Communiqué #048

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

March 31, 2008

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Léon and I decided to visit a newborn baby and her family.  As an after thought, we also decided to stop in to see the boys of the orphanage.  Usually our visits are greeted by a scurrying of little feet over the gravel of the front yard, before little bodies pounce into our arms because of our welcomed visit.  On this day, that was not the case.  All was quiet.  The courtyard was empty.  Soon we discovered several little guys on their beds, sentenced to this confinement for some misbehavior that had occurred.   The caregivers explained the behavior that had prompted the confinement and now Poppy Léon immediately went into “father mode.”   All the boys were called into one room.  Each boy knelt on the concrete floor and listened to the virtues of being respectful to your elders.  Poppy Léon explained that the caregivers do many things for the children, like feeding them, bathing them, clothing them and in return the boys must show respect to them by obeying.   A somber group got to their feet and headed outside to play.

Those few moments of soberness quickly gave way to squeals of joy when Poppy Léon discovered that the coconut tree was overflowing with ripe coconuts.  A machete was called for.  Poppy Léon promptly chopped 20 coconuts from the tree, whacking a slice off each one to expose the coconut milk.  3 caregivers and 17 little boys eagerly tipped the milk into their mouths, down their shirts, and onto the dirt below.  The ripples of happiness were everywhere.  A pure, simple joy only known to kids in tropical climates!   Even the littlest tots were enjoying the sticky, sweet nectar!   When all the liquid had been consumed, Poppy Léon again manned the machete to cut each coconut in half, exposing the fresh, rubbery meat.  Spoons appeared out of nowhere, as each child carved out pieces of the white flesh!   I sat back and just soaked in all of the smiles.  A simple treat!  A sun-shiny day!  A savored moment!  Joys this simple occur even in orphanages!

Nora Léon

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic                               Until next time ………….

Communiqué #047

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

March 12, 2008

It has been a busy time here in Les Cayes!  Mission teams love the cooler temperatures in Haiti during the months of January and February.  Thus, we have been blessed with a multitude of teams providing a variety of services to our ministry here.  In January, we had an orphanage interaction team, an evangelism team, and a dental clinic.  In February, we had a medical & eyeglass team, a handyman team who did repairs for us and constructed a chicken coop for the orphanage, an exploratory team for future mission outreach and a youth interaction team!   Not only do mission teams bring people eager to help the Haitian people, but also they are a great source of encouragement for the church community here.  For many of the team members it was their first visit to the country of Haiti.  We love when this happens as it just adds to the number of ambassadors that we will have who will be talking to friends and family back home about the many needs here!

March, April, May, June and July also will greet us with more teams who have promised to come!  Wow!  What a blessing these many teams are in the year 2008!   With all of the teams that have or will have blessed us with their presence, one might think that they leave no work undone!  On the contrary, the tasks here are countless!  We are just making a small dent!

In the midst of the teams, other matters continue to need our time and attention.  Five of the kids at The Children of Israel Orphanage are in the final (hopefully!) stages of their adoptions to families in the states.  Five children, from outlying villages, are in the process of getting medical visas to travel to the United States for surgery that is unavailable here.  Almost daily, people continue to come asking for food, medicine, clothes, shoes, school tuition assistance or to take one or more of their children into the orphanage.

Small reminders of the starkness of life in Haiti surface at the least expected times.  As I was waiting outside the bank for a ride home, I noticed an old man squatting by the curb.  He was reaching into the gutter to wash his hands in the water that contained tadpoles, feces, urine and green slime.  Following his hand washing, he crossed the street with a few rags in his hand where he received a few coins to clean someone’s car headlights and windshield.   Imagine having to live like that!  Imagine how little food he must eat with the few coins that he is able to earn each day.

Some of you have recently read in national newspapers about the cookies that are made from dirt and are being eaten by people in Haiti who do not have enough money for real food.  It may seem like an impossibility, but it is very true.  One of our medical mission teams was screening a young patient prior to his seeing the doctor.  He was complaining of sores in his mouth.  He went on to tell the interviewer that he is so hungry that he has been eating dirt – not even dirt cookies, just plain old (contaminated) dirt!  Can you imagine a hunger that severe???

How blessed we are!  Not only do we have clothes to wear, schools to attend, jobs for employment, but we have an abundance of delicious, nutritious meals!   Please pray for the people of the world that do not have any of these luxuries!   Please continue to help us make a difference in the lives or the poor and orphaned!

NOTE:  Check out the new photo albums where I am beginning to post photos of sponsored school children and

children needing medical treatment in the states!

Nora Léon

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic                               Until next time ………….

Communiqué #047

TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY

to the PEOPLE of HAITI

March 12, 2008

It has been a busy time here in Les Cayes!  Mission teams love the cooler temperatures in Haiti during the months of January and February.  Thus, we have been blessed with a multitude of teams providing a variety of services to our ministry here.  In January, we had an orphanage interaction team, an evangelism team, and a dental clinic.  In February, we had a medical & eyeglass team, a handyman team who did repairs for us and constructed a chicken coop for the orphanage, an exploratory team for future mission outreach and a youth interaction team!   Not only do mission teams bring people eager to help the Haitian people, but also they are a great source of encouragement for the church community here.  For many of the team members it was their first visit to the country of Haiti.  We love when this happens as it just adds to the number of ambassadors that we will have who will be talking to friends and family back home about the many needs here!

March, April, May, June and July also will greet us with more teams who have promised to come!  Wow!  What a blessing these many teams are in the year 2008!   With all of the teams that have or will have blessed us with their presence, one might think that they leave no work undone!  On the contrary, the tasks here are countless!  We are just making a small dent!

In the midst of the teams, other matters continue to need our time and attention.  Five of the kids at The Children of Israel Orphanage are in the final (hopefully!) stages of their adoptions to families in the states.  Five children, from outlying villages, are in the process of getting medical visas to travel to the United States for surgery that is unavailable here.  Almost daily, people continue to come asking for food, medicine, clothes, shoes, school tuition assistance or to take one or more of their children into the orphanage.

Small reminders of the starkness of life in Haiti surface at the least expected times.  As I was waiting outside the bank for a ride home, I noticed an old man squatting by the curb.  He was reaching into the gutter to wash his hands in the water that contained tadpoles, feces, urine and green slime.  Following his hand washing, he crossed the street with a few rags in his hand where he received a few coins to clean someone’s car headlights and windshield.   Imagine having to live like that!  Imagine how little food he must eat with the few coins that he is able to earn each day.

Some of you have recently read in national newspapers about the cookies that are made from dirt and are being eaten by people in Haiti who do not have enough money for real food.  It may seem like an impossibility, but it is very true.  One of our medical mission teams was screening a young patient prior to his seeing the doctor.  He was complaining of sores in his mouth.  He went on to tell the interviewer that he is so hungry that he has been eating dirt – not even dirt cookies, just plain old (contaminated) dirt!  Can you imagine a hunger that severe???

How blessed we are!  Not only do we have clothes to wear, schools to attend, jobs for employment, but we have an abundance of delicious, nutritious meals!   Please pray for the people of the world that do not have any of these luxuries!   Please continue to help us make a difference in the lives or the poor and orphaned!

NOTE:  Check out the new photo albums where I am beginning to post photos of sponsored school children and

children needing medical treatment in the states!

Nora Léon

Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic                               Until next time ………….