Welcome Back Bless Back Worldwide!

Our students and staff have been working hard, as the end of the school year comes into sight. As always, our 6th and 9th graders, along with the students from the last two years of high school, are all preparing for their national exams. These are major events in the lives of the youth here in Haiti. Families will put out a lot of money to buy new clothes and provide for their students to eat at roadside restaurants on their test days. The students are under a lot of pressure from society to do well, honoring both their family and school, while avoiding having to repeat a grade.

School in St Etienne

Some school staff and students in Thozin

We so appreciate all of Leah’s hard work in the medical clinic, day in and day out. Not only does she utilize her nursing skills, but she navigates a cultural jungle daily. She does it well! She also knows her limitations and is not afraid to call on Pastor Lex when she’s not sure if she and her patient are communicating well. We are grateful for the people the Lord continues to bring to work in the clinic, including Tammy and this week a team from Bless Back Worlwide. This team has doctors and dentists, along with several medical professionals to support them.

Medical clinic

Preparing the mobile medical clinic to work in St Etienne next week

This Bless Back Worlwide team provided the funds to build a home for a family in need. It’s almost done and will be dedicated at the end of the week, while the team is here.

This home is almost complete now.

LOTS of remodeling/construction work continued this past week. We were blessed to bring the Bless Back team on a tour of the new medical facilities and school, as they both approach completion.

Work in the medical and dental rooms continues.

The team from Bless Back Worldwide (Charlotte, NC)

The general consensus here is that the activity room is the prettiest room in the new school. Soon we will be installing mirrors on one wall and Help4Haiti will be donating mats for the floor. THEN we will be able to hold ballet and kempo classes in there!

Activity Room

I was so excited today to move my desk into my new office space. I’ve been in a temporary building for the past 4 years. It was decided that it’s time to remove the plywood structure and expand the church and picnic tables area. What do you think of my new space?

Renée’s office

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It was great to meet up with some new friends this week. Lex visited Pablo Marquez’s orphanage work in Aquin this week. Pablo is from the country of Chile. Lex found him and some associates on the side of the road, in need of transportation. He helped them out and we have remained friends ever since. Lex was very happy to see the quality work that Pablo and his friends are doing there in Aquin.

Pablo and his friends work in Aquin, Haïti.

While Lex was in Aquin, some sweet sisters from Aquin came to Thozin to deliver a barrel of goods to us. We are grateful to them, as well as to Emery and Jeannita Gaudet for providing these supplies. We met Emery & Jeannita years ago at a yard sale they were doing at their home in Leominster. Apparently they would hold a yard sale every year and the proceeds would go to support a mission in Haiti. We love to go to yard sales (if we ever have the opportunity any more!) and especially ones that support works in Haiti. We struck up a conversation and they even invited us over for dinner. Since that time, Emery always stops by when he comes to Haiti and he even spent some time with us, working at MOHI and Be Like Brit. What a blessing these folks have been to so many here!

These dear sisters from Aquin delivered a barrel of clothing and notebooks from Emery & Jeannita Gaudet (Leominster, MA)

We had a team from Helping to Heal Haiti join us for dinner this week. It was nice to hear about their medical work in our neighboring city of Petit-Goâve.

Our new friends from Helping to Heal Haiti

We have been working for some time now on the electricity at the missionary compound. We often think about where we started. We had no intention of having full-time electricity at the missionary compound, but the Lord has provided beyond what we had expected! Thanks to so many generous partners, we now have a 20kw generator and a solar array with a bank of 24 batteries. I remember waking up 3 and 4 times a night in the summertime, as we normally didn’t have electricity in the early days. I would take a cool shower and head back to bed, trying not to move and fall asleep before I started sweating again. Now, we normally have electricity 24/7 for all of our guests at the missionary compound, as well as for all the full timers. Fans at night make for happy campers in the morning! Praise God!!!

Solar installation at the missionary compound

I love going to church on Sunday mornings. Everyone dresses up in their “Sunday Best” and stuffs into our overcrowded, hot box – aka the chapel. I’ve gotten into the habit of handing out lollipops to the kids as they come in, which has made me a lot more friends. This morning I had the opportunity to hang out with Phalard’s new baby, too! *SMILE*