Fr Chris and Cecile\’s visit

Fr. Chris and Cecile’s visit

March 26, 2019

This has been a very busy week. Last Friday Bob and I took Cecile and Fr. Chris up to our apartment in Garcin. On our way we stopped and checked on young Jon Gary in the hospital, he seemed to be doing better. We also grabbed the famous egg sandwiches. The trip is pretty exhausting so once we got settled into the apartment we all took a nap. Bob then took them to our Agricultural Center. Fr. Chris told me he was very impressed with the Center.

Our “Ladies” prepared a very good dinner with delicious Haitian food. We stayed up and talked about our work and answered Father’s questions and shared stories. Fr. Chris spent eleven years in Jamaica as a missionary. He shared similarity’s and differences in the two cultures. Although he said he worked in a very poor area of Jamaica he thought the Haitians are much poorer.

Saturday morning after breakfast , we took our guests to meet Sr. Pat and Sr. Jackie, Cecile has visited with us several times in the past so she knows many of the people the sisters included. Then the adventure of traveling through the river to Kalabot. The road was much better than it has been in years, there was only one spot that was really difficult. We were received with a warm welcome. Bob and I went for a nap and Fr. Chris and Cecile went into a meeting with Fr. Jannan the new Pasteur of Riviere Mancelle and Fr. Etteine. After their meeting we were treated to a wonderful lunch followed by another meeting. We all rested and after supper attended the Novena preparing for the Feast on Monday. As in many country\’s the churches inn Haiti celebrate the feast of the Saint the Church is named after. This is a very big and important celebration for each church.

The Novena started at eight pm and lasted a couple of hours. It started with the rosary, and continued with prayers to our Blessed Mother and Mass. It concluded with a candle light procession down the hill to the river and back up to the stairs of the church. It was very beautiful, symbolizing bringing the light of Christ out into the community. Fr. Chris Con-celebrated at each of the Mass’s all weekend.

Sunday we attended Mass and then had lunch at the sister’s, this was a truly amazing meal of 13 courses all cooked on three stone fires. Every one of the incredible dishes were cooked to perfection. Fr. Chris and Cecile then met with the teachers and catechists. Then we went back and had a great meeting with just the sisters. They are very humble women that serve the community with much personal sacrifice.

The buildings up in Kalabot have severe damage from the earthquake last October. The Church will need to be torn down and rebuilt, the rectory has also suffered and the sisters home. The roof was replaced on the sisters home but now they have a crumbling wall, the church also has a wall that not much is left of it. Along with the new problems many of the kids at school are meeting in a tent for the last couple of years because the school was in such bad repair it had to be taken down.

Visiting Haiti can be very over whelming with all the problems and needs Fr. Chris feels like he will just need time to process all he’s seen , to really discern what his priority s will be.

The feast was very beautiful, with a wonderful meal following. We left Kalabot after the meal and returned to Garcin. After resting and a light dinner our young student Louie Nell came to visit. Fr. Chris was very impressed with what a fine young man he is. When Louie Nell left we all retired to our rooms to decompress. We all got up early this morning to return to Port au Prince so Fr. Chris and Cecile can caught there plane tomorrow.

We will be sad to see them go , but will be busy the next week preparing to leave for the US ourselves. This year we will be in charge of the warehouse for the shipping containers. We will start receiving items the day after Easter, so we will need to have our own shipment ready before that.

Bob and I feel the need to return to Haiti before September but already the summer is filled with many things. So we will see.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your interest,

Denise S.D.S.