Conference Room Nearing Completion

The following is a letter from Pastor Lemete Zephyr, the director of our partner organization, the Ministry for Christian Development (MCD).  MCD trains hundreds of pastors and church leaders in some very rural areas of Haiti.  It has received Service and Learning teams since 2009 for the construction of its office and conference center.  Take a look at the pictures and rejoice with us as we celebrate God's faithfulness.

Reception room of Conference Center

Main entrance of Conference Center

Interior of Conference Center

Tabarre, March  7, 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is my prayer that all of you are very well by the Grace of God.

On behalf  of  the Board of Directors and the personnel of the Ministry for Christian Development, I have the Great privilege to invite you to the Celebration  and dedication  of  our Conference-Room on March 7, 2015, from 9:00 AM to 12:00.

We will celebrate the Lord for his provisions of  love and resources. We will also express our gratitude to Sous  Espwa, our main Partner, and to the Work Teams who have supported the whole Building Project including the Office, the Reception Room that is being completed right now. We are taking advantage of the presence of  Goshen and Sussex  Work Teams that have come several times, as representatives of those who could not come.

We hope it is not to late for some of you to make the arrangements to take part in the event  alongside with many Haitian Leaders from the communities we are serving  and local institutions. Please, confirm your participation by e-mail: lemete2012@yahoo.ca; ministe2006@yahoo.fr, or by phone: Lemete, 011 (509) 3748-9611/4036-4277.

We pray the Lord to bless you in all aspects of your life and to bring you to MCD for this special event.

Pastor Lemète Zéphyr

Director of MDK

Team visits in 2015

Dear Friends:

Please take a look at the following link to see an article about the teams that are visiting Haiti right now!

http://www2.crcna.org/pages/crwm_servelearnhaiti.cfm

Haiti Carnival Tragedy on Tuesday Morning, February 17

Every year Haitians enjoy Carnival, a month-long celebration leading up to Mardi-Gras ("Fat Tuesday").  Carnival celebrations can get especially raucous on the Sunday and Monday before Mardi-Gras and on Mardi-Gras itself.  This year, the Haitian government declared that the official celebrations would occur in Port-au-Prince (though every community in Haiti organizes its own celebrations).  Mardi-Gras is more or less defined by loud music (produced by chars, or giant speaker and amplifier-packed trailers like the one pictured above), parades of revelers in thematic costumes, and a lot of binge drinking.  

Mardi-Gras can be a beautiful cultural event in Haiti, but it also can be very dangerous.  Quite often tragedies occur when hastily constructed grand-stands collapse, inebriated people get robbed, or buses collide going to and from Carnival events. News organizations around the world are reporting on last night's accident which occurred when a singer on one of the floats came into contact with a high-voltage line.  The ensuing flash triggered a stampede in which somewhere between 15 and 20 people lost their lives.

Unfortunately, there are many electrical accidents in Haiti because termite-eaten electrical poles are not replaced or are simply too low.  Since the electricity comes and goes, people don't even know when downed lines are live.  Furthermore, because the old land-line telephone system and coaxial cable system is defunct, many people are unconcerned cables laying across streets and sidewalks.

Please pray for Haiti as it mourns the death of these victims.