The best is yet to come.
Steeve Derard on The World and Everything in It
Hudson's perspective on the trip to Les Cayes
By God’s grace, Rose-Carmel and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Les Cayes from Port-au-Prince, Although I have been to Les Cayes many times before, this time it amazed me more than it used to.
Haitian people are resilient. We believe in working hard and we are creative to fulfill the void due to a lack of materials in order to have the best results that we are looking for.
Rose- Carmel and I went to Les Cayes specifically for a food distribution for inmates. Friends picked us up at the airport and we went to the market to begin buying food and supplies.
When we got to the prison, police introduced us to female prisoners as the organization that helps them with what God put on our way. They were so grateful for that.
It was Rose-Carmel's first day ever in the countryside, and she was also amazed by how the countryside is different from Port-au-Prince. She had to experience the authenticity of our fellowships in the South of Haiti. People are always showing their willingness to help, to assure and know that we are comfortable. The people embrace life with a contagious smile. This tells us life is beautiful, no matter where you are.
We visited a market that is mostly for the “Madan Sara”. These ladies come twice weekly to sell or buy in order to make a living. This place is known as a center for gathered vendors from different places of the remote areas. A picture can tell more than a thousands stories. That's why you can see we tend to share pictures of farmers, fishermen, butchers, to tell these important stories.
“Madan Sara” is a bird that you will call “Village Weaver” in English. Those birds are known to migrate together. They are so active you can see that they are working in groups, and they are noisy.
This theme also describes the strong ladies in Haiti that are bringing food from the remote areas to the city. They play a big part in our community by improving the food market and playing a big part in our economy.
If you ever go to an informal market in Haiti, you will be able to see how our Madan Sara are negotiating, how they are active in the market, and they will remind you of that beautiful bird that is a Madan Sara.
Believe us when we say, Les Cayes is a beautiful country. There are so many places that we didn’t have time to discover in order to share the beauty with you. But through those special pictures we had, you can see the resolve in the face of our beautiful Haitian people.
Music Lessons Behind Prison Walls
I’m frequently asked, “How are things in Haiti?” to which I offer this question: “Are you asking about Haiti, or do you want to know about Haiti Awake because these are vastly different answers.”
Haiti is on the edge of the abyss, and I do not speak in hyperbole. Haiti Awake, however, is thriving, by God's grace.
We continue to move forward, and we are so happy to share a new program - music lessons at CERMICOL. Because of the generous donations of friends who have a heart for prison ministry, we were able to purchase a complete set of drums, and they were safely shipped to Haiti.
Now the fun begins.
Every Sunday for the next six months from 2-4 p.m. four boys will receive music lessons, specifically drum lessons. This first group will finish in December, and new boys will have the same opportunity.
Glwa pou Bondye.
An update from EEGC
The Work That Is Ours
"I want to have faith that there is no heart God cannot mend, no past He cannot redeem, no sickness He cannot heal, no relationship He cannot restore, no person He cannot save, no sin He cannot forgive, no need He cannot meet, no prayer so big that He cannot answer it.
"And yet to have that kind of faith is risky because it means trusting God and His Word. It means believing that God is good, that God does good, and that God is working all things together for my good, even when things don’t look good."
Christine Caine
Our 2022 in Review
Haiti Awake, A Safe Environment
Faithfulness
Glimpses of Haiti - Part 3
Glimpses of Haiti - Part 2
Church Ministry Development
Propane gas for CERMICOL
We often struggle to explain life in Haiti to our American friends.
How do we explain this first photo - that this is how the CERMICOL prison has been attempting to feed 85 boys day-by-day for the last week? Do you see the wood they chopped from trees in the yard? Do you know why they had to do this? They had no more propane in their tanks.
Today, by God's grace, we were able to provide them with some propane.
This outreach ministry means so much to us, and we're thankful for those of you who support our ability to share Hope with our friends there.
An interview with Frè Jacques
82 mattresses
Why our Ministry at CERMICOL Matters
Our 2021 Year in Review
Life in Haiti has never been easy, but this year life reached a new level of difficult.
As one friend put it: “It’s like you’re in the middle of an ocean, and while you’re trying to swim and keep your head out of the water, others count on you to take them out of the water - to rescue them. Some are even pulling you down the water because of their own panic. It’s just the sad reality that we are facing.”
People from our community were kidnapped. We faced day after day of no electric power. Finding what we needed to just function day-by-day became almost impossible at times. This was our reality.
And yet, by God’s grace, we continued to walk on. And in walking, we found another reality - what a beautiful year we had at Haiti Awake.
We wish we could tell you everything, but that would be impossible. So we have chosen to work together to give you one bright spot we experienced each month.
January
In January our friends Michelle Carr and Lauren Risedorf came to visit.
February
In February we started having monthly meals together as part of English class.
March
In March we celebrated Becky’s birthday together and the anniversary of the Graves’ family’s first trip to Haiti in 2012. (We won’t tell you how old Becky is, but let’s just say it was a significant birthday. Oh, wait! Does Hudson’s photo give away the answer?)
April
In April we celebrated Caleb’s 6th birthday, remembering all that God did during that special week in 2015.
May
In May we celebrated Haitian Flag Day by taking the CCS children out to a local restaurant.
June
In June Michelle, Alexandria, and Ethan came to visit.
July
In July we had our first fully Haitian-run summer camp. The children had so much fun every day. Snacks, games, stories, songs, instruction . . . and so much more!
August
In August Steeve went to the US for a visit, and while he was traveling home, an earthquake shook the southern peninsula of Haiti. We had the opportunity to do outreach in Les Cayes, Camp Perrin, Pestel, and Jeremie in the weeks that followed.
September
In September, we began rebuilding in Camp Perrin.
October
In October our friend Keverly came to visit. It’s not easy for people to come to visit any more, so it meant so much to have her here. She encouraged us so much.
November
In November, the extreme fuel shortages nearly closed down Port-au-Prince, but by God's grace, we pressed on and did what we needed to do day-by-day.
December
December was a month of celebration - celebrating being together, celebrating the birthdays of Handy and Wesly, celebrating the birth of Vorb’s new daughter, celebrating Christmas.
A CCS Update
Hi Friends!
We couldn’t wait to give you another CCS update! You may already know most of our regular activities, but we would like for you to see some adjustments.
1- Sports day every Wednesday
Right now, Sports Day on Wednesday has become a rendezvous for all of the children in CCS, Big has started helping each week along with other staff members. He truly loves the children..
What we are doing on Wednesday, it’s more than just doing sports. Every Wednesday, a theme is chosen for the sport day, such as: Patience- Love- Kindness- Wisdom- etc… and we always pray together.
2- Bible study
Every Thursday, some of those children continue to join our Bible study to learn the Word of God, even though it is not an obligation for them. We praise God for that.
3- English class
English class is every Saturday. We can see how the children continue to learn and improve their English. Sponsors, one day, we hope your child will be able to communicate with you in English!
3- Children’s church department
Every Sunday, about 20 children come to children’s church. Most of them are from CCS.
4 - Medical assistance
Beside all of these activities, we were able to provide medical assistance to some of our children who needed a physician’s attention.
5- Big event
On the Haitian Flag Day, May 18, Haiti Awake took all of the CCS children to a restaurant for ice cream. Going to a restaurant nor having ice cream is a regular thing for the CCS children. In fact, I believe most of those children experience this for the first time in their entire lives.
Thank you, Sponsors, for your contribution to that event.
6- School assistance:
We continue to assist some of the children with their school tuition, as well.
7- Thankfulness.
Sponsors, we want to express our gratitude by saying, thank you
Thank you for the change you are making in the lives of our children.
Thank you for helping our children to thrive, not to just survive.
Thank you for your faithful support.
Our Library
My personal dream is to see Haiti Awake have a space dedicated to the library and its components, including a computer lab. I dream of having a yard equipped with appropriate chairs and tables where readers can accommodate to read and have small group discussion (not loudly) around a subject. A place open to the public (people from the community or from other communities). People that have affection for books, especially English ones. - Vorb Charles
An update on Community Child Sponsorship
I am currently reading a book called Visions of Vocation by Steven Garber. In it, Garber says, “Why do we care? Because we see ourselves in relationship, ‘obligated by the very fact of our existence.’ And now knowing what we know, we are responsible, for love’s sake, for the people and places that are ours - if we have eyes that see.”
Sponsors, thank you again for joining us to raise a new generation for God’s kingdom in this beautiful community. We have no doubt about which people and which place God has called us to serve, and this clarity of vision allows us to invest our time, our resources - and yes, even our hearts - in Tabarre.