Flag Day And Difficult Days
Flag Day is a huge day of celebration in Haiti. There are usually giant parades in each city with children marching and waving flags. Our teachers use the days leading up to the holiday to teach about Haitian independence and the flag. The students always anticipate the school celebration of Flag Day with eagerness.
Students of all ages love Flag Day!
It was good to see the Port-au-Prince teachers and students back in the classroom this week. It's been a difficult season for these students. Your prayers are appreciated.
Miss Mickerlange is a certified preschool teacher who started teaching at MOHI this school year. She is wonderful with her class of 4-year-old students! She hopes to one day get a degree in Child Psychology. We are blessed to have her on our team of preschool teachers.
Kenia is an 8-year-old student from Grand-Goave. She has no siblings, but enjoys helping her mom with the housework and preparing meals - especially when the meal is rice, beans, and "legim" (stewed/mashed vegetable sauce). She is very fond of her dog, Lucky, and she really likes dolls. Kenia is in 3rd grade at MOHI. Her favorite subject so far is math.
In contrast to Kenia, 10-year-old Darwens is the youngest of NINE children. His family is from Port-au-Prince. His parents decided to leave the city because of the violence. It wasn't safe for the children to go to school and often times the school was closed. Now Darwens and his family are living in Grand-Goave. Darwens is thrilled to be able to go to school again and enjoys attending church with us, too. He told us, "I love God because He protects me when I sleep and when I go outside...I like to play ball with my classmates and I like cats because they are not cruel. They have affection. And I love my school."
It's hard to consider the trauma that so many innocent children in Haiti have experienced. As much as I'd like to, I don't have the ability to protect them. But God is with each one. In the midst of such difficulties, Darwens has learned to look to and depend on Jesus.
Please continue to pound the gates of heaven on behalf of our friends in Haiti. I do my best to share about the wonderful things happening in Haiti - the God moments, the acts of kindness, the hopes of children, the impact of our supporters on children and their families... and I will continue to do so. I also think it's important for all of us to understand the unthinkable difficulties being faced by the Haitian people right now. I want you to understand that this is beyond a simple fix. We NEED God to intervene. The UN High Commission for Human Rights addressed the deteriorating situation in Haiti and particularly in Port-au-Prince during a press conference this week. If you'd like to see numbers and her perspective on the situation, I've provided this link for you:
Remember our friend Marie Rose, the widow mother of triplets, 3 sets of twins, and 4 singletons? This is her daughter Woodsaina. She's working hard in her preschool class thanks to her sponsor's support.
The dentists work hard in the clinic each day, helping our students, as well as individuals from the community.
This week a family from the Little Paradise feeding program visited Dr. Evens in the medical clinic. They have been started on treatment. We're so thankful for our clinic partners, Bless Back Worldwide, for the support and training they have provided for many years now. What would happen with these little ones without access to healthcare?
Bulk and good nutrition in a baby's diet are critical for their normal development. Our staff at all 3 schools rise early in the morning to ensure these precious ones have a meal each weekday morning.
The babies sure do enjoy their meals!
It's only natural to look at the world around us and fear - especially for the children. But remember, we serve a SUPERnatural God! HE has given us HIS Word to guide us and HIS Spirit leads us to the right place at the right time for HIS purpose. Thank you for joining us on this journey!
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