kind of pain.  In some way, Americans were better able to understand that sharing of grief when 9 years later the people of Haiti suffered the devastating earthquake.  The outpouring of concern from the USA and from around the world was a blessing to the Haitian people.  So often they are forgotten in their misery, but that was not the case in 2010.  Thank you America for your expressions of concern!

September 2011 also brings another anniversary.  It marks my seventh year in Haiti.  The time here has brought a myriad of events.  I have experienced whooping cough, two broken ribs, staph infections, dengue fever, hurricanes, an earthquake, being uprooted from familiar surroundings, living in a tent city and establishing a new place of residence.  The joys have included seeing children saved from certain death by being accepted into one of the several orphanages that is sponsored by Caribbean Children’s Foundation.  Another joy is being able to financially assist hundreds of children with the opportunity to attend school, some of whom have now graduated from childhood to adulthood with employable skills.  Also rewarding is seeing healthy children who, because of timely medical intervention, are now able to live beyond the toddler years and bring continuing joy to their families.   In addition, God has immensely blessed our construction projects as we witness the progress taking place on the orphanage and school building project sites.  Feeding programs and medical/dental education are making a noticeable difference in the nutrition and well being of the children in the communities where we work.

Day-to-day it is hard to see much progress, but if I take the time to reflect back on the accumulation of my many months here, I do see that God has used me to make at least some measure of difference in the lives of the children that are placed in my path.

The longer that I am in Haiti the more I know that I have so much more to learn about the Haitian culture and its people.  If I were to live in Haiti for 100 years, I would never learn all that there is to learn nor would I become Haitian.   I will continue to be who I am – a child of God who as an infant, toddler, child, and adult grew up influenced by the American culture and who was then transplanted into a culture where I will continue to expand my world view.

What a ride it has been!  My prayer now is that God will continue to lead me in the path that He has chosen for me.  May I make Him proud!  May I be the servant He wants me to be.  May I find a way to accept His forgiveness when I fail.  May I find the joy when I listen clearly to His direction!

Nora Léon                        

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic           Until next time. God willing …………

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

Spring/Summer 2011

Until now, these are my unpublished “blog thoughts” of April 3, 2011.  These are the thoughts that were buzzing around in my brain just prior to my return to the USA for ankle surgery …

It should be just another ordinary Sunday in Haiti.  In many ways it has been.  People are still doing what they do every day.  Women and girls can be seen braiding each other’s hair on the porches of their homes.  Birds are flying overhead.  Spiders are weaving their webs.  Children are playing gleefully in their yards on a day when there is no school.  Vendors are selling hotdogs under their umbrella-covered makeshift cart on wheels. The rest of the world seems oblivious to the possible doom that veils Haiti this week.  The world’s focus is on Japan and Libya, where the most newsworthy events seem to be capturing everyone’s attention.  The underlying mood of the adult minds in Haiti is that of apprehension.  Worshippers in church pleaded their special prayers for the country of Haiti today.  Radios are tuned into any hint of what is to come.

The next week in Haiti could very well be history-making!  The future of Haiti is scheduled to be announced tomorrow (April 4).  There are just two scenarios.  One will be of rejoicing and celebrating when Michel Martelly “Sweet Micky” is announced as the next President.  One will be of certain chaos if the candidate that is not favored among the common people, Mirlande Manigat, is announced as the winner.

Tomorrow, in anticipation of the worst, people will be stockpiling food, water and gasoline for the entire week knowing that it is very possible that they will not dare to leave their homes if rioting begins.  The fear is that the rioting will be similar to the five days that was experienced when another unfavorable announcement was made in the 1^st round of voting in December 2010.

For myself, personally, I feel held in suspension.  I have tickets to fly to the USA on Wednesday for my upcoming surgery on April 26.  I have an income tax filing deadline to meet.   I have speaking engagements scheduled.  I am packing, but know fully that I may be going nowhere!  I cannot remember another time in my life where I have felt so much caught in a limbo state.

The announcement is due out at midnight on Monday night.  Haitians everywhere will have their ears glued to their radios or eyes fixated on their television sets.  One will know immediately what was announced by the definitive roar that will pierce the dead of the night.

APRIL 4 … Word has spread in the USA that Sweet Micky is the winner., but the official announcement did not come to the people of Haiti until shortly after 6PM.  Houses were filled with shouting as people poured out into the streets to rejoice.  Motorcyclists did headstands on top of their bikes as they roared down the main drag.  Masses of people filled the streets waving political banners and chanted about the “bald guy” who had just won!  A HUGE sense of relief was exhaled by the general public as the worse had been expected – another rigged election!  There will be no rest tonight throughout Haiti!  The excitement is too great!  At last, something that is truly pleasing to the common people of Haiti!

Now on to my thoughts from the time of my surgery and continuing recovery  …

I am now in Week #14 of the recovery process following my ankle surgery!  I must admit that the process has been emotionally difficult for me. I have felt the helplessness of not being able to do even simple tasks, during the time that I was on “no weight bearing” restrictions.  Getting in and out of my house was next to impossible during the early stages of my recovery.  Going up and down stairs was completely out of the question.  I thank God that my husband was here in the USA to be with me.  He was such a help during the times that getting in and out my chair were a major struggle.  He willingly and without complaint learned how to operate my washer and dryer that is located in the basement and to do other tasks that I was simply unable to do.  Countless times, he loaded and unloaded my knee walker into the car to the necessary appointments that I had.  So very many things that I had been able to do without a second thought before my surgery were suddenly maneuvers that I could no longer take for granted.  Although I did not handle my slow progress with the joy that I should have, I certainly did ponder on the thought that I was indeed blessed that my inabilities were short-term.  I must say I have a new appreciation for people who deal with physical disabilities every day of their lives, knowing that they will never again be able to function normally.  I was thankful that I could be in the USA for my time of recovery, in a country where so many strides have been made to make getting from here to there accessible to those who cannot walk.  I have learned to take special notice of people struggling to get in a door or up a step and offer assistance to them when I can.  Taking an extra minute or two to get to where I am going is just a small courtesy to someone who can benefit from a helping hand.  When someone extended to me such a courtesy, I made it a point to purposely say “Thank you!”  as those people could just have easily passed me by when I was struggling to get in a door or moving far too slowly for the general public.  I am struggling with my attitude and my impatience.  I want answers and I want them now!  Will my gait ever again be normal?  Will the tingling feeling ever go away?  Will I be able to walk without pain?  Will I ever again have the stamina I need to do the work that I do?  What exactly is it that God is trying to teach me through all of this?

My husband has returned to Haiti where our work is stockpiling.  Another time of separation is another difficult phase of my recovery.  I have come to so depend on him.  I must reflect on what a wonderful plan God had when He designed us to be helpmates for each other.  Now we must help each other from afar, where phone calls just don’t quite cut it.  Is this another lesson from you God?  Are you reminding me that You are the one that I need to lean on the most?

In looking back at the last several weeks, I need to reflect on all the people that God has placed in my path to help me on this recovery journey of mine.  There were those who brought in meals, sent cards, drove me from here to there, offered encouragement, stopped by for visits, prayed for healing and expressed their friendship in a variety of other ways.  What a true example of faith in action!   What an example for me to follow when the shoe is on the other foot.  I thank God for each and every person who showed their Christian love to me during this time in my life!

Ever since the earthquake of January 2010, I have been going through a series of transition and change.  I have not yet quite put my finger on where God is leading me in all of this.  I have had long periods of feeling ineffective and useless and limited.  I pray that when all of this is just a distant memory I will have a clear sense of what God was preparing me for and that I will once again feel that I am of useful service to Him and the children that He has entrusted me to work with.

I do know that my God is faithful.  When I start feeling sorry for myself and think that those around me have forgotten me or abandoned me, He has never left my side.  He has never failed me.  I cling to that truth!   I also know He holds my future in His hands!

If you are struggling with some of life’s difficulties, I pray that you sense that God is also there for you!  When no one else seems to understand what you are going through, God does!  He intimately knows your every thought, your every struggle, your every pain!  We must trust that He will see us through!

Nora Léon                        

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic       Until next time. God willing …………

Caribbean Children’s Foundation

PO Box 33

Jenison MI   49429.0033

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

March 22, 2011

Exciting news!!!!  Late this afternoon, I saw two shiny new, white garbage trucks picking up trash.  “So what!” you might say.  Well, these shiny new trucks were picking up trash from the streets of LesCayes, a city like all the others in Haiti where trash is piled everywhere.  There is trash in everyone’s yard.  There is decaying, weeks old, smelly trash piled in various places on every street, in every alley, in every direction.  The hard-not-to-miss trash seen throughout the country is a topic of discussion by many visitors to Haiti.  Some ask, “Why don’t they pick up their trash?”  Others ask, “Don’t the Haitian people care?”  I ask, “Where are you going to take the trash once it is picked up?”  There are no government-built incinerators here.  They are no recycling centers (other than the places that take old metal and turn it into something else.)  There are no discretely disguised landfills.  And why would people pay to have their trash picked up when tossing it anywhere has always been free?  So, even though I am excited about the new garbage trucks as being a step in the right direction, I still ponder where the garbage will receive its final home.  Perhaps in a grove of palm trees near the ocean or a mountainous area outside the city!  Not sure that this has solved anything other than to move the trash from one place to another!  Oh for simple solutions to the many complex problems that face Haiti!

There are lots of things that I ponder in my life here in Haiti.  I have always been taught that as a Christian I should share with people that have less than I do.   I really thought I was pretty good at that.  I gave food to the food bank.  I helped serve meals at the homeless kitchen.  I donated clothes to Goodwill.  But here in Haiti, I find how very superficial that kind of giving is.  When I was a child, I remember when friends would come over to play when it was near mealtime.  When it came time for our family to eat, the kids were sent home and my family sat down to eat.  Here in Haiti, you would never send someone home when it is time to eat, even if every day someone is at your home near mealtime.  You would instead offer them a plate of food, even if it means eating half as much as you planned on eating in order to share with those who were visiting.  Turning a person away at mealtime, in reality could be turning away someone who has not had anything to eat for days.  The meal you are offering often times is realistically life-saving to the person it is being offered to.  If a family in the neighborhood has a big bag of rice, more than enough is prepared so that plates can be brought to nearby homes where it is known that the family has nothing to eat.  It is common knowledge that one day the favor will be returned, when your family has no money to buy food.  To some degree, we practice this in the states, but it is more of a courtesy than a  conscious decision that the sharing is being done to actually keep someone from starving.  The Haitian mentality regarding food is so much different from ours.  Each day, the Haitian people need to literally think about what they are going to eat today – not what they will eat, but IF they will eat.  I still struggle with my American-bred thoughts in this regard.  I am not used to sharing my food without feeling like someone is sponging off from me.  I am not used to that kind of life-and-death sharing, sharing that will actually determine whether someone will go to bed hungry because of my inaction.  There is a Haitian saying that “No Haitian is ever hungry!”  You and I know that is not true!  But what it means is, if you are a Haitian and you have one loaf of bread when someone comes to your home, you break that bread and share it with all who are there.  Everyone gets something.  No one gets nothing!  It strikes me as sad that in America where we have more than we know what to do with, we have not fully grasped the simple concept of truly looking around us and sharing with those that might be suffering right under our noses.  Here in Haiti, as a family of two, I need to get comfortable with daily preparing meals to feed six or seven.  I had been trained to be conscientious about not wasting food, by not preparing more than my family would eat.  I never gave it a thought to deliberately prepare more than we needed to meet the needs of the hungry in my immediate neighborhood. As I struggle with “No! Times are hard for me! This is mine!  I have worked hard for this!  I earned it!  You can do the same.” and turn that attitude into a type of compassion where my eyes are WIDE OPEN to the needs of those around me, I must fall on my knees and ask for forgiveness and a softened heart as I have failed to truly practice being my brother’s keeper!

Sobering thoughts for me!  I still have a lifetime of learning ahead of me!  So help me God!

Nora Léon

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic                 Until next time. God willing …………

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

February 11, 2011

A ritual occurs outside my door at about 4:30PM every evening.  It seems that a truck stop of sorts is located on the shoulder of the road across the street from my home.  Blowing their excessively loud air horns, two or three large open bed trucks will arrive, pulling their vehicle onto the side of the road to park their rig facing the oncoming traffic that is entering the gates of the city of LesCayes.  Soon smaller vehicles, people on motorcycles and people on foot will arrive to start filling the trucks with their merchandise in preparation for their long journey from LesCayes to Port-au-Prince.   Large bags of various products are lifted up into the bed of the truck, where the men in charge wedge each parcel into a precise spot.  The bags will contain one of many things, such as charcoal, rice, fruit or clothing.  The passengers, mostly peasant woman, will climb on top to begin settling in for their long ride.  Some very elderly women will defy their age by making two or three very un-ladylike steps from the ground, up the side of the truck and over the top railing to find the best seat possible for the lengthy ride to a roadside market in the capital city of Haiti.

A most enterprising lady always appears alongside the trucks.  She is pushing a rusty old wheelbarrow with a tire that is more square than it is round.  Nestled under a bundle of towels and rags is a steaming pot of food.  The roll-along diner is soon swarmed by hungry passengers needing some sustenance prior to their nighttime journey.  A heaping mound of beans and rice is artfully placed on a Styrofoam plate with a plastic spoon piercing the savory food.  The passengers are adept at climbing up into the truck without spilling a morsel from their plateful of food that will be enjoying, while perching on top of one of the gigantic bags of juice oranges heading to market.  Many passengers finish their food just as the driver of the truck prepares to start the engine.  The discarded plates soon become the stepping stones of pedestrians on the gravel paths below.  Even the next morning, the remnants of the food feast lay scattered throughout the neighborhood, in spite of a nearby sign that pleads for no trash to be thrown in this area.

When departure time seems imminent, passengers wedge themselves into the best possible position for the long, bumpy, breakneck speed ride into the big city – a ride that may include unpredictable weather of high winds or rains or the serenity of a beautiful umbrella of a starlit sky.  Some tighten a scarf around their head.  Some put on a sweater in an attempt to keep the chill of the damp night air from their bones.  Some decide that a more reclining type position would better suit them for being able to sleep along the way.

This is the life of a street vendor.  A small fee is paid for each sack of merchandise brought on the truck.  A small fee is paid for each passenger who will nestle themselves amongst the hodge podge mounds of market goods.  At times, passengers are even accompanied by livestock of goats and chickens who are heading to market.  The truck will wind over two mountain ranges, forge through rivers where bridges have been washed away and slide through treacherous sections of road that sometimes require the passengers to get down from their thrones of rough sack cloth to walk through the area so that the lightened load can get everyone to their destination.

The destination for many is a little place to squat in a tiny spot on a smelly, muddy, trash-strewn roadside.  There they will compete, shoulder-to-shoulder, with hundreds of others who have come to sell the very same product that they have come to sell.  There they will stay, many times in the baking sun, until they have sold what they have brought and made enough money to return home and start the process all over again.

One cannot say that the Haitian people are not hard workers.  The Haitian people will do whatever they have to do to survive.  I watch grown men riding bicycles to their jobs, as it is their only means of transportation.  I watch as men carry live chickens throughout the community, trying to sell them to a housewife needing a meal for her family.  I watch teenagers peddling brooms, pharmaceuticals, electrical gadgets and other desired items, as they weave on foot through the chaotic traffic.   My thoughts then turn towards corporate America.  Has anyone climbing the corporate ladder ever worked under conditions such as this, just to bring a single dollar home to their family at night?  Yet, here in Haiti, we see this type of labor day after day after day!  It is the norm, rather than the exception.  Haitians earn little, but work hard!  Haitians are survivors!

When you sit in your homes tonight, after a long day at work, take a moment to bow your head! Take time to thank God for the blessings that you have!  And while you are at it … ask him for a special blessing for a Haitian worker !

Nora Léon

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic                 Until next time. God willing …………

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

January 21, 2011

Ahhhh!  It is seeming more and more like home!  Now back in Haiti, I have been able to sort through more boxes, put some more wall hangings up, hang some more curtains, purchase a full size bed (vs. two twin mattresses on top of two camping cots), actually have chairs to sit at a table with, have a full size refrigerator (even though only the freezer section works) and feel like things are taking shape.

Our new home has its challenges.  We have one bathroom that does not have a sink.  It does have a shower stall, but the showerhead only produces a tiny trickle of water that is totally impossible to bathe under. Washing your hands in this bathroom is rather comical.  A water-filled bucket located by the shower stall is one way to wash your hands.  You need to use a pan to “dip and pour” water over your hands, being careful to hold your hands into the shower stall so the bathroom floor does not get all wet OR use the other method of entering the shower stall and bending down to the spout located near the floor to wash your hands under running water, while trying to keep your shoes from getting wet.  I guess having this sort of running water is still better than the periods of time where we have no water at all.   Do you know how many times a day you use water???  One quickly finds that out, when no water is available!

We have purchased huge containers to store water in for the periods of time when the city water to the house is shut off.  It seems we are constantly bringing water from one place to another.  To keep water on hand, we are often seen filling the drinking water purification system, filling pitchers with safe-to-drink water for placement in the refrigerator and filling the water storage containers.  When we are without city water, we are busy filling buckets for toilet flushing, hand washing, dish washing, clothes washing, cooking and cleaning.  Whew!  At least we do not have to walk three miles to a water source, as many people in Haiti have to do!

We now have electricity most hours of the day, thanks to an inverter!   An inverter is a device that stores power into batteries when the city power is on.  When the city power goes off, you flip the inverter switch and draw power from the batteries.  We soon learned that the more batteries the better!!!  When the inverter is in use, if you do not have enough batteries, you cannot use anything that heats or cools – such as a hotplate (our indoor means of cooking) or a refrigerator (which is not of much use if it only works two hours a day) or an iron (yes, Haitians iron all their clothes) or a coffee pot.  Pulling too many amps shuts everything down!  Before purchasing more batteries, our routine for consistent power was also a comical series of events.  When the city power went on we would hurry to shut off the inverter and plug in the refrigerator, the coffee pot and the hotplate.  When the city power went off, we would hurry to turn on the inverter and unplug all of those devices and cease doing the ironing for the day.  It is even more fun performing these tasks when the city power goes out in the middle of the night.  We do not worry about not having a hotplate at night, but it sure is nice to have a fan blowing to cool us down and keep the mosquitoes away.  To make sure we find our way to the inverter switch … a nearby flashlight is a necessity!  Once we had purchased more batteries, our “race through the house” was just limited to the shutting off and turning on of the inverter.  No longer was it necessary to visit every electrical device in the house!

Can you see why most of the day in the life a Haitian is consumed just by tasks such as these???  For those who do not have the luxury of electricity and indoor plumbing their daily tasks in life are even more challenging.  Hauling water is an all-day process for the many water needs of a family – such as bathing and cooking and cleaning.  Purchasing and preparing of food is time-consuming.  A daily trip to the market is required for those not having refrigerators.  Ready-to-heat-and-eat meals are not found in Haiti.  Everything is made from scratch, which involves feather plucking, scrubbing, slicing, dicing, peeling and much more. The cooking of food is also time-consuming. Starting the coals for the fire, standing by the brewing pots and serving the meal takes time!  Scrubbing the dishes right after the meal is not only a good idea, but it also a means to keep the rodents and insects at bay!  In between, time must be found for scrubbing the children, the house and the clothes!  No modern devices for those chores either!  Bathtubs with yellow rubber duckies, vacuum cleaners and permanent press settings for wrinkle-free drying are unknowns to most Haitian households here!   A nearby cactus or a wire strung from house to tree will do just fine for the drying of clothes!  Haitians have a reason to boast about their clothes washing and drying techniques.  As many visitors will testify, Haitians have the whitest whites and the brightest brights.  How do they do it in a country that is always dusty and dirty?

As if the day-to-day struggles are not enough for a Haitian family, add to it the most recent series of events.  The lingering effects of last year’s earthquake, the cholera epidemic, the violence following voting for presidential candidates, and the return of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier have left the people here wondering what else could possibly happen to the people of Haiti!  Tonight, PLEASE take time to kneel by your bed to pray!  PLEASE remember the people of Haiti when you do so!  Their problems are not going away.  Their future seems bleaker than ever before. Before the earthquake, the Haitian people always seemed to have this wonderful ability to hope when things seemed hopeless. After the earthquake, it seems that hope is dangerously wavering into an abyss of despair!  Only God can makes things right!  We need to be on our knees for JESUS to reign in Haiti!

Nora Léon

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic                        Until next time. God willing ……

RECAP OF 2010

In many ways, the year of 2010 was a tragic year for the people of Haiti.   The January 12^th earthquake set the tone for the entire year.  Masses of refugees flowed into other cities.  Countless people began calling a tent their home.  The cholera epidemic further disheartened the people.  Hurricane Tomas brought high winds, heavy rains and more despair.  The Presidential elections added more tension to the already overstressed communities of survivors.  Yet, we see a people who remain resilient and determined to see that the new year of 2011 is a better one.

For Caribbean Children’s Foundation, the year of 2010 also brought about many changes.  The Children of Israel Orphanage was rendered unsafe; the children were moved to crowded, temporary housing.  The Izidor family and the Léon family found makeshift housing, until permanent housing could be secured.  Life in Haiti was no longer the life that we had known since I had arrived in 2004.  New adjustments needed to be made when teams began returning to Haiti.  Prices were higher. The teams were housed in alternative guesthouses, transportation within LesCayes changed from being all within walking distance to having to hire a chauffeur to be with the team during their entire stay.  All the changes resulted in stress of varying degrees.

In the midst of an uncertain year, God showered various blessings on the work being done by Caribbean Children’s Foundation (CCF).  Four children of the Children of Israel Orphanage were able to join their “forever” families in the United States.   The earthquake cut some of the red tape of the adoption process.  Some of the children were able to be released on humanitarian visas, to join their new families ahead of schedule.   Lovelie, Wisken, Charly and Djones were on their way to a new life only a few short days after the 7.0 earthquake shook Haiti.

The quake also jump started the construction for the new campus of the Children of Israel Orphanage.  Various new construction methods were studied, a new site plan was drawn up and the ground breaking of the first children’s cabin is imminent.   The nearly finished home of Leonie Kessa Isidor has been used to temporarily house the girls of the orphanage.  Upon completion of the first children’s cabins, her home will gradually empty, allowing her and Israelson to finally have a home to call their own.  The boys, too, will move out of their temporary cramped quarters at Genet’s parents’ house, as soon as enough cabins are erected.  On the new campus, a guesthouse is nearing completion.  Teams, wanting to work at the orphanage, will then have an on-site place to stay.  Construction of Genet and Yelline’s home is nearing fruition.  It will be a happy day when Stephane and Gregory can return from the USA and live with their parents in their new home.  Léon and I have found a home to rent, until it is feasible for us to build our home.  When all the children and all the adults can finally have a permanent place to call home, it will be a huge relief!  Your prayers during this stressful year have been cherished!

During 2010, the need for care for critically ill children continued.  At first it was impossible to get children to the USA, unless their condition was earthquake related.  That situation is now changing.  Currently CCF is working with one critically ill child who is in the beginning stages of receiving needed medical help that is not available to him in Haiti.  Paperwork and lab tests must be completed before the child will be released to a doctor in the states.  Please pray for the host family, as they prepare to nurture and care for this Haitian toddler.  Please pray for little Daniel as he awaits treatment.  Please pray for his family as they face a long period of separation when Daniel leaves their home to live with a family that they have never met.  Please also pray that funding will be available for Daniel and the other children who are waiting for doctors and hospitals to agree to take their cases at no cost to the poor families of these children.

The earthquake has resulted in larger number of kids needing tuition assistance for the 2010-2011 school year.  Remember that NO school in Haiti is free.  Some children lost their parents in the earthquake.  They are living with new families who cannot afford to send additional children to school.  Children who were sponsored last year by CCF are returning to us to ask for tuition assistance again this year.  Sadly, some of the students that we helped last year perished in the earthquake or died from preventable diseases that were untreatable in Haiti!  Nonetheless, the numbers of children needing assistance has grown and CCF is having to turn down several of the requests.   CCF is helping hundreds of children in several schools in LesCayes, Ile-a-Vache and the Jacmel area.  Our newest school is in a little fishing community on Ile-a-Vache , called Pointe Est.  Education is the key to ending poverty.  Perhaps this is an area where you would like to help the children of Haiti!

Orphanages remain a HUGE focus of Caribbean Children’s Foundation.  In the past, we have helped supply funding for the Children of Israel Orphanage in LesCayes, the House of the Lambs of God in Ouanaminthe,  God’s Littlest Angels in Petionville, Ruuska Village near Port-au-Prince and the Orphans of Jesus of the Dominican Republic. We have also received a request to open an orphanage for children left homeless and/or parentless following the earthquake.  The orphanage will be called GRACE Orphanage and will be located on the island of Ile-a-Vache (just off the coast from LesCayes).  Food prices have risen in Haiti, resulting in additional funds needed to care for the children.  Each orphanage has unique needs varying from clothing to furnishings to monthly sponsors.  Teams can help in a big way!

Construction is well under way for GRACE School.  The roof of the second floor is the next step to completing our two-story building on Ile-a-Vache.  GRACE School serves over 500 students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade.  The classes are being held in the completed classrooms and in nearby rental homes, until all of the buildings on our school campus can be erected.

Upon reviewing ALL that God has accomplished in 2010, in spite of trials of this year, we can only say that what seemed impossible for man was not impossible for our God.  To Him be the glory!

A LOOK AHEAD TO 2011 and BEYOND

Many of you have asked for an update on some of the projects of CCF, along with anticipated costs for those projects.  Listed below are various projects for 2011.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

1.         Children of Israel Orphanage – Torbeck Campus

The 1^st children’s cabin is about to be built.  The design of this cabin is the result of months of discussion following the January 2010 earthquake.  The materials will be a styrofoam product that is said to be both  earthquake and hurricane proof.  The 1^st cabin is a pilot project, so that it can be learned what the actual cost of a cabin will be.  The plan is to have ten cabins.  Initially the cabins will house several children, until enough  cabins are completed to house 6 children to a cabin, with one caregiver per cabin.  A detailed blueprint plan of the orphanage campus is now in Haiti and is available for viewing.

2.         GRACE School – Grann Plaine Campus on Ile-a-Vache

The progress of the school has been very exciting.  The school survived the earthquake intact, but it was recommended that two stories be built instead of the original proposed three stories.  The current building is housing grades 1-6.  In the future, it will house grades 1-12, a guesthouse for missionaries working in the area,  a pharmacy for the community and afternoon classes will be available for technical or vocational training.

We currently have a mission team who is making plans for solar energy for the school.  They are in the preliminary stages of that process. We are now ready to put the roof on the second floor.  We have added additional portals to assure even more strength in the roof.  The costs for the thick concrete roof have been calculated and are available upon request.  Although the estimates are in French, the total cost has been estimated in US dollars

Anticipated cost for the 2^nd floor roof is $51,000.

3.         GRACE School (Kindergarten Building of 4 classrooms) – Grann Plaine Campus on Ile-a-Vache

This building will accommodate the littlest children who would have occupied one floor of the original proposed three story building.  We will need to purchase additional land for this building.  The land adjoins the existing school property.  It is the farm area that is directly behind the existing “thatched roof school kitchen.” Although the estimates are in French, the total cost has been estimated in US dollars.  The estimates are available for viewing upon request.

Cost of the property = $1335.

Anticipated cost for the kindergarten building is $51,000.

4.         GRACE Orphanage- Grann Plaine on Ile-a-Vache

The list of names on the waiting list for the upcoming orphanage on Ile-a-Vache is growing longer.  We anticipated starting the orphanage with 10 children in a temporary, but existing structure.  It seems that the  orphanage needs may quickly outgrow the size of the home that we have selected for use for the orphanage.  Property was purchased, some years back, to be set aside for future use as an orphanage. It now appears wiser to place funding into new housing, rather than the repairing of old housing.  Cost estimates have been prepared for the construction of an orphanage building made with concrete blocks.  Although the estimates are in French, the total cost has been estimated in US dollars and are available for viewing upon request.

Anticipated cost for an orphanage building is $28,000.

SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMS

1.         Sponsors continue to be needed for the care of the children living in the orphanages

For 1 child, cost is $150 per month.   (Broken down, this could be 5 sponsors at $30/month/child)  To determine the cost for a complete orphanage, please multiply $150 x the number of children at the orphanage.

2.         Sponsors for school children

Following the earthquake, there is an increased financial need to help children to be able to attend school.  This is true because many jobs were lost, many parents died and many of the tuition costs have increased.   Each factor is placing a heavier weight on surviving family members to be able to educate the children of Haiti.

Costs vary from approximately $180 – $1000 per year, per child.

Price is determined by which school is attended (primary, secondary, technical school or university) and in which community the school is located.

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

1.         Medical care for critically ill children

The cost will vary from child to child, depending on the course of treatment needed and whether or not the child can be treated in Haiti or needs to be treated outside of Haiti.  Money is needed for a variety of things, such as birth certificates, passports, airfare to the states, CT Scans, xrays, blood tests, transportation and housing for trips to Port-au-Prince to visit doctors or clinics there, etc…

Presented above is a large selection of the projects placed before us at Caribbean Children’s Foundation.  God has shown His faithfulness to us over and over again.  He has used caring people like you to accomplish what may have seemed impossible.

We look forward to hearing from you and learning how you think you might be able to help!

God bless you for reaching out to the little ones of Haiti!

Because of Him!

Nora Léon

Executive Director

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