Up and Running

School started up last Monday...

The children came the week before to clean up the yard around their school.

School Director, Indy Fortune, goes over the rules on the first day of school.

Precious school children

Our two wonderful cooks!


More pictures and info on the teachers coming soon!

Home Again at Long Last!

January 19, 2010
You may remember this picture of our dump truck heading into Port-au-Prince after the earthquake to take in food and supplies. Well, it arrived in P-au-P and made its delivery but it never made it back home. It broke down outside the city and had been sitting at the CAM (Christian Aid Ministries) campus since. Bryon Sparling and others in Canada found a way to get a new engine to Haiti and an American mechanic in Port-au-Prince put it in for us.

We were so excited when it finally arrived back here on the Plateau earlier this week!

Church Roof Finally FINISHED

When the roofing team was here from Canada they were disappointed not to be able to finish the last quarter of the church roof. A miscalculation had caused a shortage in 2x8s and since there is no Home Depot down the road, they had to leave it like that. We were grateful to be able to use the church anyway - we just avoided sitting at the very back! :)

Last week the container arrived with all the 2x8s plus some! Because the roofing team had taken the time to work with men in the community and to teach them, some of those men were able to complete the roof.

David Muchmore, whose two weeks here ends tomorrow, was able to put up the gutters on the church as well. Now we can capture rain water in the underground cistern. Along with some of the men, he was also able to put in the doors and windows in the offices at the back of the church.

Gulbert and Mezou putting up the rest of the metal roofing.

Three other guys carry the sheets of roofing to the church.

Using the method the Canadian team used to get the sheets up on the roof.

All finished!

The offices in the back of the church.

Day Camp in Port-au-Prince

Singing outside the Lemuel House

The kids always enjoy what we call "chofe" - singing, dancing, jumping...

Samuel leads the closing program

Dance-off between top two dance competitors

Jean watches as the dance champion is chosen

The winning team, Agape, celebrated their victory.
Teams earned points through discipline, participation, and answering questions regarding the Bible lessons and the day's events.

Last week Samuel (responsible for extra-curricular activities) and Jean (director of the Orientation Center), directed a day camp for 100 children. They had originally planned on 75 but after the first day, kids just kept coming. Two Lemuel staff members did Bible studies based on the theme "Shine for Jesus." Other Lemuel youth helped with everything from music and singing, to controlling the gate and discipline.

We cannot express how proud we are of all of them. They had only $150US to do the whole thing and though they had to cut back on some things, they still made a fun camp happen. We were so touched to learn that they even put their own money into it.

The camp was from 8:00-12:30 Monday-Thursday. On Friday the children returned in the afternoon for the closing program and a hot meal. Besides a Bible lesson and singing, the children also were taught how to make paper flowers and decorations by two of the ladies who teach in the adult literacy class. They did all the decorations for the closing program themselves.

We praise God that one young boy accepted Christ. His name is Donaldson. Please pray that he will grow in his new faith and that he will continue in a lifetime of following and serving Christ.

Port-au-Prince Orientation Center

Jean Legagneur was part of the first group of kids taken into the original "Barefoot School" in 1996. He immediately stood out as one of the brightest students and was one of the first to be sent to an outside school (the Barefoot School, or Orientation Center, prepared children to enter the 3rd grade in an already established school).

When Jean dropped out of school in high-school and made some other poor choices, we were deeply saddened. Though he was put out of the program several times, Manis kept taking him back because he knew the potential Jean had. Manis gave him a job in the Port-au-Prince house - cleaning, running errands, doing odd jobs... but he would always remind him of how much more he could do if he set his mind to it.

Today Jean is a teacher in, and director of, Lemuel's new Orientation Center. Modeled after the original, students whose parents could not afford to send them to school are given the chance of an education. Jean has poured his heart into the school this year and looks forward to developing it further in the 2010-2011 school year.

One development that we had not foreseen was that many children whose schools were destroyed in the earthquake have ended up coming to our school. The number of students has almost doubled! This has been a great opportunity to reach out not only to these children but to their families as well (more on that soon!).

Please pray for Jean as he invests in these young lives that he will have wisdom and that God will use this role in his own life to mature him and bring him closer to Himself.

Jean (back row behind little girl in denim dress) in 1996 with the original "Barefoot School" children.

Abdonel, Jean, Auguste, and Seremond in their school uniforms after they were sent to continue their education in established schools.

Jean today, in front of his office, with students form the Orientation Center.

English Classes

One of our outreaches here on the Plateau has been through English classes. Krischelle Frost, a long-time friend of Lemuel, and the interns, Jon and Anna, have been teaching the classes. We have classes 4 times a week and then a 3.5 hour class on Saturday for professionals that can't come during the week. Not only are students able to learn a valuable skill (speaking English), but the teachers have an opportunity to share Christ with them as well.

Jon Stitt playing a game with his Beginner 1 English class.

English students trying to be the first to touch the fruits Jon called out.

Krischelle Frost discussing the weather with her Beginner 2 English Class.

Krischelle holds up a picture of a thermometer to explain temperatures.

Sammy's Testimony PAP January 12,2010

This is a video Bonita Sparling took of one of our youth, Samuel Bernard, sharing his testimony of how he survived the earthquake.