Saturday Afternoon Soccer Club

In Haiti--as in a great many other countries across the world--soccer is a beloved sport.  From boys (both big and little) playing barefoot in city alley's or on rocky terrain to entire cities glued to their TV during an important match, soccer--or futbol--is a big deal.

Almaïs started a soccer club within Lemuel with two objectives in mind: 1) to provide a recreational activity for the boys--something that defrays the stresses and difficulties of life, provides enjoyment, and enables them to invest their energy in a positive direction--and 2) to serve as a vehicle for evangelism.  As the program develops and they are hopefully able to play against other teams, the games and tournaments will provide opportunities for the Lemuel club to share the gospel with the other players and the spectators.  

Every Saturday afternoon, Almaïs holds a soccer practice for the boys in the club.  After a brief warm-up, they started practice this past Saturday with an exercise in which they stopped a ball coming their way and passed it immediately back again.

Afterwards, they took turns heading the ball back to Coach Almaïs.

Then they stepped it up with headers towards the goal.  James takes his shot below while the boys who missed the goal do push-ups in the background.

Little Dawens was the tiniest guy out there...

...but that didn't stop him from taking a shot too.  It looks like he closed his eyes and hoped for the best!

So, a big idea is taking its first step.  There are a few things that have to fall into place for the club to attain its full objective.  But, in the meantime, the boys are developing their skills and having a blast.

You never know...

Maybe the club holds a budding World Cup star....

...If it does, it would be our prayer that he would not only be an excellent player, but would have an effusive love for God and a character that can allow him to serve as a role model for soccer fans around the world.

Viva la futbol!

Kid's Club

First of all, I would like to take a moment to freak out about our new internet solution:  

IT WORKS!!!!  IT'S FAST!!!  THIS POST TOOK ME A MATTER OF AN HOUR OR TWO INSTEAD OF DAYS!!!!  PICTURES UPLOADED IN SECONDS!!! I EVEN GOT A LARGE VIDEO FILE UPLOADED!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!!!  I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!  PRAISE THE LORD, EVERYBODY!!!!

...Thank you.  Here's the current situation: Manis and Judy bought an internet jump drive from "the other phone company" in Haiti, and it is working amazingly well.  The only thing is, it has a great, fast connection on Manis and Judy's roof,  but not at the Lemuel House.  However, that seems a small thing.

Now on to the real post of the day...

One of the highlights for the kids on the Plateau and the surrounding area is Lemuel's kid's club. "Club" is a Lemuel activity that started way back at the beginning in Port-au-Prince, and in fact was a major aspect of the ministry there.  It serves as an opportunity for the kids to come sing, dance, play, and learn in a fun environment specially geared towards them.  Get a little taste from the video below:

  

Just as a side note, getting a video this size to load on our old internet would have been a pipe dream, even when it was working.

This year, a committee of Lemuel youth and teachers from the school are responsible for Club.  Almaïs (who was first introduced in this post) is heading up the committee with Obed, Lovelie, Oscar, and Mezou.  Almaïs grew up in Port-au-Prince, and attended Lemuel clubs for years there.  He has brought fresh energy and ideas to Club on the Plateau, and it is such fun to watch unfold.

They have given Club the name C.S.S.L., which stands for Club Socio-Spirituel Lemuel, and have the objective of facilitating activities that will help the kids to develop both socially and spiritually.  Their chosen reference verse is Philippians 1:6 : "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

four kids called up front to lead in some singing

Almaïs "animating" the crowd

I remember the year that the Lemuel administration had no choice but to take on the responsibility for club--there just weren't leaders or musicians capable of doing it at the time.  Now,  looking at this photo (above), I am so encouraged and proud to see Amison on the bongo drums, Wisnik at the drum set, Mezou at the piano, along with Obed, Lovelie, and those not pictured from the leadership team stepping up to make club possible.  They don't need us there...and that's GREAT.

One Sunday afternoon, Almaïs asked Judy to host a special learning session for the youth.  The subject was "Table Manners."  Judy not only instructed the youth on how to properly set a table, but also how to behave themselves if invited to someone's house for a meal.  Almaïs and the committee even prepared a lab, so to speak, so that the youth could actually practice what they were learning--complete with an actual meal!

Judy demonstrates a correct place setting...

...and the youth try it themselves.

Oscar and Wiltha played the role of  "Man and Lady of the House."  Here Oscar says a prayer before the meal.

The youth take turns serving themselves and passing to the person next to them.

The "Lady of the House" makes rounds welcoming her guests.

While the youth were learning about table manners, the younger kids were having a blast dancing and playing games on the basketball court.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand working together with the school, CSSL is holding the Plateau's first-ever spelling bee!  The teacher's in the school from grades 1-6 each selected a student from their class and spent time preparing them to represent their class in the bee.  What a great opportunity for these kids!  Nothing like a spelling bee has ever been done on the Plateau!

This past Sunday was Round 1: Grade 1 (Ketlin is on the right) vs. Grade 2 (Edjems is on the left).

The committee did a wonderful job planning.  First, the contestant picked a word out of the pile.

 Then, Mlle Kerline read the word and gave the student the cue to start spelling.  As the contestant spoke a letter, it appeared on the screen behind (thanks to Obed at the computer).  When the speller finished, Madame Dictionary (see below) gave the true spelling, which was typed underneath what the contestant had spelled.

To the right of the stage, is a door titled "Dictionnaire" (Dictionary).  And who is behind the door?....

...It's Mlle Wiltha!  As the contestant was introduced to the word they picked out of pot, they had the opportunity to talk to "Madame Dictionary," who could pronounce the word clearly for them and give its definition.  She also offered affectionate words of encouragement to the struggling speller and gave the correct spelling of the word once the contestant had finished.

The spelling bee championship round will be held at the end of December.  The grand champion will receive an important prize: their tuition for next school year!

Coming up on the blog:  Lemuel's Soccer Club!

Introducing: Jenny Reitz Compère!

At Lemuel, we recognize and admit that one of our major failing points has been keeping up regular communications with our friends and donors.  There are a few reasons for this, the greatest one probably being the undependable and exasperating nature of our internet access, which often severely inhibits our online communications.

In addition to internet woes, postal mailings are nearly impossible to send from the Plateau.  Mailings would have to be prepared in advance (if that’s even an option), then be taken OUT to the US or Canada by a third party and mailed from there.  Even this method has had its setbacks.  On one particular occasion, I (Krischelle) went out armed with a stack of beautiful Lemuel postcards, hand wrote a quantity of thank you notes, and took them to the post office with a sigh of satisfaction. Imagine our mortification when many weeks later those post cards were all returned to us IN HAITI.  The post office had mailed them to the Lemuel return address, which was printed on the back, instead of to the correct handwritten address.

And lastly, we simply lack human resources.  Communicating takes TIME--especially considering the realities mentioned above--and we are spread thin.

However, we also are keenly aware that keeping in touch is a crucial and indispensable aspect of our relationship with YOU.  We want you to know that this communications weakness in Lemuel has deeply troubled us for some time, and we sincerely apologize for it.

As we sought ways to tackle the difficulties we face in communications, God was working something out for us.  Enter Jenny Reitz Compère!

Jenny actually did an internship with Lemuel in 1996, the year of its founding in Port-au-Prince.  So really, Lemuel and Jenny go way back!  Eventually, she became involved with a ministry called the House of Hope in the Northern Haitian town of La Pointe.  A couple years ago, God began to make it clear to Jenny’s heart that it was time to pass the leadership of the House of Hope on to the Haitian staff.  She did so this year, and she and her husband Djordjy moved back to Canada where she continues to serve the House of Hope in the area of Donor Relations and Development.

She has also offered her services to Lemuel in any way that she can.  She will be helping us mail "Thank You" notes, keep the blog and Facebook updated when our internet is down, and handle other necessary communications or tasks that are better taken care of in the US/Canada. 

We are excited for the possibilities that Jenny’s gracious services will open up.  As you may receive communications signed by her or from her e-mail address, we are happy for this opportunity to introduce her to you.

We are so glad to have her on board: Welcome (back), Jenny!

On-going Internet Problems

Greetings everyone,

Just a note to let you know that we are still here, but our internet is not....or at least not always.  It works for sporadic moments (like now), but you never know how long it will be or when it will cut out in the middle of what you are trying to do and then when it will be back up again!  This has made frequent and regular communication impossible.

Please bear with us and continue to pray that this problem can be resolved soon, so that we can be in better contact with you all once again.  There is so much we want to tell you!