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!

Dreams in the Desert

This used to be a garden...

It used to be green, and provide food.  Now, like so much of Haiti’s infamously deforested Northwest, it is a stripped and eroded wasteland.

Looks pretty bad. 

Is it a lost cause?  We don’t think so.

But first a little history and context:

The history of Haiti’s deforestation began all the way back in the colonial period, escalating with the establishment of coffee plantations in the 1730’s.  Furthermore, after Haiti won its independence from the French in 1804, the government exported timber to help pay a heavy compensation due to France in the conditions of the treaty. 

 

However, the primary modern cause of deforestation is the massive consumption of charcoal and firewood for cooking purposes.  “Charcoal and firewood provide 85 to 90 percent of Haiti’s energy for home and industiral use…” [Agroforestry and Sustainable Resource Conservation in Haiti: A Case Study].

Why is deforestation such a big deal? Not only is it just plain ugly, but it causes alarming soil erosion and even changes the climate. 

Did you know that the trees of the Amazon rain forest generate up to 50% of the forest’s rainfall?  Now, imagine what would happen if you reduced the number of trees in the Amazon rainforest down to less than 2% of what they are now.  I’m sure someone can actually do that math, but you probably don’t need to in order to see that the rainfall would be drastically affected.  That is in fact what has happened in Haiti. 

You may have seen images such as this one before, demonstrating the stark difference at the Haiti-Dominican border.  Haiti is on the left.

Once lush and forested, today less than 2% of Haiti’s land has tree cover.  Drought and erosion are not a happy combination.  

“The most direct effect of deforestation was soil erosion. In turn, soil erosion lowered the productivity of the land, worsened droughts, and eventually led to desertification, all of which increased the pressure on the remaining land and trees.” [Library of Congress Country Studies: Haiti]

Led to desertification? Yeah, we get that; we look at it every day. (If only it were "dessertification"...)

Enter a dream…two dreams, actually.

When Samuel Schäfer first visited the Plateau in 2007, he looked at the stripped mountains, and envisioned living on those mountains and replanting them. (At the time, his thought was grapevines, as they tend to grow in dry climates by the sea.)

Several years later, Manis (who, consequently, remembers those very mountains when they were covered in trees) and Judy had been discussing an idea of purchasing parcels of the eroded, washed out land beyond the airstrip and planting mesquite trees.  If properly managed, these mesquite trees could still be used to make charcoal, but in a sustainable way without destroying the entire tree.  The land would slowly become forested, and the economy of the Plateau could be stimulated at the same time as families in need were given permission to cut portions of the trees to make charcoal.

Samuel heard Manis and Judy’s idea, and decided to take it on.  He has purchased a large parcel of the eroded land, and—working with a couple young guys from the area—has begun to give it a facelift.

He, Jean-Robert, Charilien, and Wisnik have cleared and leveled the land and arranged it into sunken plots to better hold rain water run-off.  This is no small task!  

They also built a strong fence around it to keep out the extraordinarily determined goats (the bane of any green, non-poisonous thing) and other more innocent, hungry animals.

Already they have begun planting—casting the seeds of trees that can sprout and grow in the dry climate, including mesquite. Samuel plans to establish a tree nursery as well.

When Samuel leaves in 2016 to go back to Germany, he aims to have the trees growing, the nursery functioning, and management for the land and nursery established and running smoothly.  At that time, he will turn the project over to Lemuel.  Hopefully, as the people in our community see an example of the difference reforestation makes and the value in it, they will be inspired to take similar initiative in planting trees.

If you would like more details, or would like to donate to Samuel’s efforts, please visit his fundraising page at http://www.gofundme.com/Samuels-trees.

Can we keep dreaming? 

One day, Lemuel would love to buy up the remaining land beyond the airstrip.  It’s quite a large expanse of barren land being rapidly eroded with each rainfall.  But let me paint the picture of what we envision it could look like:

Imagine a backhoe loader or some such machinery quickly and easily filling in the gullies with earth, levelling the ground, and arranging it into water-catching plots.  Picture fences being built and trees planted, starting with the tougher, drought-tolerant ones.  Then, as the trees grow, envision the land designated for different purposes: some for keeping livestock and chickens, some perhaps for grasses to feed the livestock, and some solely for trees.  People from the community find employment tending the trees and caring for the livestock.  These people/families build their house on the parcel for which they are accountable.  Using principles Lemuel already employs in the community in livestock projects, the trees or animals being tended begin not only to benefit Lemuel by supplying commodities (charcoal, meat, eggs, etc) and supplementary income, but also provide for the families.  Other families benefit too as Lemuel supplements livestock feed by purchasing the sorghum stalks left over after harvest, thereby increasing the value of yields.  And slowly, a desolate waste becomes a place sustaining life…

Beautiful picture?  Yes.  Easy?  No.  Fast?  No.

Possible?  Yes.  Absolutely guaranteed?  No. 

The most urgent of our needs?  No.  Critical for the future?  Yes.

There are certainly some intimidating barriers to overcome.  There are other immediate and urgent needs all around us constantly screaming for our attention.  Resources are severely limited.

 

But without a dream, no vision develops.  And without vision, nothing changes. 

And we would like at times not only to inform you of what is happening now, but to invite you into our crazy dreams for the future...into seeing things the way they could be. (Remember this post from a year ago: Running through Waist-High Mud...and Dreams?)

Some God may establish for His Kingdom; others, perhaps not or not yet.  Please pray for true, supernatural wisdom and humility for us as we juggle dreams and needs and limitations, seeking God’s will and glory in it all.

We haven’t reached the mountains….yet.

*********************************************************************************

Sources used for this blog post:

Agroforestry and Sustainable Resource Conservation in Haiti: A Case Study by Nathan C. McClintock

Library of Congress Country Studies: Haiti by Boulos A. Malik

Mongabay.com: Rainforest Ecology

Wikipedia: Deforestation in Haiti

And a presentation on "Vision" given by Russ Cline on Sunday, October 12, 2014.

Internet Trouble

Just a quick post to let you know that our internet has not been functioning for over two weeks now.  Sometimes, we can get a brief (but often poor) connection, but it has been extremely difficult to keep up with e-mails and to post consistent updates.  The word is that the internet seems to work better between 1-5 AM; however, I've been up since 3:30 this morning with very little luck.  As of now, I have been working for days to get a blog update posted, but have not yet been able to do so.

So, I apologize if you have not heard from us for a while.  Please pray that we can get this issue resolved soon!

Ecole Mixte Lemuel: 2014-2015 Class Pictures

And here it is, the promised post of this year's school classes!  You may notice quite a few new faces among the teachers.

Get ready for tons of adorableness!

Kindergarten 1

Wins the prize for: Most impossible to get everyone looking, smiling, and standing still at the same time

Believe it or not, there are actually EIGHT kids absent from this class today; there is a total of 23 students!

Teacher: Génièse Pierre

Génièse is from Source Chaude.  This is her first year with us, and she has integrated very naturally with the veteran Kindergarten teachers.

Kindergarten Assistant: Nadège Louijuste

Nadège is back with us for her second year as Kindergarten assistant.  She does such a great job, and the kids love her.

Kindergarten 2

Wins the prize for: Scariest smile (back row, left)

Teacher: Lovelie Jean-François

Lovelie is from Port-au-Prince, and is back with us for a third year.  

Kindergarten 3

Runner up for: Scariest smile

Teacher: Wiltha Bélizaire

Wiltha is from Port-au-Prince, and has also returned for a third year, this time as the Kin. 3 teacher and the Kindergarten Supervisor.

First grade

Wins the prize for: First year in primary school!

Teacher: Simon Titus

This is Simon's first year with us.  He is from Anse-Rouge.

Second Grade

Wins the prize for: Widest grins

Teacher: Michelot Oscar

This is Michelot's first year with us.  He is from Port-au-Prince

 Third Grade
Wins the prize for: Shyest class

Teacher: Obed Métayer

Of course, many of you know Obed, although this is his first year teaching for us.  He is home-grown from the Plateau.  Lemuel sponsored him through high school, and he has returned to the Plateau to teach for a year before pursuing higher education.

 Fourth Grade

Wins the prize for: Happiest class

Teacher: Guillaume Oltin

Guillaume is from Anse-Rouge, and is back with us for a fourth year.

 Fifth Grade

Wins the prize for: Most mischievous boys...both in number and degree.  I think Mèt Ronyl has his hands full!

Teacher: Ronyl Joseph

This is Ronyl's first year with us.  He is from Anse-Rouge.

Sixth Grade

Wins the prize for: Brightest smiles!  Not a straight face in the bunch.

Teacher: Wilnique Métayer

Wilnique has returned for a third year.  This year he returns to sixth grade, after having taught a year of fifth grade.

School Director: Osselet Lilite

Osselet has no class of his own this year, but is serving as the school's director.  This is his fourth year with Lemuel.

Receptionist: Kerline Almonor

Kerline is from Anse-Rouge, and this is her first year with us.  She was a huge help in getting the kids organized and smiling for these pictures!

Mme Carlo has been working on a monthly basis as the janitor and assistant to the kitchen. Mme Tiferne will be back to join her this month.

And here are our lovely cooks, Mme Wisly and Mme Bogi.  These ladies continue to persevere in the heat and eye-watering smoke to provide the kids and teachers with a good, hot meal every day.

Today, bean sauce is on the menu.

Let me take this opportunity to introduce you to Emmanuel Almaïs, as well (he goes mostly by his last name, Almaïs).  Almaïs was one of Lemuel's youth in Port-au-Prince.  He studied accounting in university, and has filled in for the finance office before.  This year, he has taken on a full-time position keeping Lemuel's books, as well as developing a micro-finance program for the church and a soccer program for the school.  We're glad to have him on board.