The Deacon's Bench - March, 2009

Let me tell you some more about our trip to Ste. Thérèse. Fr. Horelle said that the number one issue in Lilavois these days is hunger. They desperately need food, immediately. Right after food is jobs. People are frustrated that they cannot simply work for what they need.

We visited all the classes several times. The students are motivated and sharp, and the curriculum is solid. We sat in as they worked through geometry problems with us and solved simultaneous quadratic equations using determinants. If the student at the board explaining the problem forgot a step, the others piped up. Our impressed bewilderment must have been evident: as we left, one of the young men looked up at me and asked “Did you understand that?”

Electricity is rarely provided by the state – we enjoyed perhaps two hours of it while we were there. Fr. Horelle liked the thought of solar power. He uses about ten gallons of gasoline a week to run his generator to provide electricity for the computers, lights, musical instruments and a refrigerator. Gasoline, when it’s available, is more expensive in Haiti than it is here. Paul and I surveyed a likely site for an array, took a power inventory and projected future needs. We’ll be sending out an RFP to see what a system might cost to satisfy requirements, and let you know.

We asked about sports, too. It seems there’s a soccer tournament in May and June that runs for eight weeks. When Ste. Thérèse plays, they win, and they’ve got the trophy to prove it. It costs about $3,000 to play however, to pay for referees, a field, uniforms, travel, food and such like. Fr. Horelle said they haven’t played for a while because everyone there understands that other needs are more pressing. Although the need isn’t anywhere near as urgent as it is for food, he agreed that it would be good for the students’ and the town’s morale and that we could tell you about it so you could decide whether to help with that or not.

I asked about girls’ sports, too. The young ladies like to play volleyball; if we could send them a net and a ball that would be good.

As far as the sacraments are concerned, Fr. Horelle does several hundred baptisms a year. I was surprised when he told us he only does about four marriages a year (they’re too expensive for the average Haitian) and not many funerals (there’s no cemetery in Lilavois). Confirmation, First Communion and Reconciliation are pretty much all people do. Apparently many people in Lilavois are still involved with vodou, in large measure because it’s uniquely Haitian, and they’re proud of that.

So many generous people here have already come forward to help, just based on what has been presented so far! Thank you SO much!! Our wonderful Haiti Ministry team members are working hard to put together a package that explains each need and how our Haitian friends see it in their priorities. We’ll get that out in April and May, and lay out for you a broad range of specific and engaging ways you can choose to help, if you wish to do that.

Deacon Tim’s Lenten Recipe #1
Nothing. You’re supposed to be fasting, remember?