Having 190-200 people drop in
at one time at our house is always a lot of work. Most years we
have a team from the United States here to help with some of the
preparation, cleanup, and oversight. Not having a team here was
not the reason the group couldn’t come. Instead the problem
was a soccer ball. Hundreds of kids play with hundreds of toys
each summer season but near the last days of summer school, one
of the kids kicked a ball over the cliff to the road below. He
was in summer school but his friends below didn’t attend.
This group had planned on stealing the ball. The schoolboy kicked
the ball over the cliff; his friends grabbed it and hid it. The
ball was gone. At the end of recess a teacher got a confession
from the boy about the conspiracy. A decision was made that if
the ball wasn’t returned by the end of the day, there would
be no field trip. It still had not returned by the end of school.
That is when a group of 25-30 of the oldest kids marched to the
home of the conspirators, demanded the ball and began some very
serious self-governing of their community peers. Sadly the ball
was not produced. Parents defended their accused children. Fifty
more students joined the discussion.
The next morning the ball magically reappeared. Unfortunately,
the deadline had passed. I was concerned this might de-motivate
those seeking to police their community. To my surprise, the school
kids acknowledged they lost their chance to go to the beach. Even
better, as a group they decided next year to petition the summer
school that none of these guilty children be allowed to participate.
And that next year, everyone would stop playing with the ball
a week before school ended so there would be no chance to lose
it and their field trip. Grassroots decision-making.
Just a day ago we got our computer back online with the satellite
system that allows us to connect to the Internet. It was down
for nearly a month. It began when a small receiver box for the
satellite burnt up and that led to a host of network problems.
If you have sent messages needing answers please rewrite us at
codephaiti@yahoo.com.
One of the glitches that happened is “Rodney’s computer”
lost all previous emails and address book. Once he gets done fuming,
he is always glad because he now can start with a clean slate.
(He’s not quite done fuming yet.)
So many things have happened in a month its hard to remember
them.
- The new generator arrived and is online.
- Refrigeration unit is not yet working.
- Old mud hole has had major repair work and road is now always
open.
- Two hurricanes brushed ever so closely to Haiti but did no
damage in our area.
- Wisline’s house is complete and she has moved in.
- Work has begun on concrete house for Pastor Dures.
- Germination trials just completed on several pounds of tiny
vegetable seeds for planting this fall.
- Have received several shipments of fertilizer, and it has
been spread, and regular rains are transporting it to the root
zone of newly planted trees.
- Several U.S. groups are scheduled to come in October and November.
- About a dozen cisterns have been installed thus far for this
year, giving water to many families.
- Siloe School starts on Monday, September 13, 2004.
- And last week, in Port-au-Prince, we got to be part of our
grandson’s second birthday party.
Serving with you in Haiti,
Sharyn & Rodney
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
136 |
